Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'

'CHAOS SPEAKING'

:Aeris speaking:

~ (Time and/or story focus shift)

Chapter 10

"Yo Vince! Good to see yer' still in one piece."

Vincent shook his head and glared at the blond pilot, "That's not my name, Highwind."

Cid just laughed around the ever present cigarette. He was one of the few that had never been phased by the gunman or his infamous 'death gazes' as Yuffie called them, "Well, I been calling you that for what, three years now? So I guess yer' just stuck with it, VALENTINE."

Vincent gave the man another glare and walked toward the waiting airship, his red cloak billowing with the engine drafts, "Let's get this over with."

Cid waited until he was sure the gunman was out of hearing range before turning towards Nanaki, "So tell me, does he ever speak more than six damn words at a time?"

The fire wolf grinned, "Actually he gets quite talkative if need be. With our two guests, he carried a full thirty minute conversation and did most of the talking himself."

The pilot gave Nanaki a look of disbelief before laughing, "I roomed with him for nearly a year and couldn't get the bastard to talk for five minutes consecutively. A couple pretty boys show up and he's a blabbermouth. His old scientist lady must be green with jealousy, eh?"

A loud crack echoed and Cid froze as his cigarette exploded from his lips. Cursing and fuming, he stalked over toward the gunman, who was re holstering Death Penalty, "Damn it, Vince! Can't ya take a fuckin' joke? I don't know what's worse; you wasting those damn expensive bullets like that or ruining my cigarettes!"

"Smoking and jokes like that are unhealthy."

Nanaki couldn't help but grin, "Well Cid, you just got him to say seven words at one time."

~

"He finally called?"

"Yes sir, just this morning. He said he would meet me at nine tonight in Edge. But..." Tseng paused for a moment.

His boss, Rufus Shinra, raised his eyes from the folder on his desk with a questioning gaze, "Is there something wrong, Tseng?

"No sir. It's just..." The Turk leader paused again and then shook his head, "Never mind, sir."

"If you're worried for my safety in this little...endeavor, don't be. Every precaution has been taken and the scientists have examined all the papers." Rufus gave a cold smile as he ran his finger over the metal object at the edge of his desk, "Our numbers are far too few and the world needs the stability only Shinra can provide. We will get Valentine's aid with or without his consent."

"Yes sir," Tseng nodded once and turned away quickly, repressing a shudder as his gaze passed over the object under the blond's fingertips. He had seen the files as well, as Turk leader he had to know the strengths and weakness' of all possible enemies to Shinra. However, that one piece of metal was causing him the sort of indecision he had only felt once before.

The Wutaian kept a cool mask as he briskly walked to his office. Things were quiet here in Healin but he was not in the mood to speak to anyone right now. After closing the door and locking it, the man finally let down his guard and collapsed into his chair with a sigh. Reaching into his jacket, he opened a secret pocket in the lining. A small but sad smile crossed Tseng's face as he removed a single, dried lily. After all these years, the flower was still intact and even carried a soft, calming scent.

The Turk commander sat in the silence of his office for twenty minutes before nodding to himself, his face hardening to its familiar professional mask. Picking up his PHS, he pressed the number three, "Reno? Meet me at the landing pad in thirty minutes. We have a mission in Edge."

~

Loz never did truly understand. No matter how much the scientists had discussed it in front of them or even now as he watched his brother do it, he couldn't quite grasp it. The fact that Yazoo was 'listening' to the airship leave simply by laying on the floor and feeling the vibrations amazed him. They were well over fifteen feet underground and within thick steel walls. And yet, his younger brother simply had to relax and allow his sensitivity to reach its fullest. Yazoo always warned him though that when he was doing this, Loz had to remain as silent as possible. Even the softest sounds could cause a world of pain for the marksman when he relaxed his barriers.

"They're gone brother. What happens now?"

Loz opened his mouth to speak but paused as his brain registered a difference in his brother's voice. Glowing jade eyes ran over the silent figure, a grin forming as he took in Yazoo's bored expression.

"What are you smiling about?"

'This is the brother I know,' Loz thought as he shrugged at the other man, "Welcome back, little brother."

A pale eyebrow rose, "And what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"You've been different these past few days."

Yazoo stiffened for a moment before dropping his head in shame, "Forgive me brother. I lost sight of our destiny and allowed myself to become...distracted."

"Yeah, by Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary right?" Loz teased.

Yazoo kept his face expressionless but was surprised at the small pain in his heart from the reference to Vincent. 'No, I have made my choice. I can't stay here, the only place I belong is by my brother's side. Even if it means losing any chance I had with...what am I thinking?! I just wanted to play with the man, it's not like he would have wanted me anyways.' He quickly silenced his thoughts and smothered the guilt in his heart. He turned cold eyes to his brother, "Let's go."

The larger fighter nodded and went to one knee in front of the steel door. Yazoo recognized the stance and immediately took several steps back. Kadaj had been the first to discover this ability but all three of them could do it to some degree. 'Though without Mother's cells, I probably can't anymore.' He was drawn away from his bitter thought as the air in the cell grew thick and seemed to hum with power. Blue-green eyes watched with respectful silence as his older brother's form flickered out and was replaced with that of another. Long, silver hair swayed as a pale hand pressed against the cold steel. Sephiroth smirked and a surge of power was focused into the door. As quickly as the man had appeared, he was gone, leaving Loz panting on the floor.

