Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'

'CHAOS SPEAKING'

~ (Time and/or story focus shift)

Chapter 51

Cloud couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Vincent, the quiet, collected, withdrawn gunman of their rag-tag team, was standing in front their greatest enemy, who, if looks could kill, was roasting the raven-haired man alive, and yet the blond felt more scared of the gunner in that moment. No, it was not that the silver-haired man was bound and helpless. Even free, standing at full power with Masamune at his side, Cloud had never had quite the same feeling of uneasy apprehension.

With Sephiroth, he could see the madness and insanity burning through the former General. Though it did not justify his actions, it did at least provide a reason. The light burning in Vincent's gaze, however, was cold, calculating, and very sane. That was what sent a chill through the blond swordsman's blood.

Still, there was that small part of him that wanted to point and laugh at the madman's humiliation. After all, it was not everyday that one saw the former General of the mighty Shinra army with his hair in braided pigtails. As Vincent stopped to admire his handiwork, Cloud was surprised to realize the gunner was humming. Listening carefully, he recognized the tune from his lessons in basic training, an old war song that had been popular with the Wutaian troops in the Wutai War.

The braided hair was grabbed once more and blue eyes watched with curiosity as it was looped and tied around Sephiroth's neck. When the raven-haired man gave an experimental tug, causing the bound man to gag, Cloud quickly realized that Vincent had given Sephiroth a makeshift choke collar!

The blond jumped as the gunman's quiet voice echoed in the cavern, "This is your last chance, Strife. Leave or stay, it is your choice. If you stay, however, you must remain silent and still," Cold crimson and black eyes turned to him, fixing him in a piercing gaze, "We are about to unlock nearly forty years of pain, rage, anger, and frustration that has been buried within ourself. If you catch our attention, I cannot guarantee your safety."

Cloud gave a single nod, swallowing against the large lump in his throat as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. There was no way he was leaving now. The raven-haired man returned the nod before facing the bound man once more, his eyes sliding shut.

There was no physical change but Cloud knew when Sin had done whatever it was he was doing, for the very air in the cavern seemed to drop by several degrees. Slowly, a twistedly sadistic smile grew on the dark framed face, even Sephiroth fell silent as he watched the gunman with wary caution.

Scarlet eyes opened and a gold claw glinted in the dull light as it was drawn up to skim across the General’s cheek, the razor edge biting into the pale flesh, skipping over the leather bond to trail down and hook into a pointed chin. Blood dribbled from long cut, gathering at the tip of the metal. Vincent pulled Sephiroth’s head forwards with a jerk, the man growling when his flesh tore.

"Such fragile things we humans are." Vincent purred as green cat-eyes watched him warily, "Wouldn't you agree, General?"

Muffled words were cut short as the braided hair was pulled and his lungs were denied air. He breathed deeply as the makeshift rope was released and the gunman shook his head, "No, you wouldn't agree, would you? After all, you see yourself as a god, something above the beings that walk this world. And we...well I am simply a lapdog to you, aren't I? A pet monster for you to toy with and kick when you get bored."

The bloodied claw rose again, this time to the gunman's lips as he cleaned the fluid from the metal. A dark eyebrow rose as he studied the golden point, his lip curling with disgust, "You know, for a god, your blood tastes awful, General."

Without warning, the sharp claws lashed out, leaving four deep slashes in the silver-haired man's chest, though surprisingly he managed to avoid cutting through the names, "Perhaps if we bleed out the taint, it will taste better."

Jade eyes widened but Sephiroth refused to make a sound. Vincent simply smirked, "You know, I actually feared you absorbing Jenova's cells yesterday but now I'm actually glad. Without that bitch or a host, you wouldn't be here now and we wouldn't be having this lovely conversation, would we?"

More angry muffled sounds left the silver-haired man but this time he wasn't cut off. Instead Vincent leaned in and loosened the leather slightly, "What was that? I couldn't quite hear."

Sephiroth spit at him before speaking, "I should have cut off your tongue and fed it to you when I had the chance, you monstrous abomination."

Cloud paled as soon as the words left the former General's mouth and any light in Vincent's eyes vanished. 'This isn't good.'

