Shadows within darkness

[i]Okay, the next chapter is here, I try to be a bit more constant with my updates again!! I know that for some the last few chapters might have been boring because their was no Yazoo in it, so we see him again in this chapter ^^ (Many thanks to Rina for the suggestion!!!)



Als always I´d like to give a special 'Thank you' to



Rina (Yah, Vincent really is in trouble XD Poor thing, he only wanted to help *sigh* Hm, I think all mobs are the same, all groups sanction outsiders that won´t bend to their rules... Haha, yes, I don´t think Zack can ever be evil, he´s totally caught in the middle of it all and doesn´t know what to do. And Sephy is simply evil, no matter what form he takes XDDDD Thanks so much again for your encouragement and the advice, I took it to heart!)



Madisuzy (Hi there! Yes, it was a bit evil, I admit XD I´m glad you like it and well, I´m not really fond of Lucretia either, I must admit XD hat is, at least not in this fic, she´s a bit uhm... twisted. And of course I couldn´t bring myself to destroy my pretty boys´relationship after it had costed me so many chapters to get them together XDD)



and especially to Golden Kitsune and Chephren for the wonderful betaing!!!



Enjoy! [/i]



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Chapter 44





With an impatient movement, Yazoo tossed the corpse of the victim he just had feasted on into the dark catacombs that ran through the stony cliff, their castle stood upon, like empty veins through a dead body. He had no idea why there was this system of tunnels. Maybe they were escape routes or whatever, but he didn´t really care either. All the silver haired vampire needed to know was that he could conveniently dump his trash here.



Fortunately, Vincent had offered to go hunt for the both of them, seeing that he was trying to win Yazoo back and since his story was not told within one night and they needed to eat, it would have been a bit annoying and would have taken too much time for the both of them to go hunt for themselves. The ritual was shortened as well. Vincent offered the victims some food, but no bath, and called for Yazoo when he had them enticed in his visions.



While Vincent kept their prey company, Yazoo sat on the high crenel of their castle, a dark, elegant shadow before the big pale moon, silver hair swaying in the howling wind. His eyes wandered over the dead, abandoned and dismal fields or over the wild, roaring sea, but his mind was travelling different spheres. Sometimes he thought about the story he had heard from Vincent so far, and sometimes he thought about the episodes of the last days when their unwelcome guest had stayed with them. Now, in retrospect, his knees went weak and his stomach turned when he thought about how close they had been from breaking up. It also had made him careful and suspicious and his unconditional trust to Vincent had been considerably shaken. The fact that his mentor had decided in his favor in the end did not change that much; it had been too close. This did not mean that Yazoo´d leave him, he certainly wouldn´t, but the quality of their relationship had changed and Vincent noticed that too.



The raven haired vampire told his tale in a slightly melancholic, calm voice, sounding a bit tired. He wasn´t trying to get Yazoo´s sympathy, he simply told him the facts, but still, his searching, restless eyes that constantly flickered towards his student told Yazoo that he was very aware that it lay in his hands what the future´d bring for them. Yazoo had to admit that Vincent tried hard, and the bitter feelings subsided slowly. It´d surely take some time for them to become as close again and there might remain a scar forever, but it wasn´t a fatal wound.



Expressionlessly watching the corpse tumble down the pitch black shaft, Yazoo turned, satiated and ready to hear more. Vincent was already sitting at his usual place by the fire, looking deep in thought, but he immediately stood when he heard Yazoo entered. Wordlessly he stepped beside Yazoo´s wing chair, offering it with a small gesture that was acknowledged with a curt nod. They sat down and Vincent finally continued his story.



*



The hallway was only high enough so that he could barely make his way without having to lower his head. The yellow stonewalls that were occasionally lit by flickering torches guided him around many corners and twists, until he eventually could see a warm light at the end of the tunnel. Also the cold presence increased with every of his steps, making him unconsciously walk slower until there was no postponing it any longer.





It seemed that she knew about his standing before her room anyway, as a cold, genderless voice begged him to come in with a singsong voice.





“Come in, Vincent Valentine.”





It sounded like many people were speaking at once, her tremendous words echoing in his head and in his ears, making him dizzy. He stepped around the corner, though, bracing himself for her sight.





There was not much to see at first. He found himself in a rather large room that was lit by candles. The middle of the otherwise bare chamber was occupied by a large lace curtain that fell around where he assumed the Mother to be in. He could make out her frame, however, as she lay in something that seemed to be an oval, golden tub.





