Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

((AN: *hides from the mob* I am so terribly sorry that this has taken so long. I know that this chapter is shorter than normal but I had to get this up. I will hopefully have the final chapter up soon. And yes, the 60th chapter will be the final chapter, though an idea for a bonus chapter afterward is in the works. And there will be a finally be some good Vin/Yaz, Chaos/Yaz smexing in chapter 60!))



'Internal thought'



'CHAOS SPEAKING'



~ (Time and/or story focus shift)



Chapter 59



Dark brows furrowed as his vision began to clear. He easily recognized the familiar ceiling of his room on Cid’s airship but he was confused as to how he got there. Feeling a weight on his chest, Vincent glanced down to find a head of long, silver hair resting on him, the young man’s eyes closed in the peaceful expression of sleep. ‘Yazoo.’



“Glad to see you awake, old friend.”



Scarlet eyes turned to the source of the soft-spoken words, finding Nanaki watching him with a relieved expression. He was careful to keep his voice low, so as not to wake the Remnant, “How long was I out?”



“A little over an hour. He came running to us after you collapsed. It took a while for the rest of us to keep Barrett and Cid from throwing him in the holding cells. He kept a hold of you once we helped get you into a bed, muttering something about everyone disappearing before he passed out.”



Vincent hmmed softly as he looked down on the silver head once again, his fingers tenderly brushing through the silky strands. He was so focused on the young man that he missed the smile that passed over the fire-wolf’s face. Nanaki turned away from the touching scene, certain now that his human friend would be fine, “I will leave you two alone. We should reach her cavern in about half an hour or so.”



The gunman nodded and watched him leave. As the door to his room opened, he noticed several pairs of curious eyes peeking in. Upon noticing his gaze, they all disappeared but he still caught Yuffie’s voice, “Awww! Did you see how CUTE they look together?!”



‘CUTE? SINCE WHEN HAVE WE BEEN CONSIDERED CUTE, HOST?’



Vincent gave a mental shrug but his attention was pulled away from the squealing ninja outside his room to the young man stirring against his chest. Blue-green eyes fluttered open, quickly meeting with his own scarlet and amber orbs, “Vincent?” The gunman didn’t respond but it was apparently unnecessary as the Remnant hugged him tightly, his body shaking, “I thought…when Sin…your heart stopped and-”



“Shhh. I’m alright, Yazoo. Look at me.” Yazoo raised his head at the soft spoken command, biting his lower lip as gloved fingers brushed away the tears on his cheeks. He watched as an undercurrent of understanding and empathy glowed within the entrancing eyes before him, “You see, I am here. I‘m not going anywhere.”



The silver-haired man nodded, closing his eyes as he attempted to calm the turbulent emotions within him. The fear that had been a seemingly-constant companion these days threatened to shatter what was left of him. The fact that the threat of death was no longer hanging over their heads did little to quell his fears in light of Sin’s…fading away. Why was everyone he was close to, everything he knew in his life, falling away? He felt so alone despite knowing that Vincent was right there, under his arms and gently stroking his face.



Just as he felt the despair nearly overtake him, a flash of anger burst at the corner of his mind. The feeling was foreign and yet familiar, something he had felt before but that was almost an echo of the true frustration that seemed to pulse within him now. As he focused more intensely on the feeling, thoughts that were not his own began to filter through.



‘…DON’T KNOW HOW I’M GOING TO PUT UP WITH TWO EMOTIONAL CREATURES! DEALING WITH YOUR GUILT IS TAXING ENOUGH, HOST!’



The surprise at the realization that he was tapping into the bond that Chaos had spoken of before nearly made Yazoo miss the demon’s next thought.



‘KISS HIM! DO SOMETHING! JUST GET RID OF HIS DAMN GUILT BEFORE I COMMIT SUICIDE FOR HIM!’



Yazoo opened his eyes at that comment, only his knowledge of what Vincent had heard allowing him to recognize the distracted look. Grateful for the distraction from his own internal struggles, he inched upwards, a smirk playing across his features, “I agree.”



Dark brows rose with curiosity and the Remnant felt the demon’s confusion as well. It nearly made him snicker but he held it back as he moved even closer, “Well, are you?”



“Am I what?”



“Are you going to do something to get rid of my ‘damn guilt’ before he commits suicide for me?”



Scarlet eyes went wide and Chaos sputtered. ‘Y-YOU CAN HEAR ME?!’



A small chuckle escaped him, “Yes, I can.”



‘GREAT. NOW I’LL NEVER HAVE ANY PRIVACY.’ The demon grumbled. Vincent chuckled slightly, "Now you know how I feel with all of you in there." Yazoo hid his face in Vincent's chest, shoulders quaking in silent laughter.



The gunner smirked and ran his fingers through the silken strands of silver, his eyes watching as the light reflected off of them. His scarlet gaze turned as the Remnant lifted a hand to do the same to his own dark hair. He had to wonder how he was so lucky to get to know such a person, one who seemed so readily able to accept him when he had a hard time accepting himself, "We are so very different, you and I."



The murmur barely reached his own ears, but Yazoo caught it easily enough. His shoulders stopped shaking and he lifted his head, aqua eyes staring at Vincent. "Do you really think so?" He tilted his head, his hair sliding across his back to pool on the bed. He crawled up Vincent's body, bringing his eyes level with burning crimson. He lowered his face until their lips were but a hairsbreadth apart and stopped, "Are we really....that...different?"