"Abomination?" The word was hissed through clenched teeth, "No, General. I am not an abomination. Your father was an abomination, for what he did to you, for what he did to this planet," A trembling right hand reached up to several secret clasps at the top of the golden claw, "And for what he did to me."

Glowing blue eyes widened as the metal hit the stone floor with a resounding clang. 'Sweet Mother of Gaia! Hojo, you sick, twisted bastard.'

Vincent studied his own arm for a moment before turning his attention back to the silver-haired man. The green cat-like eyes looked at the disfigured appendage with a mixture of horror and disgust, "Apparently your father didn't quite show you everything about us, General."

Just below the elbow, a large patch of shiny scar tissue encircled the gunman's forearm, almost as if a band of scorching metal had been placed onto the skin. The burn colored flesh melted down roughly into a patch of infectious green as it twisted around his arm to form the letters SINNE. The remaining R was carved by coal black tissue, continuing to spiral down as it formed the word MONSTER. The last color to stand out was the familiar purple of Galian Beast patching itself to the black flesh and the final word that rested within was GUILTY. Vincent turned his palm up as clawed fingers clenched, silver flesh turning almost white at his knuckles. On his inner wrist was black branding marks that where crudely burned into his skin, V-001.

Scarlet eyes watched with an odd cold detachment as silver-gray left hand opened, "The Professor found it an amusing reminder to switch our hands. By giving me Chaos', I would never forget I was a monster. By giving Chaos mine, he could never forget his imprisonment in a weak human like us. It was only when he discovered that the demon could still move his old hand if he used enough force that Hojo placed the claw on us. The added weight makes it harder for him to move it on his own unless I am highly distracted." The glimmer returned to Vincent's eyes, though this time it was an even darker flame, "Though we think he and I are both very much focused on the same thing right now."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as the gunman studied him for a moment, a dark eyebrow raised, "You know, I think you made a mistake, Chaos. You missed two names."

Gold flashed within the scarlet, a low chuckle echoing in the small cavern, "I think you're right, host."

Cloud mentally shook himself as he watched the strange interaction between demon and host. 'That's just creepy. He has GOT to be doing that on purpose.'

"Yes, but being the thorough bastard you are, you left us with very few options on where to place them.

Blue eyes widened even further as a clawed hand traveled downward along the bound man's body. 'Sweet Shiva, tell me he's not...' His instincts called out for him to look away or place First Tsurugi in front of himself but he quickly tamped it down, remembering his earlier warning from the raven-haired man.

As cool fingers drifted ever closer to the thick mass of silver curls, Sephiroth gave a growl and jerked away as best he could, "You will not touch me without permission, you-" His head was suddenly twisted to the side as Vincent forcefully punched him in the jaw, blood dribbling from the side of his mouth.

"You forget that it is YOU who is bound to our mercy this time, half-breed. And I did not give you permission to speak again. Perhaps I should follow your suggestion and cut off your tongue and force it down your throat."

A golden light flashed once again in the scarlet depths and the gunman chuckled, "You should consider yourself lucky that we have limited resources at the moment, General. Chaos just informed me that he knows twenty interesting ways to use a cheese grater on your most sensitive areas."

Both swordsmen visibly paled at the soft-spoken threat and once again Cloud had to force himself to remain still, every fiber of his being screaming for him to get out. 'I'm never going near Vincent in the kitchen again.'

The clawed fingers found their goal as a devious smile grew on the dark-framed face, "Now if I were you, I wouldn't move too much. If I mess up, we have to start writing all over again."

An angry hiss escaped the silver-haired man as a sharp claw pressed to soft skin, "You know, we could really be a bastard about this and take another page out of your book, General. Leave you hard and aching for hours on end with no hope for release until just this mere pressure would make you scream in agony. What do you think of that?"

Jade eyes narrowed dangerously but Sephiroth wisely chose to remain silent. The gunman's smile widened, sharp canines flashing in the dull red light, "Good boy." The pressure grew enough that a small bead of blood formed at the lethal tip, "You know, you're a lot easier to train than I was, General."