“Come nearer,” the voices sang, enticing and repulsing him at the same time and Vincent made a small, hesitant step forward. A white hand emerged from between a slit in the curtains and a single finger begged him forward again. “Nearer.”





Vincent approached until the hand almost touched his chest and he could see her more clearly, even though there were no facial features to be noticed.





Hiding his face behind his high collar, the vampire averted his eyes from her blurred sight and instead watched the floor.





“What is it you seek from me?” he eventually queried, because he felt like he was supposed to say something.





A laugh was his answer, but it did not sound amused at all, and it pierced his ears painfully.





Now he knew why the Mother was never speaking with them during their ceremonies. Even one sentence from her devilish organ could cause a lesser man to loosen his mind.





“My dear child, I believe you know very well what I desire from you.”





A light breeze let the curtain flutter aside, and into view came a child, sitting before the golden tub. It was about four years old and smeared with dirt, but Vincent instantly recognized it to be the girl from the farmhouse.



Holding his breath, he watched with horror as the white hand stroked the air above the dizzy girl´s locks without quite touching the human.





“You should have noticed by now… The looks my children give you… The whispers and glances… The fact that you never experienced open hostility even though the dissatisfaction with your behaviour was obvious to you… They fear you, Vincent Valentine…”





“Why would they fear me? I never meant harm to any of your offspring.” The vampire let his gaze wander back to his feet, blocking out the image of the child and the hand, trying to not get lost in her maelstrom of whispers.





“Because you are strong…”





The vampire snorted bitterly. “And that is why you want me to make another?”





“Exactly…. Your first child will inherit your exceptional power and will… And it will become mine…”





A movement caught his attention and his eyes were mechanically drawn to the white hand, which lazily circled around the girl and like in a trance, the little human clumsily rose to its tiny feet. “Now…Accept my wish…”





It was like an iron curtain sank over his brain, making it hard to think, or even recognize himself as an individual with a free will. Like in a dream, the vampire slowly crouched down, his eyes glued to the artery that pulsed at him from under the girl´s taut skin.





Gods, how long had it been since he had drunk the last time? He was so thirsty…





Before his teeth could sink into the tempting carotid however, a picture flashed up in his clouded mind, a picture of another girl. His daughter, lying before his feet with glassy eyes and two nasty holes marring her childish neck. With a fierce jerk, the vampire came back to his senses and pushed himself away from the girl, crawling away from the tub and its occupant in horror. “What…!”





A chuckle engulfed the room, making his head spin around even more and the demons raging in his head didn´t make it any better. They were so hungry!!!





“Even after four nights without blood, you can still refuse me… This is why I want your child, Vincent Valentine… Such strength… Such restraint… ”





“I will give you nothing!” the vampire growled, unconsciously baring his fangs at her, his eyes glowing.





“Is that so…?” the voices pondered, as the hand circled around the girl again, and with a sudden thrust, buried itself deep within her little stomach. Instantly, the room was filled with a shrill scream and the overwhelming scent of blood as the fingers idly moved through the girl´s guts and red rivers flowed from the white skin of the vampire. Vincent´s eyes rolled back in his head as his nostrils took in the smell and the demons were ripping at their chains.





“Now… come…. Do not torture yourself…. It is so easy…. Take its blood… and give it yours… and it will all be over….”





Slowly the vampire crept forward as he fought a battle with his inner demons to force them back under his control, but a futile fight it was.





“Come… Yes…” the thing rejoiced, laughing and shrilling in his ears, as its bloody hand beckoned him to come nearer, and helplessly, Vincent had to watch the demons free themselves from their chains and run rampant.





“No…” a croak was heard as Vincent gathered the rest of his strength to hinder himself from obeying her will. The next moment, his body convulsed, and a high pitched scream pierced his ears, as his mouth filled with blood.





The voices abruptly ceased, leaving an eerie silence and giving Vincent the time to fight himself out of his bloodlust for a few seconds. What he saw, however, was not the girl in his arms, but the white, naked body of an entirely different creature that was writhing in his grip, struggling in the bloody water she was lying in.





With horror, the cloaked vampire noticed who his victim was, but then the voices started to scream and cry in fury, making the man only tighten his grip and sinking his teeth deeper into the Mother´s throat. It was a fierce, long battle, which Vincent later could not remember much from.





