Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields ❯ Chapter 45 ( Chapter 45 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields"
Chapter 45

Davoren was alive.

The gunman's face, though dirtied and quite pale, expressed cool
composure. To contrast, his eyes glared like a wild pink fire. His black
trench coat and suit were torn, especially at the bottom. His
silvery-grey gun, the same Vincent had "borrowed" then flung away, now
hung tightly by his side.

There were absolutely no marks where Vincent had shot him, not even the
smallest scratch.

The heavy silence endured for a long, awkward minute.

Vincent's mind raced to find some explanation to this impossible sight,
all the while gaping incredulously at the gunman: he could not guess
when Davoren had crept here, more importantly, how he could have
survived. He *knew* he had shot this man. The range had been too close
for him to miss, even with his blurry eyesight. Then how could Davoren
possibly...

"..I...I shot you," Vincent whispered hoarsely to the gunman.

Davoren lifted one eyebrow quizzically.

"I shot you!" Vincent choked out, as if doubting his own words, "I shot
your head, neck, and heart! I didn't...I *couldn't* have missed!"

A wry smile slowly twisted Davoren's lips, making him appear all the
more sinister in the bleak shadow.

"No, you didn't miss," he affirmed calmly.

He took one step forward, at the same time jamming a cartridge of
bullets into his empty gun. However, he did not lift the weapon, but
instead gazed so menacingly at the stunned pair.

Vincent became aware of Aeris' body shaking behind him. Indeed, the
poor girl had hid again, desperately clinging to his stiff arm. Wild
terror marked her whole face. It seemed death itself could not thwart
this monster's dogged persuit.

"You got me all three times. But y'know, Professor Hojo played around
with my body too," sneered Davoren, "Don't think you're the *only* one
here with the abnormalities."

The move was swift and totally unexpected. With such carefree
simplicity, Davoren pressed the loaded weapon into the side of his own
head. Before either Vincent or Aeris realized it, the insane man pulled
the trigger.

The loud shot rang out through the still air, shattering the silence to
pieces. Slowly, it faded away into the night until all was deathly calm
again.

Vincent could only gape in mute shock. Aeris remained huddled behind
him, her green eyes wide with horror.

Davoren still stood before them, his head slightly tilted sideways, but
otherwise unharmed. At his feet lay the fired bullet.

It had literally bounced off his head.

"Infinite resistance to physical injuiry, high tolerance to pain,
that's my little secret," the gunman scoffed at last, "I can raise my
level up whenever I want....sorta like a shield. That's how I survived
when you dropped the wall on me, and the explosion, and the gunshots. I
just raised my level up in time."

It took Vincent a full moment to actually grasp this man's words. Aeris
now realized what Davoren had meant when he described his skin as
"really, really, really tough". He hadn't been joking at all.

Davoren pushed back his snow-white hair in one sweep, then added rather
haughtily, "See my abnormalities are better than yours, Mr.Valentine. Oh
sure, you're far more agile and sharp than me. And you got all the raw
power hidden inside. But of course, we both know once you tap into that
power, it explodes. You automatically lose control of yourself....you'd
probably end up destroying everything in your path...even those you're
trying so hard to protect."

At here, Davoren glanced briefly at Aeris, then smirked, "The risk is
too high for you, so you avoid it all together. I, on the other hand,
can control mine so easily. No fuss, no claws or ugly wings. Just one
thought, and hoop! Invulnerbility!"

Vincent made no comment to the vicious mockery.

"Now, I know what you're thinking!" laughed Davoren, as if telling a
funny joke, "You're thinking 'Well, if he's so damn resistent, why'd he
bother going through all those nasty tactics and underhanded schemes,
when he could have just fought straight out from the begining', right?"

No one answered.

"Ah! But see, I can only maintain my level up for a short time....
fifteen minutes max, then it starts to crumble down again. And I know
from out last encounter, Mr.Valentine, killing you would take much more
than fifteen minutes. So, you'd understand why I wouldn't want to just
waste it all away in one go. I save it...only use it when I absolutely
must. The only person who can kill me outright is the Professor. Now do
you understand?"

Vincent understodd. Those petty small victories had meant nothing to
the final outcome. All the odds had been in Davoren's favour from the
very beginning.

