Fate Chapter 7
General Vincent of Junon
By Tifa Gainsborough
Her back was leaning against the headboard, knees tucked up to her chest. She hadn’t said anything to me since I walked in. Tossing my jacket across the back of a chair I climbed onto the bed next to her.
“Has anything changed,” Trista asked, looking over at me.
“Nothing,” I said, telling her the results of my journey. “The doctors say Shera may never wake up again.”
“She doesn’t want to wake up again,” she said. “She already made her decision. We are the ones keeping her alive. She died that day with General Cid.”
Reaching out, I pulled her into my arms.
“I know we should let her go,” Trista whispered, resting her head against my chest. “Now I believe we are keeping her alive more for our benefit, than for hers.”
Touching soft hair, I gently brushed it behind her right ear. I couldn’t say anything yet, because I knew she was right. Shera didn’t want to live anymore, she had taken her own life. But now we technology we were keeping her alive. She had been ready to leave, yet we weren’t ready to let her go.
“Tomorrow we will have to talk it over with everybody else,” I finally concluded. “To hear what they have to say on the matter.”
“Yeah,” she whispered softly. “I’m still worried about Reno.”
“How long has it been now,” I asked, my thoughts on the red haired man.
“Nearly two months since we last saw him,” she told me. “I would like at least some sign that he is still alive.”
“He’s alive,” I reassured her. “We have just to have faith in his actions. Reno won‘t die.”
Trista didn’t say anything immediately and the silence hung heavily in the air. I knew in my heart she wanted to believe me, but doubt always clouded her mind. Without speaking a word she slowly nodded her head, finally coming to a conclusion. Reaching out my fingers brushed the lamp and quickly switched it out.
Darkness eclipsed the room and it made me think. Eerie, with the simple flick of a switch everything can go dark. How similar it is to life.
The feel of softness touching my lips drove me from those dark thoughts. I collapsed into her embrace, and for a moment, forgot everything.
But everything catches up with you eventually and even the warm arms of a lover couldn’t keep fate from invading my mind again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The meeting had been swift and a conclusion reached immediately. Together, we had walked to the infirmary which was located on the second floor. When I first saw it, I couldn’t help but wonder why it looked nothing like other infirmaries. But Shanna had reminded me that the Shinra building had looked very different before Meteor had struck.
The doctor glanced up as we entered. I could feel her gaze watching us as we walking past the many empty beds. Near the back Shera’s bed was blocked by the pure white curtain. I found it funny that they used white in an infirmary. Perhaps it was because it was a pure color, so people could die surrounded by purity. It was thoughts like that, that kept me going.
The five of use gathered around Shera’s bed and it hurt me to look at her. She looked like a ghost amongst the whiteness. A tube was down her throat, keeping her breathing.
“Hey Shera,” Mitsu said softly, slowly reaching out and touching her right hand.
The only response was the sound of the oxygen machine that was keeping her alive. Glancing between the rest of the group I found it odd. We were most likely the ones that were going to die, but now we had to say goodbye to someone who tried to take their own life. It simply wasn’t fair, in my opinion. Shaking my head, I tried to get my thought process back in order.
Everybody stood in silence, nobody wishing to speak first. Finally it was Diallo that spoke.
“Shera, we want you to know that we are going to respect your wishes. You want to be with Gen… I mean Cid Highwind and we are the ones keeping you away from your wish.”
Shanna lifted Shera’s right hand and held it. “We are sorry that our selfish acts are keeping you trapped here.”
Turning, Trista turned the heart monitor to silent alarm as Mitsu began to speak.
“I don’t think we were willing to let you go because you wanted to be with our enemy,” Mitsu paused for a moment. Trista reached across the front of me and touched his arm, encouraging him to continue. “We never got the chance to get to know this man you spoke of. All we could see what the mindless drones that followed Sephiroth’s orders. You saw the man deep within that was crying to get free.”
“You did something we could never do,” Trista spoke finally, hesitantly touching Shera’s left shoulder.
“Our acts were selfish,” I repeated. “But now, we are going to put aside our feelings and think of yours. Goodbye Shera, thank you for introducing me to everyone.”
Slowly, each whispered their personal farewells. With steady hands, Trista turned the machines off. I couldn’t watch the heart monitor, I had already seen Shera die once. I did not want to witness it a second time.
