Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'

'CHAOS SPEAKING'

~ (Time and/or story focus shift)

Chapter 16

"Cloud! Are you alright?" Glowing blue eyes glanced from the hole in the far wall to the still smoking gun before nodding slightly. He groaned as Nanaki moved off his chest, "I tried to warn you. Never touch Vincent when he is asleep, particularly if he is having a nightmare. His body reacts before his mind does."

The fire wolf padded softly to the bedside, placing a paw on the gunman's knee, "It's alright Vincent. You're safe." As a shaky hand dropped to the bed, Nanaki grinned at Cloud, "You're lucky you got the gun. The last one that tried to shake him awake had to have two Curaga's cast because of the lacerations."

A groan came from the gunman, "Nanaki, I..."

"Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault! I should have known better."

A blond eyebrow rose as Cloud looked from Vincent to the fire wolf, "Nanaki? You...he...damn!" The blond gave a short laugh and shook his head, "You're one hell of a good friend if you've stuck with him after all that."

Vincent slowly rose from the bed, his muscles groaning in discomfort. Looking around the room, he suppressed a shudder when his gaze found the gleaming silver collar on the nightstand by the bed. He glanced toward the window, noting it was daylight though the soft rain made it difficult to tell the time, "How long was I..."

His question was interrupted as Marlene came into the room, "Cloud! I heard a loud noise! Is everything..." She paused, her eyes focusing on the dark haired man. The little girl ran to the gunman and hugged him, "You're awake! Tifa was so scared when you came in with all that blood."

Scarlet eyes widened as he looked down at the small figure at his waist. Nanaki nearly laughed at the shock on the man's face and heard Cloud snicker. 'It is good for him to get a little human contact. He isolates himself far too much.'

Marlene pulled away slightly and looked up at the silent man with a grin. Her smile faded and her brow furrowed, "Vincent what's wrong?"

At the puzzled question, Nanaki immediately turned wary eyes to the ground. Harsh breathing hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes unfocused though he looked towards Marlene. His golden claw began to tremble violently, "No...I'm sorry...please not again..."

Cloud stood slowly, pulling First Tsurugi up with him, "Marlene, come here please. Slowly now," He spoke softly, holding his hand out to her. As the girl turned to move away, Vincent's human hand clenched onto her arm, "Marlene!!!"

At the blond's shout, the dark haired man raised his head. Both Nanaki and Cloud froze under the strange gaze, the unfamiliar black and scarlet eyes holding a chilling void in their depths. Marlene trembled as she looked back toward the gunman, "V...Vincent? You're hurting me."

The cold gaze turned toward the girl and there was a subtle shift. Suddenly a blast of energy burst from the silent gunman. A glowing gold flashed from behind the raven locks in the man's face and Nanaki growled at the more familiar scent, "Chaos!"

"Your anger is misdirected this time," The demon used the metal claw to pry clenching human fingers from the girl's arm. A harsh growl escaped him as he pushed Marlene toward Cloud, "If you value her life and your friend's sanity, remove her from the room now. The host's mind would not withstand a full transformation and I can't hold them back with mere mental possession for long."

The blond nodded and walked the girl out of the room, keeping his eyes on the man in the center of the bedroom. "Marlene, I want you and Denzel to go down to the church and wait there for me. I will come and get you in a few moments."

"Will Vincent be alright, Cloud?"

"Yeah, he's still a little hurt from his wounds earlier. Nanaki and I are going to help him ok?" Marlene nodded and ran out the door. The room was silent as the three occupants tensely listened to the girl's footsteps. Nanaki kept a wary eye on the demon-possessed gunman and had to blink in astonishment as the demonic aura began to fade. 'Never has Chaos left of his own free will before.' Then, as the demon was nearly gone, a whisper floated through the room, "You both have my gratitude...and my respect."

The fire wolf quickly closed his jaw as his dark haired friend crumpled to the floor. "Vincent?"

"Please...not again...her blood is everywhere...I'll do anything...don't make me kill her again..."

"Oh no," Nanaki groaned and quickly stopped Cloud, who was starting to go to the gunman's aid, "Don't touch him. He's...lost in a memory. He doesn't know where he is and I don't know how he will react if you try to bring him out of it. Only one thing really works. You will need to stand somewhere behind me ok?"

The blond swordsman nodded, though he was confused he knew that the fire wolf was the only one who had the best understanding of the withdrawn gunman. He relaxed against the closed bedroom door, his posture at ease but his hand carefully gripped around First Tsurugi's hilt. Vincent was one of his best friends and he trusted the man but things could be very unpredictable when it came to the gunman and his demons.

Nanaki nodded once and turned his attention back to the trembling figure on the floor. A scratching sound came from the claw as it dug into the floor by the bed, frightened scarlet eyes focused on the silver collar, "I don't want to die again...he comes out and I die...I'll obey...just don't make him come out..."

Taking a deep breath, Nanaki let out a menacing growl and raised his hackles, "Silence you! Sit up and look at me!" Cloud stared in amazement as the gunman quickly obeyed. The fire wolf let out a huff of disgust, "Get to the shower. You reek of filth and weakness. And if I find that you purposely try to injure yourself in there..."

The threat was left hanging but it seemed that Vincent understood. "Yes Master Hojo."