They had fought hard throughout the entire night, Davoren simply
raising his level whenever necessary. True, Vincent had taken him
hostage for a brief time. Yet that he attributed to sheer luck; he had
probably attacked Davoren just when his "shield" crumbled. And in all
likelihood, the gunman had only succumbed to interrogation to buy
himself time: either to rebuild his fallen level or until the coughing
fit would aid him (or maybe just to satisfy his sick sense of humour).

In any case, the cunning man left no hope for escape. He had shoved
Vinecnt into the tightest corner: the mercenaries had wearied him; the
battle had ruined him; the Professor had wrecked him with fits; Aeris
had worried him to near distraction; and of course, when no more
strength remained, Davoren would simply finish the rest.

Cruel fate had decided against him.

Drowned by such overwhelming misfortune, Vincent only glared hatefully
at the triumphant gunman. He huddled Aeris further behind him: whatever
be the consequences, he would not surrender.

The cold air hung in haunted stillness.

Davoren suddenly diverted his attention over to the frightened girl,
who cringed away on meeting his hard gaze. He grinned at her through the
shadow, his pink eyes savouring her delicious fear.

"Well my dear, we've just about had enough of this running around, "the
gunman noted maliciously, "Now, what say we end it all, and I take you
back, hm?"

Vincent instantly anticipated the next move.

In the blink of an eye, Davoren lunged at the two, straight for the
terrified Aeris. He charged like a mad demon, eyes fiercely set on his
target: he would not fail this time.

Vincent barely reacted in time. Snatching the frantic girl by the
waist, he instantly flipped sideways onto the stone parapet, then leapt
high over the gunman's head. With luck, maybe he could pass overhead
then dash away, at least before the assailent could turn around.

Yet much to his alarm, Davoren ruthlessly cut off this escape route.
Without heed of hesitation, the terrible man hopped onto the parapet
too, then sprang high up into the air, right into the astonished
Vincent.


Vincent did not understand until a savage pain suddenly tore clean
through his stomach. the blow, swift yet quite powerful, cut his breath
short. All sensation of his surroundings shattered to numbness.

Indeed, it had happened only in a moment, while still suspended in air.
Davoren, on leaping up, had rammed his entire knee straight into
Vincent's stomach.

Though Aeris saw everything, her mind couldn't grasp the meaning at
all. She saw Vincent's red eyes constrict in violent pain. She even felt
his arm tense around her waist. Everything then swirled around in total
chaos. They both seemed to be plunging down, down to a black abyss.

Yet suddenly, Aeris felt a rough force tear her away. She saw Vincent
crash shoulder first into the ground, while she just stopped without the
slightest injuiry. In fact, her whole body hung suspended above the
ground.

Bewildered by the enigma, Aeris blankly watched poor Vincent tumbled
over a few times across the tracks before rolling to an abrupt halt. The
man curled up on his injuired side, trying in vain to suppress the wild
agony. He lay only a short distance away from her.

Strange. Hadn't she been with Vincent just moments ago? Hadn't both of
them plunged down? Then how had she...

Aeris at last noticed herself trapped in between arms that felt so
unfamiliar. On looking up, she found Davoren's face, only a few inches
away, smiling so pleasantly down at her.

The horrible shock struck her speechless.

That brutal blow had sent both Aeris and Vincent flying clear over the
stone bridge, down towards the train tracks below. However, Davoren had
snatched the girl away moments before impact. So while Vincent crashed
onto the iron rails, the gunman had landed gracefully on both feet, with
Aeris safe in his arms.

Davoren had remained squatted down after landing. He gazed quite
kindly, almost lovingly, down at the girl, who in return blinked back in
total confusion. He held her very closely against himself, one arm
wrapped around her back, the other around her two slender legs.

Aeris felt paralysed, her body so weak in his strong grip. In truth,
she had never seen Davoren's face this close.

He had captured her. That meant a return to the torture and
never-ending pain; her body trembling on a cold disection table, with
invisible hands fumbling at her from every side. No safety in the night,
no light in the dark maze. He had captured her.

Unable to speak, Aeris turned her head over to Vincent's direction
again. A terrible trembling bout seized her.

