Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Trick Sparrow 
Rufus and Barret enlist Cid's help to help them get to Nibelheim.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 268 | Status: Completed
Rufus and Barret enlist Cid's help to help them get to Nibelheim.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 268 | Status: Completed
//60 reviews! *blushes* Really, people, I don't deserve all this praise! But I appreciate it, to say the least. Thank you, everyone!//
Chapter 10
There was something about the wind in his face that made Rufus feel calm... almost like he could forget everything-- his past, his sins, the people he hurt. The gusts of air attempted to cleanse his guilty soul as the giant airship, The Highwind, flew across the mountains and plains toward Nibelheim.
Rufus felt peaceful.
That did not, sufficed to say, convince Barret enough to let him stand on the deck alone, lest the young man get the notion to throw himself over the railing. The large fellow stood nearby, keeping a close eye on Rufus. He was surprised that Barret cared enough to watch over him, considering his deep hatred that had been present in his mind less than forty-eight hours ago.
*People change, just like I did,* Rufus thought, propping a bony elbow onto the metal hand rail. *I only hope the same is true for Vincent.*
Cid Highwind was a very ill-mannered man in Rufus's eyes. He had met him before, when Shin-ra Inc. had still been in power, and he had always thought that "coarse" would be an extremely generous word to describe him. He smoked, swore profusely, and had the distasteful habit of picking his teeth with his spearpoint. All in all, not a man who said "please" and "thank you" at the dinner table. How he managed to land a wife was beyond Rufus.
The boy stood tensely behind Barret as they stood next to the airship's pilot. The wind, however agreeable it felt, had begun to grow far too cold for Rufus's liking. But now, as he watched Cid from a safe distance, the biting wind was starting to sound more and more inviting.
When Barret had first told Cid of the situation with Rufus, he had been resolute in his refusal to escort them to Nibelheim in his airship, stringing his adamant "NO" with an abundance of profanities. Thankfully, knowing Cid could never hold out long under a woman's plea, Elmyra had taken over the conversation on the PHS, explaining the dilemma carefully. Once she mentioned the fact that Rufus was going to find Vincent for Yuffie, Cid grudgingly agreed. Though the surly pilot found enjoyment in teasing the young ninja, deep down he was actually quite fond of the girl.
Cid shifted his weight from one foot to the other, removing the remains of his breakfast with his Venus Gospel. Suddenly the cigarette that rested perilously on his lips fell to the deck. "Holy $#%&!!" he exclaimed, causing Rufus to wrinkle his nose in offense. He pointed out the front window at the rapidly approaching town of Nibelheim. "You notice anything wrong about this picture?!"
Rufus squinted his dazzling blue eyes, trying to figure out what had gotten Cid so agitated. It was Nibelheim. He had been there many times before. He had stayed at the executive suite in the inn. Granted, he had never bothered to go inside the Shin-ra mansion; it was too dilapidated, but--
The mansion! Where was it?!
"What the...?" Rufus blinked, not fully believing his eyes. "What happened to the mansion?!"
Barret's dark eyes grew as large as saucers. "It's *gone*!! Where'd it go?"
"That's what I wouldn't mind findin' out," said Cid, easing the Highwind to a stop as it reached the borders of the town. Grabbing his pack of cigarettes, he strode out of the cockpit, motioning for them to follow. "Let's go," he called after him.
Smoldering ashes were all that was left of the Shin-ra mansion. The once-imposing manor lay in black, smoking piles. As Rufus kicked aside a piece of debris, he wondered what in the world could have caused it.
Barret stood dumbfounded, scratching the back of his neck with his good hand. Once or twice he bent over, poking at the rubble with his gunarm, but he was silent the entire time.
Cid, however, merely grunted in satisfaction. "'Bout time this place went down," he said, planting his spear in the ground with a sense of finality. "Only thing that was left of that sicko Hojo was his lab, and now it's gone. I say, good riddance!" He spit on the ashes.
Finally Barret spoke up. "Don't say that, foo! What if Vince was in there when it burned down? You know where he was when we found 'im. He was sawin' logs in that nasty old coffin down in the basement."
"I doubt Vincent was dumb enough to stick around while the #&*%in' house was burning down around him," Cid replied, shaking his head. "We both know he's smarter than that. We just need to ask the people," he added, looking around, "if they saw a tall freak with a brass claw leave."
"Excuse me," said Rufus, catching a passer-by on the arm. The young girl who was approximately fifteen stared up at him with wide hazel eyes. "Do you know what happened to the Shin-ra mansion?"
"You're Rufus Shin-ra!" she exclaimed angrily, yanking her arm from his grasp. "You think I'd tell *you* anything?"