I don’t know how long afterwards we stayed. But it became too much for me and I had was the first to leave. The minute I was in out of the infirmary I was running. My feet pounded the floor and my eyes burned with unshed tears. I didn’t know where I was running.
At that moment, I didn’t care.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Manila file folders were spread out across the large table in the conference room. Trista and Shanna were at opposite ends of the table when I arrived, each deeply immersed in the contents of the file they were reading. It had been nearly a month since Shera had finally passes away and we had decided it was time to move on to the next General. Mitsu had mentioned something about Reeve saying there being files on the next General. We had taken his advice and raided the 2nd basement, that before then nobody had known about.
We had found files labeled Valentine, Vincent; Lockhart, Tifa; and Strife, Cloud. Right now we were focusing on General Vincent’s files, since he was next on the list.
“So what am I killing brain cells over today,” I asked, tossing myself into one of the chairs.
Shanna glanced up, rubbing her eyes in the process. “We saved you all the medical files for you. Trista and I have the files from his days when he was a Turk.”
“Oh I just feel the love,” I joked, picking up one of the files.
I lost myself in the files, but mostly it was the files that lost me. Half of the stuff this Professor Hojo wrote about was too confusing to follow. Almost all the files mentioned Sephiroth and a being called Jenova. The name Jenova meant nothing to me. We had found a huge stack of files of Jenova but passed them by. We also had passed by things labeled Gainsborough, Aerith; Gainsborough Iflana; and somebody named Zack. On all of the labels about the man named Zack, the last name has been crossed out. As though they were trying to hide something.
“Whoa,” I gasped, not realizing I had spoken out loud.
“What is it?” Trista’s voice invaded my thoughts.
“I found something interesting in this file on General Vincent that Hojo wrote,” I explained Holding the file up I began to read out loud. “X day, X month, X year. I have found the perfect test subject for my newest experiment. Shinra was unwilling to provide me with a subject so I acquired one myself. After killing one Vincent Valentine I was able to cover up the real reason for the murder. Calling it an act of self defense after Valentine became in raged and attacked me.”
“Are you saying General Vincent is already dead,” Shanna asked, putting down the file she was reading.
“There is more,” I said flipping through pages. “X day, X month, X year. I have successfully implanted the being known simply as Chaos into Vincent Valentine. Unknown would be the effects it would have, since the host was dead. Returning many hours later I found Vincent Valentine to be gone from where I left him, indicating that Chaos had successfully revived the host. I shall not inform Lucrecia of that has transpired, in hopes that Vincent Valentine will go looking for her not vice versa.”
A hush filled the conference room. Something touched my shoulder, causing me to jerk away. Trista rested her hand on shoulder after I had finally relaxed, I hadn’t realized she had gotten to her feet.
“Is there anymore,” she asked.
“X day, X month, X year. I have been unable to locate Vincent Valentine, since implanting Chaos into him. He has not left Nibelhiem since nobody has seen him and Lucrecia has not spoken of seeing him. One day in the future I hope to come across him again. But now Lucrecia is ready to give birth and I must focus my attention on Sephiroth,” I finished reading. “That’s all it says about General Vincent.”
Tossing the file onto the table, a photo fluttered out of the back. The three of us watched as it drifted to the ground. Trista leaned down and picked it up. A frown creased her features as she looked over the picture. Shanna and I gathered around to see it. The picture was that of a giant monster. It looked to be taken minutes before the camera was destroyed. In the background I could barely make out two figures. Turning the photo over, we looked at the back.
Written clearly in bold cursive letters was one word.
Chaos.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The smell of the sea tickled my senses as we walked through the streets of Junon. People were gathered around, watching us as we walked past. Many were peering out from around doors or hanging out windows. Nobody made any sound, but I could see from the looks in their eyes they were grateful to see us. We had been in Junon now for almost an hour and still had seen no sign of General Vincent.
“Do you think he is going to show,” Diallo asked as we rested for a few minutes.
“I thought this was suppose to be a surprise attack,” Shanna muttered, aiming her gun at the ocean. “Bang.”
“Very funny Shanna,” Diallo smirked.
“We have to get into the building,” Trista observed staring upwards at the building. “But how?”