With that, the claw dug in further, quickly carving out letters in the pale skin. Cloud wanted to close his eyes as the silver-haired man had but morbid curiosity bade him to watch. Slowly the letters began to piece together into names and blond eyebrows rose. 'I wasn't expecting those two.'

Vincent stepped back, his head cocked as he studied the names before nodding once with satisfaction. Now, with the hundreds of other bleeding names, sat the names of the two Remnants, Kadaj and Loz. Braided hair was grasped once more, immediately causing jade eyes to open and focus on the gunman, "I believe we are finished here, General. Let's move on, shall we? After all, I have much more important things to be doing than dealing with your miserable hide."

Fury lit the green gaze dangerously but the raven-haired man paid him no heed, instead reaching his human hand up to grab Sephiroth's wrist. Keeping his thoughts internal this time, he called out to Chaos. 'I need a favor. Release him and when we tell you to, bind him once more.'

A wide grin full of glimmering fangs appeared as the demon saw what his host had in mind. 'THIS SHOULD BE AMUSING. I'M PROUD OF YOU, HUMAN.'

The silver-haired man could feel it when the shadows suddenly lost their icy grip and immediately attempted to yank his arm from the gunman's grasp. Vincent calmly kept a tight hold, reaching his clawed hand up to wrench the bound man's shoulder, easily dislocating it, "Care to try that again, General?"

No response was given but as the process was repeated, Sephiroth ended up with a broken arm and a shattered knee. As Vincent shifted the final leg, he smirked at the silver-haired man's lack of resistance this time. When the shadows enveloped the pale lower leg, a clawed hand patted the man's head mockingly, "Good boy."

A blond eyebrow rose at the sight of the former General on his hands and knees. 'Never thought I would see that in my lifetime.'

Scarlet eyes fell onto the gleaming metal protruding from the bound man's backside and he gave a soft chuckle, "With how good his aim is, I suppose it should be no surprise that Chaos can play 'Pin the Tail on the Sephy'."

A low growl left the silver-haired swordsman at that but before he could speak, a sudden weight fell onto his back, Vincent's deep voice in his ear as the braided hair was pulled, forcing him to look up, "Is it just me, or does this seem rather familiar, General? Well, I guess it might not, seeing as we seem to have switched places."

The gunman made a show of looking at his right wrist, "My, it seems to have gotten late! Is there anything more you need before we leave you to sleep, General?"

"You and Strife in pieces on the floor," Sephiroth growled.

A sickly sweet smile grew on the raven-haired man's face, unseen by the bound man, "Hmm, sorry, that isn't allowed. However, I can free you. Would you like that?"

"Of course! Release me at once! I will paint these walls with your blood."

A low chuckle escaped the gunman as his human hand began to slide down the pale back, "I hope that gives you pleasant dreams, General. Goodnight."

With that, he pulled Death Penalty's trigger.

____________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: The line from Chaos about the cheese grater is dedicated entirely to my twisted fangirl, Kerianya. I hope that satisfies some of your sadistic nature hun. LOL

TO THOSE READING THE MR. COCKY VS. SAPPHIREDOG WAR OR TO THOSE WHO WISH TO JOIN IN, PLEASE READ:
The war has been moved since it was overflowing my reviews section. It is now on SapphireDoG's page as a storyline with open chapter setting so if anyone wishes to join in the madness, they are free to do so. I can't wait to see what happens next!

SapphireDoG
*snicker* hehehehehehehe OHHHHHH Sephy-kun is in a LOOOOOOOOT of trouble now XD *evil laugh* haha poor Cloud XD And poor Vincent, stuck speaking Sinanese XD

And Cocky started it! He even admitted to it!
Frizz: Yes, Vincent is going to be fun to manage going back and forth with I and We.

Anonymous Sister of the Author
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE??? *scratches head confused* uh... hmm... WHAT HAS MY BODY BEEN DOING WITHOUT ME?!?!?!?! OMG!!! ...and there's something sleeping on my head........ :/ i'll just sit here for now... *sits*
ASOTA
Frizz: LOL just some good old-fashioned fun that no one wanted to leave you out of ASOTA dear.

Jamie
Man, I love this story so much. XD I know I've never reviewed -don't feel bad, I rarely review anything long until the end- but I seriously check this site daily just to see if you've updated it, it's awesome.