Barret and Cid looked down at their feet uneasily, and Rufus sighed. That was probably going to happen to him a lot from now on.
"Look," he said wearily, "I don't blame you for not trusting me. No one else does. I just want you to tell me if you know anything about what happened here. Please?"
Perhaps the girl saw something in the sorrowful blue depths of his eyes, or perhaps she merely did not feel like arguing at the moment. Either way, she finally relented. "A few days ago, I was coming home from the grocery store with my friend Ardra, and there was this God-awful scream that came from the mansion. If you wanted to call it that. To me and Ardra, it sounded like a roar. Then we heard a bunch of crashes and explosions. We thought that some monster had gotten inside and was attacking that guy who lived there. He never kept the door locked."
Cid looked up sharply. "What guy?"
"That tall guy with the long black hair," she replied, turning away slightly to hide a blush. "I think his name was Vincent. Ardra always said I was crazy, but I thought he was kind of cute. In a scary way." She looked around and covered her mouth. "Whoops! I guess there aren't any other girls here."
"Didja see him leave the mansion?" asked Barret.
She nodded. "Yeah, a few minutes later he came staggering out of there, looking seriously beat up. He walked past us without word or explanation of what the heck happened to him. But he did have something in his hand, like a book or a picture frame or something. Then he just left Nibelheim, and we haven't see him since. Next thing I know, the whole mansion burst into flames!"
Rufus grasped her hand tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Um, can I go now?" she asked timidly.
"Oh! Yeah, uh, sure." He attempted a friendly smile as the girl walked away, stopping once to look over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
Cid shook his head. "There was no monster," he said quietly. "Except Vincent."
Rufus turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Vince lost control," replied Barret, almost to himself. "He turned into Chaos."
Vincent looked like he had gotten into a fight with the Devil himself. As he lay unconscious on Rufus's bed, Yuffie gazed at him, wondering what could possibly have happened to him. His porcelain face was smeared with dirt and blood, and there were dark circles under his long-lashed eyes. His clothes were torn, *shredded* in someplaces, especially on his back. But tucked safely under his cape was a framed picture of himself and Yuffie, from that rainy day in Junon. Yuffie felt a pang in her heart as she stared at it. She had never known how much she meant to him.
Lying there, he had never looked so defenseless, not even during the battle with Sephiroth, and it scared her. She figured he must have tranformed into that hateful creature, Chaos. In which case, Vincent really had fought with the Devil... and had lost.
The moment after Vincent had strode weakly toward Yuffie and promised her he would never leave again, he had stumbled forward, leaning heavily against her. Reno had to grab him by the arm to prevent both of them from falling to the floor. Shortly after they had half-carried, half-hauled him to Rufus's room and eased him onto the bed, Tifa came home. Shocked, she quickly raced to the PHS to call Cloud. As they all waited for the ex-mercenary to arrive, Vincent grew increasingly weaker. After his human hand lifted up to stroke Yuffie's cheek one last time, his delirous red eyes fluttered closed, and he fell into an impossibly deep sleep.
As Yuffie knelt beside the bed and wiped his face clean with a damp cloth, she was at a loss of what to feel. She had been preparing for this moment ever since her somber companion had left. Her original plan had been to tell Vincent exactly what she thought of his little field trip. Give him a piece of her mind. Make him feel terrible for what he did to her; to *all* of them.
But now that he was here, she felt no anger. She felt happy, hurt, confused, relieved, worried... but not angry.
Cloud came quietly into the room, putting his hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "How's he doing?" he asked softly.
"No better, no worse," she replied, her eyes straying to the sleeping gunman.
"And what about you? Feeling any better?"
She nodded. "Yeah, actually. I don't have a fever, and I haven't coughed for a really long time. I was wondering when I would ever use blankets again," she added jokingly.
The blonde laughed, relieved by the break in tension.
"Hey, Cloud?"
"Yeah, Yuff?"
The ninja fingered Vincent's tattered black sleeve absently. "What did you... How did you feel when Vinnie left?"
"A lot of things," he said, shrugging slightly. "I was sad, of course. I mean, he may think that no one cares about him, but we do." He sighed. "I was angry more than anything."
She looked at him hard. "Are you angry now?"
He blinked. "Now that I think about it, no. I'm relieved, and still offended that he left in the first place. But I'm not mad."
"Neither am I," she said, tracing her fingers over Vincent's.
Suddenly the pale digits twitched, and Vincent languidly opened his garnet eyes. He stared up at Yuffie for a long time, an unfathomable tenderness in those sanguine orbs. He slowly lifted his tarnished claw to enfold her slender hand in both of his. No words were spoken.
But Cloud knew what was happening even without words to support his conviction: Vincent was in love. And it was not with Lucrecia.
