Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'



'CHAOS SPEAKING'



~ (Time and/or story focus shift)



Chapter 56



“He’s on our side.”



Those four words brought looks of disbelief from the entire group but Barrett quickly found his voice, “The fuckin’ hell you talkin’ ‘bout, Spike?! This foo’s been tryin’ to kill us since day one!”



Chaos gave a growl in annoyance, smirking inwardly as the dark man’s mouth audibly clicked shut. Turning his attention to Cloud, he nodded, “I’m going back for the Shinga-Chi. Stay or go as you wish, we will find you.”



The blond swordsman nodded, watching as the demon turned back to the shadows. “Wait!” Yuffie called out, “You’re leaving already. We could go with you and-”



“NO!”



The ninja jumped in surprise at the demon’s harsh tone though he did not look at her, “But-”



“The host gave you something to hold for him correct?” The young woman nodded, “Then he will return for it as he promised.”



Nanaki looked thoughtful as the winged creature disappeared into the darkness. Though he wasn’t entirely sure, he thought he had seen the golden eyes soften slightly while speaking to the girl. ‘Perhaps he has become more attached to us than just as Vincent’s companions.’ He hid his thoughts and settled at Yuffie’s feet, his presence calming the distraught ninja. She pet his mane though her eyes never left where Chaos had last been, “Vinny’ll be alright, right?”



“Yes. In fact, I think after all is said and done, he will be better than he has been for a long time.”



Yuffie sighed but nodded and followed the wolf to where the rest of the group had gathered to listen to what Cloud had to say.



~



‘You…comforted her?’ To say Vincent was surprised would be an understatement.



Chaos growled in annoyance. ‘I DID NOT WISH TO HEAR HER INCESSANT WHINING.’



‘Then you could have easily left without saying anything at all.’ The gunman pointed out.



‘…SHUT IT, HOST.’



‘Fine.’ Though the demon couldn’t see the gunner at the moment, he was almost certain that damned smirk was on his face.



‘YOU KNOW, I ALMOST MISS WHEN YOU WOULD AVOID TALKING TO US.’ He thought he heard a soft chuckle in his head but it was gone too quickly to be sure. ‘WONDERFUL TIME TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMOR, HOST. WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE SHINGA-CHI.’



Both Chaos and Vincent became alert as the darkness gave way to Mako green, the cavern surprisingly quiet. Golden eyes widened as he heard a soft noise above him and the demon quickly sidestepped as a silver streak dropped on where he had just stood, “Stand down, Shinga-Chi!”



Yazoo gave a low growl in response as the golden light in his eyes flashed menacingly. Chaos blinked in surprise. ‘THAT’S INTERESTING.’



‘What?’



‘ONE OF THE MODIFICATIONS WE MADE TO THE SHINGA-CHI WAS AN INSTINCTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOWER DEMONIC TONGUE. APPARENTLY IT HAS ALSO REMAINED WITHIN THIS ONE DESPITE THE THINNING OF THE BLOOD. HE JUST CLAIMED THAT I STOLE HIS RIGHTFUL KILL.’



The silver-skinned demon quickly dodged as the slender man lunged at him. ‘Well you’d better convince him that Cloud wasn’t his to kill and fast!’



A harsh snarl left the winged creature and though Yazoo seemed to pause momentarily, he apparently disregarded whatever Chaos had said. ‘WELL THAT DIDN’T WORK. WE NEED TO CALM HIM AND GET HIS MIND TO TAKE BACK OVER. SHINGA-CHI OR NOT, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO KILL HIM IF HE BECOMES A THREAT.’



Vincent thought quickly on what he knew of the boy. A memory hit him from what he had seen in Yazoo’s mind and he called out to the demon. ‘Chaos! Get to my cloak and let me out, I may have an idea.’



Dark brows rose against silver skin, curiosity and doubt filtering through the demon’s connection with his host. Vincent mentally rolled his eyes, ‘Trust me. Now hurry!’



The demon huffed, parrying around the snarling youth’s claws. ‘I AM TRYING.’