Cloud flinched at the name and his jaw dropped as Nanaki seemed unsurprised by the response. When the bathroom door was closed, the fire wolf relaxed and shook his head, "I wish that wasn't necessary. It's been nearly a year...but I suppose the events of the past weeks have probably worn his mind thin."

"Will he be alright?"

"He'll be fine." Nanaki gave a small sad smirk to the blond swordsman, "Once the water hits him, Vincent will come back to himself. I must ask that you don't tell anyone else about this. Vincent will be ashamed enough that you saw him like that."

Cloud nodded, he knew all too well the need to hide one's weakness. "How did you know how..." He paused, unsure of how to phrase his question.

"How did I know that he needed to be shamed and ordered? It was actually by accident the first time. Do you remember the first time we saw Vincent transform into Galian Beast? How he ran off afterwards and I went after him? I found him curled up like that, rocking himself and muttering all sorts of things. He may put up a strong front, but our friend has a very fragile mind. I tried calling out to him but nothing would get through. That's when I saw him..." Nanaki paused, closing his eyes to the memory, "He started hurting himself, tearing at his own neck, wrists, and ankles, like he was trying to remove bonds that weren't there. I grew anxious and yelled at him to stop. For some reason, that reached him. He stopped and seemed to be waiting for something. So I ordered him to stand and when he did he responded the same way you heard a moment ago."

A sad golden eye turned to the bathroom door, "I grew angry at him for mistaking me for that sick bastard and said things that I will not dare repeat. Later, when I looked back on it, I realized that he took comfort in my angry accusations, at my ridicule of him. I finally understood where he was coming from. When he becomes like that, he is no longer here but back in those labs, back under the tortures of that madman." The fire wolf shook his head and sighed, "I can't even begin to imagine all that happened to him then but I know that he came to expect pain and degrading torture. That is why I stuck so close to him when all of you were wary of him. He needed to learn that he deserves companionship and not isolation."

Glowing blue eyes looked toward the bathroom door, a moment of regret flashing in their depths. He wished he could have been able to help the gunman but he had his own inner demons that he had needed to face. A thought flashed in his mind and he frowned, "What was that look he gave us when he grabbed Marlene? Those eyes...it was like when he shifts but those eyes were different."

"I'm not really sure. That was something new, as well as Chaos being so...helpful. I have to wonder what happened when Vincent met up with the Turks."

Cloud nodded and glanced towards the collar on the nightstand. It had something to do with all this, that much he was certain of. He paused as he glanced at the scratch marks the gunman had left on the floor, "Hey Nanaki? Look at this." On the dark wood, a rough pattern had been etched out, 'HIS NAME IS SIN'

~

The occupants of the house had been so engrossed with the tense situations that no one noticed a pair of glowing blue-green eyes leave the window and a shadowed figure dashing silently across the rooftops near Seventh Heaven. The rain drenched his long silver strands, plastering them to his face and back but he payed it no mind. His speed soon led the silent figure out of Edge and into the ruins of Midgar. As he came to a level area of ground, a large figure stood in the center, seemingly lost in thought. As the silver haired man approached though, the larger man turned and nodded, "You were gone longer than expected. Everything set, little brother?"

Yazoo simply nodded and turned away, Loz did not need to know he had made an extra stop on his run. He felt a pang as he examined their surroundings. They were standing in the same place that Kadaj had died, that they themselves had tried to follow their youngest brother. They were starting where they had left off. He heard his older brother move closer, "We won't fail them again. Mother will be happy with us."

Yazoo nodded a silent agreement though in his heart he wondered. It was easier to follow her will when her presence was all you felt, all you needed. With Mother's all-consuming essence gone, he had doubts and fears, desires that he could not voice to Loz. So he simply shut them out, he was good at that. A flash of memory crossed his mind, a huddled figure on the floor with unruly, long, black hair and fearful scarlet eyes. Another pang and another doubt. The memory of a ghost of a smile and Vincent's contentment with his comforting touch that day in the bathroom also would not leave him, no matter how he tried. No, he had to focus on Mother, she was the only one that ever loved them.

The creaking of leather warned him of his brother's approach before large arms wrapped over his shoulders. He leaned back into the embrace with a sigh, 'This is where I belong. Brother needs me, Mother needs me. There is no other place in this world for a Remnant."
____________________________________________________________________________________

Kuragari
O.O ok... that's never good. CRAP! what happened!?!?!? update soon please!!!
Frizz: Sorry for the torment, but I love a little suspense. Hope you enjoy this chapter, not much action but a little character development.

SapphireDog
Oh no. Poor little thing. Hojo is fucking beyond sick >:/ poor Vincent. I glad someone finally updated I was dying of extreme boredum :D plzz update soon ^_^
Frizz: Glad to help with the boredom. And yes Hojo is sick, but I guess I am too for being able to think of these things...oh well, everyone has a little depravity in them somewhere.

Anonymous Sister of the Author
*fans herself* ohmygodohmygodohmyGOD!!! YAZOO!!! HERE I COME!!! *jumps on yazoo and latches on*
ASOTA
Frizz: LMAO I thought you my like that. Just don't kill him ok? Even Remnants need to breath.

lapislazulai (too lazy to log in)
I really hope you killed Cloud. I hate Cloud.

Nice chapter~!
Frizz: No I didn't kill Cloud. Sorry, but if it is any consolation, he won't be in here long ok? Hope you continue to like the story!