Though fully aware of the desperate situation, Vincent found himself
crushed by weakness. Savage pain tore him inside out as he lay
helplessly sprawled on the iron tracks. He squeezed his eyes shut. His
hand clutched his battered stomach. With each grunt, Vincent gnashed his
teeth then writhed over in further agony. He could taste bitter hot
blood in his mouth. Total unconsciousness fingered his weary mind.

He thought he heard Aeris scream out his name. If she did, her voice
had sounded far too muffled.

It took Vincent a long time to finally force his eyes open. Blurry
shadows and grey shapes danced before him. He felt nauseated beyond
endurance.

He easily sensed those vicious pink eyes glaring so vindictively at
him. He also felt the wild turmoil storming inside of poor Aeris.

Davoren had torn her from his arms. Yet there remained the grand finale
to this long, bloody fight. Vincent knew only too well what it would be:
his death.

He waited another moment before deciding to move again. Mustering all
his feeble strength one last time, Vincent weakly lifted his head up,
rolled onto his stomach, then struggled to his knees. Only through a
miracle did he manage to stagger back up to his feet.

He now stood slouched up in his spot for both Davoren and Aeris to
behold. His hand dropped off his stomach. Soft gasps, whispers of a
hectic fever, escaped his tight chest.

Vincent stared straight at the gunman, crimson eyes darkened to cold,
unforgiving hatred. His clothes were soaked and tattered. Dirt,
scratches, and blood spatters marked his pale face, with loose hair
strands hanging all around. Yet Vincent's face maintained an unnaturally
calm, stoic expression.

Davoren only erected himself up from his squatted position. He slipped
one arm just under Aeris' bosom, then released her legs, so that she now
dangled helplessly by his side.

His strong arm squeezed the poor girl to tears, drawing her so close to
himself, almost into his open trench coat. His height seemed all the
more impressive now; Aeris' two feet hung at least five inches from the
ground.

The two men remained silent for a rather long time.

The empty train tracks stretched to infinity through this open tunnel.
The concrete walls rose high up on both sides, while a narrow steel
platform for electricity cables ran along the side. Sooty pebbles and
dirty snow covered the black ground. The signal gantry, on the other
hand, towered high above. Dismal shadow infested the place.

The stillness lasted another minute.

"Well, what now, Vincent?" mocked Davoren at last. His cool, clear
voice so nearby startled the poor girl.

Vincent, however, made no reply.

"Heh heh...aren't you going to save your precious little girl? What,
are you finally giving up?"

The playful words only received a cutting silence. Vincent's expression
remained stone-hard, his brilliant gaze fixed on this brutal man.

Yet far from irritation, Davoren grew all the more amused, especially
by this bitter resentment. He suddenly yanked up the horrifed Aeris
closer, then bent his head down just by her lovely, frightened face.
Their cheeks touched.

She swallowed a violent sob as she felt his gentle breath tickle her
neck.

"You've fought so hard, killed so many, and wasted yourself away to
this sorry state," hissed Davoren, peering so vehemntly at the man,
"...all to protect her...all to keep her safe from the Professor."

No reply.

"And yet don't you know, Vincent, the Professor won't stop until he has
her in his claws...shaking and at his total mercy. That's what she is to
him....his darling little specimen."

Still keeping his malicious eyes locked on Vincent, Davoren slowly
kissed Aeris' cheek. Her whole body shivered at the loathsome touch; his
lips felt icy cold against her skin.

"Hmm....soft as peach and twice as sweet," the terrible gunman breathed
playfully into her ear.

Aeris could not endure this torture any longer. Hot tears began to
tumble down her cheeks. In her wild anguish, she stared straight at
Vincent.

Yet he never once dropped his eyes off Davoren, even as he witnessed
the girl's kiss of doom. He remained rooted to the spot, leaden by
exhaustion and illness.

The bitter cold air grew heavy under this long silence. The darkness
seemed to grow thicker each second.

"I know...you have me right where you want me, Davoren," admitted
Vincent with marked coolness, bowing his head slightly, "You've cut me
off from every possible direction...I can't fight anymore...I can
barely..stay conscious. I know any moment now, you'll kill me...splatter
my blood, and drag my dead carcass away."

Davoren did not interrupt.