Is it bad I'm hoping for Cloud to end up an accidental voyuer do to his stubborness there? XD Seriously, whatever ends up happening? If the rest of this story is any indicator, I'm gonna love it. You're kind of erasing my non-con squick here, damn it.

Here's to a great story, yeah? *Raises glass*
Frizz: I am glad to hear from you now hun. I love knowing that there are others out there reading this and I hope to hear from all of you eventually. For now, let the madness continue!

Anonymous Sister of the Author
sorry, i didn't get to review last chapter....but it seems a war has broken out while i was away, ...but i still seem to be part of it... :/

well, so vincent absorbed sin! i didn't expect that, and i also didn't expect chaos to try to attack sin, even if it was a misunderstanding. UPDATE SOON PLEASE!!!

ASOTA
Frizz: Its alright. Glad to see you back hun. I missed hearing from you. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

viva_rose
Ahhh a slight bit of co-lab that's always loved! You did quite nicely portraying again, the mental setting that occurs when one absorbs a part of a fractured personality. Heh, those speech mannerisms remind me of myself sometimes ^_^
Frizz: LOL A lot of Sin is based on the way I used to be before I got wonderful friends that actually put a backbone and some self esteem into me.

Kuragari
O.O ok... that was a lot of reviews!!! glad to see vincent back on his feet and already pissing of Sephy. lol. I like you're way better of dealing with sin... true first I wanted him dead... er... wanted him to end up dead... but I like this a lot better. anyway, see you soon!
Frizz: Yeah it was a lot of reviews, but I don't mind. I just couldn't bring myself to fully kill him. He will be gone soon though, as soon as his requests are filled.

BreaXStrify
Yeah what's up with that?! Review section longer than chapter ::mutters grumply under breath and pouts:: T-T

::sighs:: I'll get over it - don't make this a habbit though >:o! - ily still ^o^!!!!!!!

Awwww....Sin...shall be no more...? D; ::turns around and pretends to cry as she throws the confetti:: I have nothing! ::turns back around quickly and looks around on the defensive:: No I'm kind of really torn now...it's like...awww...D; the ultimate sacrafice ::sniffles::

still wonderful ::koffdespitelengthkoff:: but I shall hold it against you - I understand writers block....or other things that distract one from their goal ::thinks hard:: yeah....it's like...trying to read Breaking Dawn when your family and friends suddenly decide they want to take you places and talk to you D;! It's like ::sobs:: LEAVE ME ALONE WITH MY BOOK MAN D;!!! - But I lived - I'll live - and I have no idea what point I was trying to make....but I'm still thinking about that EH thing I need to send you. Sucks because I was in the car and suddenly hit me...but like a MORON! - I forgot paper and pen at home XS WHY!? - But I shall come up with a new idea! >:o yeah! NEW IDEA! ^^ I'm going to think ::looks at clock:: - sleep on that one ^^!

ily~

Oh and SapphireDog...idk if you'll read this or not...someone pass the word along please but....copy and paste your comments somewhere else before you send. I always do that now...so much easier XS - so yeah...though I'd like ta throw that out there ^^~
Frizz: Take your time with the EH idea hun, really. That is going to be a work on it as it comes peice. There is no timelimit or anything, I want as much details as possible when it comes to your request that way I can see it the way you do.

Fyrbyrd
What an interesting cliffie, can't wait to see what happens next.
Frizz: Well, I am the Queen of Cliffies LOL. Hope you like this chapter

Golden Kitsune
OMFG.
I love it.
i simply love it.
it took me 8 hours or so to read this whole thing.
u have some crazy talent there missy.
i cant wiat to read more.
update soon plzz.
oh, and prepare to be stalked.
>=].
make sephiroth pay in blood for all that he has done.
u do realize u gave Vincent a Gemini personality, right?
either way.
ur fic is amazing.
u must add more.
soon too.
u know, before i go insane and kill everyone.
*innocent smile*

~Golden Kitsune~
Frizz: 8 hours! o.O wow...I didn't realize how long my story was...but yeah, you're right, it would take that long to read. Holy moley! And it's funny that you mention Vincent having a Gemini personality, guess what I am?