The only thing he knew was the agony of her will infiltrating his mind, but since the demons had taken control by now, he had no power over himself whatsoever. Unconsciously, he noticed how he transformed, his large wings shielding them from view and covering over them as the demons greedily sucked her poisonous blood drop after drop. Eventually, she regained the upper hand again, though she was weakened from the severe blood loss, as he had sucked her out completely. Though Vincent had to deal with her swirling blood in his veins and sank to the ground groaning.





Her now gaunt, skeletal form hunched over the rim of the tub as two spidery fingers reached out to rip him apart and white, pupilless eyes furiously stared at him with insanity. “HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO JENOVA THE MOTHER!!!”





Maybe for once it was his luck that the demons had taken over control, because if they hadn´t, Vincent certainly wouldn’t have survived her attack, as he would have been too overwhelmed by her mummified, frightening sight to remain sane or react at all, but two clawed hands shot out in reflex, grabbing her skeletal head and with a jerk, ripping it from her body.





Again the voices died, the blood in his veins stopped boiling and the demons fell back, exhausted.





The cold aura of her presence was gone.





Confused, Vincent swam back to the surface of his foggy mind, shaking his head to clear it and opening his now normal eyes. The first thing that came into view was a head. Shocked, the vampire threw it away and crawled backwards from the tub with the squirming girl, the rest of the Mother´s body hanging lifelessly from the tub and the head rolling against the curtain.





“What happened here?!” The breathless voice of Sephiroth made Vincent automatically look up, as the man stormed in the room with a homicidal expression. Upon taking in the sight before him, he came to an abrupt halt though...





“M-mother…?”





Slowly, very slowly, the vampire walked past Vincent, whom he didn´t see at all by now.





All his mind could take in, was the decapitated body, the silence, and the head.





“Mother…” Blankly, Sephiroth sank down to his knees and with shaking hands affectionately stroked over the severed head, looking between the thing in his hand and the rest of her body, frowning. “You should not do this…”





Vincent had caught himself enough to know that there was no time to waste before the man would finally process what had just happened, and so he jumped to his feet. Running down the corridor, he grabbed the approaching Zack by the arm and dragged him behind.





“What the-! What´s going on?!” the stunned man breathed, eyes wide. “I can´t hear her anymore!”





“Where is Lucrecia?” the other vampire interrupted harshly, sending him a fierce look and tightening his grip.





Stumbling behind Vincent, Zack had to think and then told him where he had to run, following involuntarily behind. Eventually, they came to a door the cloaked vampire pushed open, startling the only occupant and making her look up from her papers.





“Vincent!” she exclaimed, looking happy, but still confused. “What happened?” Lucrecia threw a look to Zack, but the man only shrugged.





“We have to leave,” Vincent said tightly, letting go of Zack and grabbing her arm instead.





“But-” she protested, reaching for her papers, as a bloodcurdling scream shook the entire catacombs and making everyone freeze to the spot.





“Now!” the cloaked vampire hissed, pulling her away from the table and bellowing at the startled Zack “Where is the next exit?”





“Uhm… I´ll show you?”





Vincent just nodded and they hurried behind their guide.





“About that… What the hell happened? I can´t hear her anymore and I could ALWAYS hear mother!” Zack asked over his shoulder as they took a corner. Vincent only looked even more grim, if this was even possible.





“Don´t tell me- Don´t tell me you did something to her?!” the man stopped dead in his tracks, making the other two almost bump into his back.





“Your so called mother is no more.” Vincent affirmed coldly.





Zack´s eyes grew large like saucers, as he gaped at the man in front of him. “Holy. Shit.”





Another furious roar shook the building and they could feel something approaching. Fast. Something insanely strong and something very, very, very angry.





“Hurry!” Zack pressed through gritted teeth and started running again.





“Wha-what is this?” Lucrecia asked breathlessly as she was dragged behind.





“Sephiroth. He´s transformed and, believe me, you do not want to meet with him now!”





Zack suddenly stopped again and pushed a stone into a wall, making a hidden door appear in the wall. Zack ushered them inside the pitch black tunnel, hissing “Just run to the end and then see that you get the hell out of here!”





Vincent was already in the tunnel, but Lucrecia took the time to take the man´s hand, saying, “Thank you. See you again.” Then she was dragged into the darkness.





“Hopefully not,” Zack murmured, and then he slipped the door back.



tbc



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Puhweaaaaaaaase tell me what you think of this? *puppy eyes of doom* You want more Yazoo again in the next chapter? (though it´s the last one that deals with Vincent´s past anyway ^^)