Vincent gently drew in a breath of air, then added more tiredly,
"...you'll take Aeris back to Professor Hojo. She'll be tortured for
some 'experiment'...and she'll never escape again. She'll be locked in
that nightmare forever."

Poor Aeris stared in horror at the prediction. The gunman still said
nothing.

"But mark my words, Davoren, I won't let him, or you, or anyone else
have her," vowed Vincent, his calm voice suddenly seething to bitter
hostility. His fiery eyes pierced into Davoren, "Kill me and take her if
you will, but I will never let anyone torture her again. If I have to
crawl back through the very Gates of Hell, I won't let it happen!"

Another heavy silence followed.

Vincent could say no more. The fervent vow had exhausted him, every
word an agony to push out. Yet he still glared fixedly at no one except
the gunman. He now awaited whatever may come next.

At last came the final verdict. Davoren mocked those brave words with a
most cunning sneer. The grin stretched across his face as his terrible
pink eyes narrowed in delight. Not even the devil himself could have
matched his evil appearance.

Davoren yanked out his gun, then stretched his arm fully out, with the
deadly weapon aimed straight at Vincent.

Aeris gave a violent start on spotting the gun thus outstretched beside
her. Vincent, however, faced it without flinching a muscle.

"Now let's see....where to shoot...where to shoot..," mused Davoren
aloud, unable to conceal his amusement, "I suppose the head would be
appropriate. An eye for an eye, and a brain for a brain, eh?"

No answer. Aeris continuously darted her horrified eyes between the
weapon and Vincent. Her hands trembled like mad.

"..but then again, you'd die too soon, and I promised you a painful
death. Hmm...so Vincent, I guess I'll just shoot your heart, and watch
the life pour out of you...nice and slow!"

Davoren instantly reached for the trigger.

"NO!!!!!!!" shrieked Aeris.

Much to Davoren's great astonishment, the frantic girl kicked his
forearm up with her knee, just as the loud bullet rang out.

In an instant, Vincent felt a violent pain suddenly rip straight into
his left shoulder, sending him sprawling backwards. He saw a wild
fountain of dark red liquid gush out into the air. It was his own blood.

The bullet had missed his heart, and hit his shoulder instead.

He crashed onto the iron rails again, then began writhing weakly on his
side, all the while clutching his wounded shoulder. Hot blood soaked his
entire hand immediately. The savage pain drilled through his flesh into
the very bone.

"AAH!!!! V-VINCENT!!!!!!!" screamed Aeris in tearful hysterics. She
struggled wildly for freedom, tugging at her captor's unrelinquishing
arm.

"Goddamn it!!" snarled Davoren at this unexpected interference.

Indeed, Davoren had had enough. He dropped the frantic Aeris, where on
snagging her collar, ruthlessly struck the butt of his hard gun clean
across her head. Without looking at her, he flung her far away behind
him, then marched over to Vincent: the tedious business must be
concluded tonight.

Poor Aeris crashed heavily onto her side, where she lay sprawled
against the train tracks, unable to lift her head from the dirty ground.
The blow had stunned her to painful numbness.

She saw the gunman advance quickly towards Vincent, who still writhed
in pitiful agony. She saw the deadly gun in his hand, thirsting for more
blood. She wanted to warn Vincent, to stop this madness, yet could not
even squeeze out the softest whisper.

Soon, Davoren stopped at his fallen victim. Vincent had curled weakly
onto his side, gritting his teeth while his hand fought the profuse
outflow of blood. Already, consciousness began slipping into darkness.

The callous gunman eyed Vincent for a brief moment, then rolled him
flat onto his back with one kick. Revelling this tasty cruelty further,
Davoren forcefully drove his heavy foot against the man's shoulder,
right into the bullet wound.

Vincent twisted violently in wild pain, yet somehow stiffled his scream
down to a hideous, sharp grunt.

"What's wrong, Vincent? No more revolvers up your sleeve?" scoffed
Davoren sarcastically.

Vincent could not distinguish between his voice and all the other mad
chaos. They both buzzed into his numb ears at once.

He now lay spread out over the train tracks, battered beyond hope. No
life remained save a feeble breath.

Without another word, Davoren aimed his gun at Vincent's head: no
misses this time.