//*sigh* Breathe in the Vincent/Yuffie goodness. But don't get your hopes up yet, peeps! We've still got a ways to go before my tale is finished. Look for the next chapter; hopefully you won't have to wait as long.//
Chapter 10
There was something about the wind in his face that made Rufus feel calm... almost like he could forget everything-- his past, his sins, the people he hurt. The gusts of air attempted to cleanse his guilty soul as the giant airship, The Highwind, flew across the mountains and plains toward Nibelheim.
Rufus felt peaceful.
That did not, sufficed to say, convince Barret enough to let him stand on the deck alone, lest the young man get the notion to throw himself over the railing. The large fellow stood nearby, keeping a close eye on Rufus. He was surprised that Barret cared enough to watch over him, considering his deep hatred that had been present in his mind less than forty-eight hours ago.
*People change, just like I did,* Rufus thought, propping a bony elbow onto the metal hand rail. *I only hope the same is true for Vincent.*
Cid Highwind was a very ill-mannered man in Rufus's eyes. He had met him before, when Shin-ra Inc. had still been in power, and he had always thought that "coarse" would be an extremely generous word to describe him. He smoked, swore profusely, and had the distasteful habit of picking his teeth with his spearpoint. All in all, not a man who said "please" and "thank you" at the dinner table. How he managed to land a wife was beyond Rufus.
The boy stood tensely behind Barret as they stood next to the airship's pilot. The wind, however agreeable it felt, had begun to grow far too cold for Rufus's liking. But now, as he watched Cid from a safe distance, the biting wind was starting to sound more and more inviting.
When Barret had first told Cid of the situation with Rufus, he had been resolute in his refusal to escort them to Nibelheim in his airship, stringing his adamant "NO" with an abundance of profanities. Thankfully, knowing Cid could never hold out long under a woman's plea, Elmyra had taken over the conversation on the PHS, explaining the dilemma carefully. Once she mentioned the fact that Rufus was going to find Vincent for Yuffie, Cid grudgingly agreed. Though the surly pilot found enjoyment in teasing the young ninja, deep down he was actually quite fond of the girl.
Cid shifted his weight from one foot to the other, removing the remains of his breakfast with his Venus Gospel. Suddenly the cigarette that rested perilously on his lips fell to the deck. "Holy $#%&!!" he exclaimed, causing Rufus to wrinkle his nose in offense. He pointed out the front window at the rapidly approaching town of Nibelheim. "You notice anything wrong about this picture?!"
Rufus squinted his dazzling blue eyes, trying to figure out what had gotten Cid so agitated. It was Nibelheim. He had been there many times before. He had stayed at the executive suite in the inn. Granted, he had never bothered to go inside the Shin-ra mansion; it was too dilapidated, but--
The mansion! Where was it?!
"What the...?" Rufus blinked, not fully believing his eyes. "What happened to the mansion?!"
Barret's dark eyes grew as large as saucers. "It's *gone*!! Where'd it go?"
"That's what I wouldn't mind findin' out," said Cid, easing the Highwind to a stop as it reached the borders of the town. Grabbing his pack of cigarettes, he strode out of the cockpit, motioning for them to follow. "Let's go," he called after him.
Smoldering ashes were all that was left of the Shin-ra mansion. The once-imposing manor lay in black, smoking piles. As Rufus kicked aside a piece of debris, he wondered what in the world could have caused it.
Barret stood dumbfounded, scratching the back of his neck with his good hand. Once or twice he bent over, poking at the rubble with his gunarm, but he was silent the entire time.
Cid, however, merely grunted in satisfaction. "'Bout time this place went down," he said, planting his spear in the ground with a sense of finality. "Only thing that was left of that sicko Hojo was his lab, and now it's gone. I say, good riddance!" He spit on the ashes.
Finally Barret spoke up. "Don't say that, foo! What if Vince was in there when it burned down? You know where he was when we found 'im. He was sawin' logs in that nasty old coffin down in the basement."
"I doubt Vincent was dumb enough to stick around while the #&*%in' house was burning down around him," Cid replied, shaking his head. "We both know he's smarter than that. We just need to ask the people," he added, looking around, "if they saw a tall freak with a brass claw leave."
"Excuse me," said Rufus, catching a passer-by on the arm. The young girl who was approximately fifteen stared up at him with wide hazel eyes. "Do you know what happened to the Shin-ra mansion?"
"You're Rufus Shin-ra!" she exclaimed angrily, yanking her arm from his grasp. "You think I'd tell *you* anything?"
Barret and Cid looked down at their feet uneasily, and Rufus sighed. That was probably going to happen to him a lot from now on.
"Look," he said wearily, "I don't blame you for not trusting me. No one else does. I just want you to tell me if you know anything about what happened here. Please?"