“Did we cover this in breaking and entering 101,” I joked, which brought a swift punch from Trista. “Sorry.”
“Hey,” somebody called. “Over here.”
We exchanged worried glances and jogged over to the man who had summoned us. The man was holding a door open, waving at it frantically.
“Go in here. Down the hall there is an elevator, it’s the only way up. He can usually be found on the third floor,” the man whispered, shoving us through the door.
“Why are you helping us,” Mitsu asked over his shoulder.
“That man killed my only daughter,” the old man snarled. “I want to see justice.”
I opened my mouth to say something but stopped. This man was believing in us, we couldn’t disappoint him. Running through the halls we reached the elevator a few minutes later. Pressing the button we waiting calmly for the elevator to arrive. I could hear it descending and I got a sweeping feeling of dread. The doors began to slide open and I raised my sword, ready for an attack.
The doors open and nothing jumped out at us. Cautiously we checked the elevator then piled inside.
“This is a bad way to attack,” Trista noted as the doors slid shut. “Too easy for General Vincent to set a trap.”
“You heard the old man. It’s the only way up. Besides, it‘s perfectly safe.”
Trista glanced over at me and I could see the gears working in her head. Trying to find some sort of false words in the mans advice. The elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors began to swing open. A golden claw shot between the doors and grabbed Mitsu roughly by the jacket, jerking him out of the elevator.
Okay, so I was wrong.
The first thing I saw was red and I had the sinking feeling Mitsu was already dead. But it was General Vincent, dressed entirely in red. Mitsu was sprawled on the floor, leaning against a wall were he had been thrown.
“Be careful he doesn’t transform into Chaos,” Trista warned as we circled.
Through the folds of the red cape I could see the silver handle of a gun. “Be careful he doesn’t shoot us as well.”
Mitsu had finally dragged himself off the floor and came to join us. General Vincent watched us circle him with calm crimson eyes. He made no immediate move and it was unclear who he would attack first. Slowly the man lowered his hands, his gaze still level with us.
“You have me outnumbered five to one,” General Vincent stated, ebony locks of hair falling across his face.
“That didn’t stop the others from attacking us,” Diallo pointed out.
“The others are stupid,” he said calmly, his eyes still watching us.
I didn’t like the way his eyes watched us. I could see him searching for weaknesses, waiting for one of us to drop our guard. He was smart, knowing exactly the best ways to attack us. Mitsu let his guard down first and General Vincent attacked. His movements were swift and he was on Mitsu before he go move. His claw caught the light as it arched through the air.
Red blood splashes the ground as that claw tore into Mitsu’s body. Trista reacted first, launching herself into General Vincent. The force of her momentum threw the sideways and they crashed to the ground. Shanna grabbed Mitsu and dragged him away from the fight. With a nod to Diallo we moved in.
Trista was trying to get away, but she was getting tangled with that red cape. Finally she pulled free and he grabbed her. With the claw trapped under his body he grabbed her neck with his good hand.
Her spear clattered to the ground as she grabbed at the vice grip on her throat. Crimson eyes raged with anger as General Vincent slowly climbed to his feet.
“Help,” Trista gasped, clawing at the grip on her throat.
I would have tried the same tactic Trista had, but I was afraid the movement would cause more damage than help. Finally, there was only one logical thing I could think of to do. Raising my sword, deciding to simply cut his hand from his body.
Those eyes flickered in my direction and I knew he knew what I was planning. He released Trista, shoving her away. His hand tangled in my jackets, lifting me into the air. Straining, I tried to touch the ground again. This was bad, definitely very bad. With a snarl General Vincent threw me away.
I could feel my body arch through the air. It seemed liked an eternity I was flying through the air. My body slammed into a wall. I hit the ground of my side with a sickening thud, my head bouncing off the ground. Pain tore through my body, drawing a cry to my lips.
Through blurry vision I saw what transpired next. While General Vincent was leaning down to grab Trista again Shanna attacked. Using the handle of her gun as a club she beat him over the back of the head with it. Trista scooted across the ground as General Vincent collapsed.
With one last look over the scene darkness finally closed in on me.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The first thing I saw was a pair of worried eyes looking down at me. Trista slowly smiled as I blinked, finally noticing the intense whiteness around me.
“When did we get back,” I asked, trying to sit up.