From her place far behind, Aeris had winessed this horrifying scene
until wild despair overpowered her. She shifted her body around, somehow
pushed herself onto all fours, and feebly crawled her way towards the
two men. The pitiful girl only managed three inches before collapsing
again. Yet she persisted by literally dragging her heavy body across the
tracks.

She did not know what she could possibly do, nor did she care. In her
mad anguish, she only saw Vincent.

A very, very faint rumbling, like that of thunder, seemed to fill the
still air. Aeris paused a moment: she thought she had felt the ground
shake. Yet so distraught and confused, she could make no sense of these
mysterious signs.

The sadistic gunman, on the other hand, found this victory far too
delightful to notice Aeris or anything else. Like his deadly gun, all
his attention remained fixed down on Vincent.

Vincent never moved a muscle. Instead, he wearily forced one bloodshot
eye half-open. His blurry eyesight lingered a moment on the black muzzle
of the gun, then on Davoren's cold face.

Both eyes locked onto each other. One glowed in crimson brilliance,
like fresh blood set on fire. The other pair shone in no less
brilliance, as pink as sparkling jewels. Neither man spoke.

Aeris still struggled in vain to pull her lifeless limbs forward, if
only to stop this hellish nightmare. The rumbling seemed to grow louder.
Small pebbles on the ground began to vibrate lightly.

The moment came at last: Davoren reached for the trigger again.

She opened her mouth to scream, when instead a thunderous, booming
clamour interrupted the execution. Davoren shot his head back towards
the source in alarm; Vincent forced his eye to the far side.

The whole ground shook as a loud surge of rumbling drowned the air.
Darkness was obliterated. On looking behind, Aeris felt a brilliant
white light blind her eyes. All the chaos seemed to race towards her.

A train suddenly burst through the black tunnel at top speed. It shot
forth like a mad bullet, devouring the iron tracks as it headed straight
for the three, firstly Aeris.

Davoren instantly reacted. Forgetting everything else including
Vincent, he made a headlong dash for the petrified girl. He lunged into
the blinding light, where on sweeping Aeris off her feet, immediately
sprang high up into the air, just as the wild train zoomed underneath.
He had saved her in time.

Still sprawled flat on the ground, Vincent felt the brilliant light
plunge him into painful blindness. The insane rumbling deafened his
ears. His bleary eyes saw the sharp wheels tearing straight for him.

And that was all he saw.

The heedless train flew down the iron tracks, stretching its full
length down the open tunnel. Anything in its way was destroyed.

On leaping up, Davoren had grabbed hold of the signal gantry arched
high overhead. He had gracefully flipped on top of the broad crossbar,
and there remained crouched down, with Aeris safely tucked under his
armpit.

They both watched the speedy train rush by, the gunman in silent
irritation, the poor girl in mute shock.

A wild gust of wind blew against the two as this madness whizzed
underneath. The hem of Davoren's torn trench coat flapped wildly in the
air. His white hair swayed infront of his face. He gripped the girl very
closely to himself, while the other hand held onto the bar for balance.

Aeris saw nothing save the loud, mad chaos. Though now clinging to
Davoren's coat, she gaped in stupified horror as the train rushed on
below. It zoomed at such an insane speed, one car after another, until
she could no longer tell them apart.

The torment lasted an eternity. The clamour suffocated her to tearful
madness. There seemed no end to this long metal snake, the wild lights,
or these booming noises. They only intensified the turmoil in her mind.

At long, long last, it ended. The train zipped away under the stone
bridge, sweeping all its chaos into a dying echo. Soon, shadow and
silence returned.

Aeris' frantic eyes searched the tracks up and down, yet found no trace
of Vincent. There was the spot where he had lain, even the small pool of
bllod from his wound, but nothing more. He had disappeared.

The train must have swept him away, shredding his body under their
cruel wheels, savouring the flavour of his torn flesh. Davoren had
emerged the final victor, she his prisoner, and he dead.

"...no...V...Vincent...," Aeris whispered, pitifully reaching her hand
out towards the empty tracks.

Only silence answered. He was not there.

A violent pain swelled inside until her whole heart burst.

"VINCENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Aeris heard herself scream through the mad turmoil, then suddenly,
everything went black.