Yazoo quickly went to his brother's side. Kadaj had been able to handle the shift with little problem but he and Loz were always drained after calling on their oldest brother's aid.

"Hurry, alarm might..."

The marksman pressed a finger to the older man's lips and nodded in silent understanding. He quickly turned his attention to the now smoldering steel door. A large patch of metal, about the size of his head, had been melted away, revealing several dozen wires. The pattern was oddly familiar and the young Remnant smirked. "Mr. Tuesti must have been involved in the design of these cells. Makes my job easier.'

Using the sharp edges of the steel slag, Yazoo quickly rewired the door to open. As the steel panel hissed it's release, Yazoo gave a glance to his now unconscious brother. Knowing that the rest would help Loz regain his energy, the marksman left him on the floor and hurried to the computer terminal. As he had suspected, the monitors displayed an alarm warning.Yazoo wasn't sure as to what sort of security system would be activated but he needed to disable it fast. Cutting the power was out of the question, that would probably set off the alarm immediately.

Long silver hair was tucked haphazardly behind pale ears as the Remnant bent down to examine the wiring itself. Nodding to himself, he quickly removed, switched, spliced, and crossed several of the wires, creating a feedback loop to confuse the computer into thinking everything was normal. Yazoo smirked inwardly as the warning disappeared from the monitors, 'Mr. Tuesti should really start being more original. His work is a little predictable and boring.'

The young Remnant calmly returned to his brother's side. They had a little while to wait.

~

Vibrant blue eyes shimmered with a calmness that no one in AVALANCHE had ever seen in their leader. "I'm back."

"There are still children with the Stigma." Nanaki's quiet voice filled the church. Cloud nodded and waded through the water, his eyes focused on a young boy with brown hair.

"Hey, let's get you fixed up." Tifa assured Denzel, believing he was still nervous after his run in with Kadaj and his brothers. Vincent knew though, the boy's trust in Cloud would far outweigh the trauma he had been through. The raven haired gunman remained silent as first Denzel, then the other children were cured of the illness left behind by Jenova and Sephiroth. Relief flooded over him, the madness that he felt partly responsible for was slowly being cleansed from the world.

Scarlet eyes watched their newly revived leader, there was an acceptance and relief in his posture. Vincent knew now that his questions were answered, perhaps it was time for him to try. He was about to turn to leave when Cloud froze, his gaze becoming unfocused. The subtle serenity in the church shifted, gaining a more substantial focus. 'Ah, she has come to check up on him.' There was another presence as well, one more male. 'Perhaps his friend from before he came to AVALANCHE.'

The gunman saw a smile grow on the blond's face and knew his assumptions were correct. :Vincent?: Hiding his surprised frown behind the edge of his cloak, he acknowledged the soft voice with a whisper, "Aeris?"

:Cloud's troubles are coming to a close but yours...I'm sorry...:

"It's alright. I am well aware that my path to atonement will not be easy."

:I wish you wouldn't place the world on your shoulders...but I suppose you wouldn't be you if you didn't. The two of you are so much alike...I cannot help you as I have helped him though. I can only offer you this...when you are alone, collect some of the water here. Another will need it in the days to come, do not use it yourself.:

Vincent nodded slightly, confused by her words but aware that she was bending the rules as it was. He stayed in the shadows of the church as the crowd slowly dispersed. Yuffie yelled at him to hurry to the celebration at the bar but he waved her off, "I will be there soon."

When he was finally alone, he knelt at the water's edge. Removing a small canteen at his waist, Vincent filled the container and sealed it tightly. A drop fell from the edge, landing in the pool. :Please Vincent...help him.:

A frown crossed the normally impassive face, 'Him? Before it was 'Help them.' Has something happened Aeris?' There was no response but the gunman could not lose the feeling of uneasiness. As soon as his meeting with Tseng was over, he was returning home, even if his teammates would be disappointed with his early departure.

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A/N: Woot! Over 1000 hits! I love you guys! Sorry that it took a little longer to get this up, I had a hard time figuring out how to word things without it being too rushed. Hope you enjoy it. BTW, I love reviews, I love hearing what you guys have to say, so please, leave me a little something. Pretty please with a chocolate covered Vincent on top???? LOL

P.S.: I have gone through and fixed most of my spelling errors in the earlier chapters. Sorry about that, I never realized how bad my spelling had gotten.

Anonymous Sister of the Author 2008-02-22 id # 3000020645
you got it!!!! i'm your very own crazy fangirl!!!!!! i LOVE this story SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!!!!!!!!!!!! it's sad about yazoo not hearing jenova though......... and VINCENT IS RIGHT!!!! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING!!!! i just want to jump up and run in circles right now, cuz this suspense gave me soooooooooo much energy!!!!!!! PLEASE UPDATE SOON!!!!!!!!!!

ASOTA
Frizz: Squee! I am glad that you are loving this so much and I hope you continue to love it. *gives ASOTA a fresh, warm chocolate chip cookie* Hopefully this will tide you over. There are some definite twists and turns in store.