Waves of nausea overtook me and I stopped trying to move.
“A few hours ago,” Trista explained, gently smoothing the blankets over my chest. Her voice was scratchy but slowly sounding like it was returning to normal.
“Is everybody okay,” I asked next.
“Everybody is fine,” she reassured me. Leaning down she lay her lips against my forehead. “You should rest, you have a bad concussion.”
Nodding slightly I felt the pain killers begin to kick in. I felt her hand touch mine and darkness welcomed me again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Cold air slammed Reno’s face as he climbed closer to the Northern Cave. He had been staying at the Icicle Inn after Trista and the group had defeated General Cid. He had watched the entire thing. Conlan had come a long way in his training, able to take on Cloud and live. Reno was impressed by them. Knowing that they were doing fine on their own.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the poor excuse for a human being,” a voice laughed behind him.
Glancing over his shoulder, Reno caught a glimpse of the man that stood behind him. Turning fully, he stared the blonde man down. Slipping his weapon from his belt he held it at his side.
“What brings you all the way out here,” Cloud questioned. “Thinking about defeated Sephiroth yourself?”
Reno sneered at the joking tone in his voice. “I don’t need to defeat Sephiroth. I’m only concerned with destroying you.”
Cloud chuckled deeply at his words, bring another sneer to Reno’s lips. Reaching behind his back, Cloud grasped the handle of his sword and pulled it forward. Glancing between his weapon and the red head, Cloud smiled. He tossed his sword into the snow and pulled a long blade from a sheath on his calf.
“Let’s make this a closer to fair fight,” Cloud joked.
Reno saw no humor in Cloud’s voice. Those mako enhances blue eyes were ice. Reno saw no signs of the former Cloud, the one he had first seen in the church in Midgar.
Bracing his feet, Reno attacked. With lightening fast moves Cloud raised the blade and caught Reno’s weapon with it. He felt ever muscle in his body straining, trying to fight past Cloud’s defenses.
Cloud stepped aside and Reno stumbled forward. The blade Cloud held struck out and dug deep in his arm. Stumbled forward, he finally caught his balance.
Every attack he threw at Cloud, the man wan had a counter attack. Cloud was faster, stronger, and calmer than he was. Reno was fighting on sheer anger, Cloud was completely calm, almost considering it a game. A foot lashed out, catching Reno’s right hand. His weapon went flying, lost to the white snow.
Drop of blood stained the snow as Reno collapsed to one knee. Cloud stood over him a frown on his face. A hand tangled in Reno’s hair, dragging him to his feet. Icy blue eyes met his and he refused to struggle. If he was going to die, he would accept his fate. Blonde hair moved as Cloud tilted his head to one side, looking him over.
“You would have made a great addition to our side,” Cloud commented.
“There isn’t enough alcohol in the world that would make me join with you,” Reno snapped.
“Too bad.”
The blade moved swiftly, slicing open his neck. Cloud released the former Turk and he collapsed to the ground, crimson staining the white snow. As the man lay dying, Cloud went and retrieved his sword.
Reno’s mind was a see of memories as his life slowly poured out onto the snow. Closing his eyes he recalled his thoughts. He saw Trista, five years ago, curled in a ball in an alley in Neo-Midgar. Rude and Elena as they sat in a bar, drinking away their worries. The angry last feelings he had felt when Tseng his mentor slowly died.
In his mind he could hear voices, the sounds were all so familiar. Voices he hadn’t heard in so long.
Soon, his voice became one with theirs.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I stood by her side as two men slowly moved the makeshift coffin away. It had arrived a few hours ago and only now was it being moved. Reno’s body had lay inside, his hands clasped over his chest.
People slowly left and finally only Trista and I remained.
“Trista,” I whispered, lightly touching her shoulder.
“Conlan,” she said.
“Yes?”
Slowly she turned to look at, tears welling in her eyes. “You were wrong. Reno did die.”
I couldn’t find any words to comfort her. Reaching for her, I took her in my arms, feeling her trembling body leaning against mine.
“We’ll get them for this,” I told her.
She nodded, not saying a word.
This time we can’t let them get away with it. This time, things were personal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Authors Note: Uh… yay. Interesting chapter… sorry I got rid of Reno…. I’m gonna miss the guy too. Review are always welcome, as always.