Perhaps the girl saw something in the sorrowful blue depths of his eyes, or perhaps she merely did not feel like arguing at the moment. Either way, she finally relented. "A few days ago, I was coming home from the grocery store with my friend Ardra, and there was this God-awful scream that came from the mansion. If you wanted to call it that. To me and Ardra, it sounded like a roar. Then we heard a bunch of crashes and explosions. We thought that some monster had gotten inside and was attacking that guy who lived there. He never kept the door locked."
Cid looked up sharply. "What guy?"
"That tall guy with the long black hair," she replied, turning away slightly to hide a blush. "I think his name was Vincent. Ardra always said I was crazy, but I thought he was kind of cute. In a scary way." She looked around and covered her mouth. "Whoops! I guess there aren't any other girls here."
"Didja see him leave the mansion?" asked Barret.
She nodded. "Yeah, a few minutes later he came staggering out of there, looking seriously beat up. He walked past us without word or explanation of what the heck happened to him. But he did have something in his hand, like a book or a picture frame or something. Then he just left Nibelheim, and we haven't see him since. Next thing I know, the whole mansion burst into flames!"
Rufus grasped her hand tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Um, can I go now?" she asked timidly.
"Oh! Yeah, uh, sure." He attempted a friendly smile as the girl walked away, stopping once to look over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
Cid shook his head. "There was no monster," he said quietly. "Except Vincent."
Rufus turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Vince lost control," replied Barret, almost to himself. "He turned into Chaos."
Vincent looked like he had gotten into a fight with the Devil himself. As he lay unconscious on Rufus's bed, Yuffie gazed at him, wondering what could possibly have happened to him. His porcelain face was smeared with dirt and blood, and there were dark circles under his long-lashed eyes. His clothes were torn, *shredded* in someplaces, especially on his back. But tucked safely under his cape was a framed picture of himself and Yuffie, from that rainy day in Junon. Yuffie felt a pang in her heart as she stared at it. She had never known how much she meant to him.
Lying there, he had never looked so defenseless, not even during the battle with Sephiroth, and it scared her. She figured he must have tranformed into that hateful creature, Chaos. In which case, Vincent really had fought with the Devil... and had lost.
The moment after Vincent had strode weakly toward Yuffie and promised her he would never leave again, he had stumbled forward, leaning heavily against her. Reno had to grab him by the arm to prevent both of them from falling to the floor. Shortly after they had half-carried, half-hauled him to Rufus's room and eased him onto the bed, Tifa came home. Shocked, she quickly raced to the PHS to call Cloud. As they all waited for the ex-mercenary to arrive, Vincent grew increasingly weaker. After his human hand lifted up to stroke Yuffie's cheek one last time, his delirous red eyes fluttered closed, and he fell into an impossibly deep sleep.
As Yuffie knelt beside the bed and wiped his face clean with a damp cloth, she was at a loss of what to feel. She had been preparing for this moment ever since her somber companion had left. Her original plan had been to tell Vincent exactly what she thought of his little field trip. Give him a piece of her mind. Make him feel terrible for what he did to her; to *all* of them.
But now that he was here, she felt no anger. She felt happy, hurt, confused, relieved, worried... but not angry.
Cloud came quietly into the room, putting his hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "How's he doing?" he asked softly.
"No better, no worse," she replied, her eyes straying to the sleeping gunman.
"And what about you? Feeling any better?"
She nodded. "Yeah, actually. I don't have a fever, and I haven't coughed for a really long time. I was wondering when I would ever use blankets again," she added jokingly.
The blonde laughed, relieved by the break in tension.
"Hey, Cloud?"
"Yeah, Yuff?"
The ninja fingered Vincent's tattered black sleeve absently. "What did you... How did you feel when Vinnie left?"
"A lot of things," he said, shrugging slightly. "I was sad, of course. I mean, he may think that no one cares about him, but we do." He sighed. "I was angry more than anything."
She looked at him hard. "Are you angry now?"
He blinked. "Now that I think about it, no. I'm relieved, and still offended that he left in the first place. But I'm not mad."
"Neither am I," she said, tracing her fingers over Vincent's.
Suddenly the pale digits twitched, and Vincent languidly opened his garnet eyes. He stared up at Yuffie for a long time, an unfathomable tenderness in those sanguine orbs. He slowly lifted his tarnished claw to enfold her slender hand in both of his. No words were spoken.
But Cloud knew what was happening even without words to support his conviction: Vincent was in love. And it was not with Lucrecia.
//*sigh* Breathe in the Vincent/Yuffie goodness. But don't get your hopes up yet, peeps! We've still got a ways to go before my tale is finished. Look for the next chapter; hopefully you won't have to wait as long.//