Yazoo slid past Chaos, feet digging into the stony ground before throwing his body forwards, aimed to swipe the tender flesh underneath the arm. Once again, the enraged Shinga-Chi missed, the shadow walker dancing off to the side before the silver haired boy could cut into his ribs.



Chaos keep golden eyes trained on the movement of Yazoo’s body as he twisted around sharply, arms sweeping to the side as he pivoted in the blink of an eye. The boy was fast, cat like reflexes allowing him to twist and change his position in mid step should he have too, lithe body aiding in the swift movements.



Studying his footwork, the demon smirked. Shifting his feet a little, Chaos waited for Yazoo to lunge again. He didn’t have to wait long as slender muscles flexed before the body darted forwards, feet almost unseen from his speed.



And all it took was for Chaos to duck, sticking out his foot enough to catch one of the Shinga-Chi’s, who was too distracted to notice the appendage. To add to the childish but effective tripping, the demon slapped the boy’s back and helped to send Yazoo flying.



Taking the chance, Chaos dashed through the cavern and into the dark of the tunnel.



-



In the dark, smaller cavern, Vincent gave a quick stretch as Chaos’ form melted away. He could faintly see where his cape lay in a hazardous pile.



The familiar weight of the fabric in his hand was comforting, it’s soft yet sturdy material brought the scent of gunpowder and spice to his senses. And also, there was something else that mingled with the spice. A lighter, air after a thunderstorm in a grassy meadow scent. Fresh and new.



And there was a lingering but faded hint of salt.



‘Yazoo…’



‘THE SHINGA-CHI IS COMING!’



Vincent turned just in time to duck under a furious swipe. He threw the voluminous cloak over his shoulders with the ease of familiarity and channeled his energy into the fabric as it swirled. The crimson cloak continued to move, spreading and shifting fluidly until it covered the gunman.



Yazoo lunged at the billowing forms, clawed hands itching to tear at something. He finally managed to make contact with the red swirl only to have the fabric wrap around his wrist, holding him fast with an oddly hand-shaped pattern. The silver-haired man snarled in frustration, attempting to tear at the bindings only to have that arm captured as well. Golden-covered eyes narrowed in fury and wariness as the red cloak surrounded him. He flinched as one of the tattered edges reached out and gently caressed his cheek but the touch was soon forgotten as a familiar deep voice began to hum, the soft melody pulling at some part of him that was nearly lost to the fury within. Soon Yazoo was surrounded by the old lullaby as Vincent’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, the scent of cinnamon and spice filling his senses.



Pale lashes fluttered closed and the Remnant seemed to become lost in the melody for a moment before he softly whispered, “Vincent…”



The red fabric parted, releasing his arms and settling on the gunner’s shoulders. The silver-haired man wasn’t sure but he thought he saw that ghost of a smirk he had become familiar with just over the edge of the red collar, “Yes, Yazoo?”



Blue-green eyes looked with shame at the raven-haired man, “Did I…was anyone…”



Vincent took sympathy on the troubled young man, “No one was hurt.”



“You were really there, in my mind, weren’t you? You saw what becomes of me. Why did you come back for me?”



Scarlet eyes glanced away, somewhat uncomfortable with the fearful hope burning in the blue-green gaze. Had Yazoo truly expected to be abandoned for what was never his fault to begin with? “We all have our demons, Yazoo. Some of us just have ones a little more real than others. My friends never abandoned me, even when Chaos nearly killed them all on more than one occasion. How could I do anything less for you?” The Remnant felt some of the pressure inside him ease as that fiery gaze turned back to him, a sense of warmth and understanding burning in their depths, “Come on. Lets get out of here and go home. I think we need to have a long talk and I would rather not do that here.”



‘Home.’ The silver-haired man smiled at the thought. Had he ever had such a place?



‘NOT YET HOST! I DEMAND THIS INFERNAL CAVERN BE DESTROYED AND NOW!’



Vincent chuckled. ‘I think I can agree with that.’



~



Several heads turned as a loud crash echoed in the dark cavern entrance only a few feet away. Yuffie looked nearly ready to run inside but was stopped by a soft pressure of sharp teeth on her hand from Nanaki. It was only when two forms emerged from the cave that the wolf let the young woman go and she ran toward them with a happy cry, “Vinny!”



Vincent gave a soft ‘Oomph!’ as he was suddenly tackled by the brown-haired blur. He rolled his eyes as he heard a chuckle behind him and grabbed the ninja by her shirt. Instead of dropping her like usual, however, he set the girl on her feet and ruffled her hair affectionately before walking past. Yuffie gaped after the gunman for a moment before a shift caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She looked at the slender Remnant thoughtfully, the man’s obvious worry and nervousness causing her to raise an eyebrow. ‘Well, guess I gotta be the one to break the ice!’ “Hi! I’m Yuffie, the greatest ninja in all of Wutai!”



A silver brow rose but he warily shook the girl’s hand, “Yazoo.”



The ninja gave him a wide grin and he felt himself relax slightly despite the wary looks being thrown his way by several of the others. Maybe he did have a chance of being accepted.



___________________________________________________________________________



SapphireDoG

*GLOMP* OUR FRIZZZZZYYYYY IS BACKKKKKK! YAY! -refuses to let go-



Damn you've been missed! And you come back baring gifts of writing! Wheee! Lol Yuffie, watch where your throwing that thing! Jeez. lol Cid is going to have a smoking fit by the end of that long ass explaination. Goo Yazzie!!!!!! KICK SOME JENOVA ASS!!!!! Woot woot! Woot woot!



Lol happy birthday Vincent! Have a nice burnt arm and a Conformer thrown at your Other, and a rampaging boyfriend kicking jenova's ASS.

Frizz: Ya know, I didn't even think about the fact that I had posted this on Vinny's bday. I'm glad I managed to get SOMETHING up.



Golden Kitsune

/.

peace.

yea.

all is forgiven.

just update soon.

since u have a computer now.

XD.

cant wait for more.

still my favorie story.

lol.



~Golden Kitsune~

Frizz: I am glad this is still your fave hun. I have a feeling I lost a few readers with the sporadic updates.



viva_rose

Yikes got BOTH taken out!? Holy shit woman. Glad your compy is back in working order and hoping that your recovery is going well! Glad to see another chapter up just in time for Vincent's birthday! October is turning out to be a very special month!

Frizz: Yep. Needed to have them out for about two and a half years now. I seem to be recovering pretty well for someone who got it done a little older than normal.



Raven

OOOOOOOOOOoooooo I like it.... and i had a few ppl looking at me funny when i busted out laughing at cid's remark there at the end but it's all good. can't wait for more.

Frizz: I liked Cid's line too. Couldn't resist.



Kuragari

She's upset because I'm writing a smut-ish fic and the two main characters just had their first kiss and I cut the chapter off there. She was upset because she knows it's leading to a steamy scene and I haven't updated yet. lol. "Fearless fuckin' leader" XD laughed for about two minutes on that one. Has to be one of my favorite lines ever! heh, Nanaki and Cloud can be a little slow on the uptake with those hints Chaos was dropping. As soon as he said that Yazoo was going after the bitch, I knew he was trying to get what was in Cloud. Glad to see your back and I hope you're recovering well from your surgery. *lots of hugs and good wishes* See you soon!

Frizz: I think Cid's line will be the fave of that chapter for everyone. I tortured one of my friends like that. I have a great deal of the next chap for Snow written out and she was over at my house and I asked if she wanted to see it. Only prob is I stopped just at one of the most crucial moments of the chapter. She about killed me.



Kerianya

Oooh! Revenge time for Yazoo! It's about time that he returned the favour to all the bastards that hurt him.



There's no point in saying how excellent this update is - I've come to expect nothing less of you! *hug*



I must say that I'm looking forward to seeing how Yazoo is calmed down. Will it be Vincent or Chaos that tames Yazzie's fury? I can't wait!



Lots of kisses,



Kerianya XxX

Frizz: Well I certainly hope I continue to live up to your expectations!