-CRASH!-



Both men jumped as the vent overhead fell open, Yazoo immediately grabbing Death Penalty from the nightstand and aiming. He just barely stopped from pulling the trigger as he saw a certain teenage ninja face-first on the floor, a camera clattering as it slipped from her hand.



Vincent sat up, looking over at Yuffie with narrowed eyes as she blushed and got to her feet, backing away. “Uh…oops…I, uh…” She squeaked as she made the mistake of meeting Vincent’s eyes, the molten scarlet now a piercing gold as he growled at her. She quickly ran from the room, uncaring of the camera left behind.



Yazoo laughed lightly as he set down the gun, looking at Vincent with a smile, “Is it always like this?”



His eyes returned to normal and he nodded with a sigh, “Its usually worse, actually. Watch out if she and Tifa team up. Those two even scare Chaos.”



‘DO NOT!! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BEING FRIGHTENED BY TWO MORTAL FEMALES!’



Yazoo winked at Vincent, “That was an awful quick denial, Chaos.”



The echoing growl made both men laugh. Vincent shook his head, “I never would have dreamed there would come a day when I could joke with them.”



Just as the silver-haired male was about to respond, Cid’s voice came crackling on the intercom, “Vampy! Get yer lily-white ass up here and gimme directions to this Gaia-forsaken cave yer wantin’ ta go to!!”



Vincent sighed and waited for Yazoo to move before he stood. The younger man gave a smile as he leaned back on the bed, his silver hair swaying enticingly behind him as he teased, “And just how does he know about your ‘lily-white ass?’ Should I be jealous?”



He blinked as he caught the barely visible blush on Vincent‘s face, “If you are feeling well enough, follow me to the deck.”



A pale eyebrow rose and he sat up, watching as the tattered edge of the cloak disappeared. Vincent and Highwind? Surely not. He rose from the bed, snatching up the camera before he left. Who knew what pictures were on there already and he certainly knew the value of good blackmail material.



Vincent grumbled to himself as he covered himself with his cloak, ducking his pink face behind the crimson fabric as he passed Barret and Tifa playing cards in the rear of the cockpit. He came to a silent stop behind Cid, crossing his arms as he waited for the pilot to notice his presence.



Cid reached over to grab the microphone again, getting ready to holler into it again when he noticed Vincent standing in his shadow. He screeched indignantly and the microphone clattered to the floor with a screech of its own. Vincent made a face and pulled his gun, preparing to shoot the cursed thing when Cid swooped down to scoop it up, his face bright red.



"Jeez, Vampy! Ya could at least say hello or somethin'!" Cid continued to grumble as he took the wheel again, calmly restoring his prior course. "Sneaky ass fucker."



Behind the safety of his cloak, Vincent gave a fanged grin, his eyes glinting as he decided to play with the pilot a bit, much to the delight of his demonic eavesdropper, "Would you care to rephrase that, Chief?" His voice was silky smooth and low with the desire he had been force to set aside at Cid's demand. Cid choked and stared at Vincent with shocked blue eyes, his ever-present cigarette dangling loosely from his lips.



"...wh-what?!" Cid finally managed to sputter, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head as Vincent chuckled softly and moved to lean against the railing, casually crossing his arms over his leather-clad chest.



"You require directions, Chief?"



Cid nodded, his eyes darting between Vincent and the open skies, "Yep! I don't know much 'bout those caves. Show me from the air and I'll remember for life!" He scratched the back of his blond head. "Never seen 'em on any map though."



Vincent nodded absently, his fingers toying with the inner edge of his cloak as he watched the clouds pass them. "We need to go east. Allow me to set your course, Captain." He moved to the instrument panel and began typing in directions, occasionally glancing at the instruments to check their position.



Cid watched as the dark man input data at an amazing rate, nodding when the course appeared on the map. "I gotcha, Vampy. Hang on an' I'll get ya to your torment sooner than ya can say 'chocobo head'." The pilot chuckled as a certain swordsman gave an aggravated sigh at the old joke.



The airship gave a thud as it landed in the grassy meadow beneath the mouth of the cave, near by shrubs shaking in the propellers’ breeze. Animals scattered, running from the massive hunk of machinery. The cargo bay door opened with a creaking screech, lowering to the flatten grass below and giving a jarring shudder upon impact.



Cid took the time to shut the engines down while everyone gathered at the bay, amazed by the scenery. Yuffie’s jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of the valley, the rest in awe at the number of water falls that fell into a stream that lead to a lake seventy yards from the ship. Last time they had been there, it was nearly nightfall and they were too worried about the threat of Sephiroth and Meteor to really see the place.



Vincent closed his eyes and breathed in the clean air, face pointed to the sky. Something about this place always soothed him, almost as though she was doing what she could to lift his darkened spirit. A noise behind him caused him to look back and he smiled as he saw the look of wonder on the youth's face.



A small pang of guilt clenched the gunman's heart. In a way, it felt like he was cheating on Lucrecia's memory but in the end, he knew that she would not want him to wallow in misery. And...just maybe...he could redeem himself by giving Yazoo a chance at life. Giving a mental nod, he turned and made his way outside, knowing the silver-haired man would follow.



The cool stone walls seemed to echo with whispers of the past that fell silent at their intrusion. Long used to the strange ethereal nature of the cavern, Vincent paused to watch Yazoo's reaction to the haunting beauty of his mother's resting place.



The younger male felt a warmth stir inside his chest, as though a place he had been searching for had finally been found. Looking up at the crystal cluster, a small smile played over pale features. This....this was his mother...he recognized her from the vision he'd had before. She was the one they should have been looking for. Blue-green eyes studied the woman's chestnut hair and kindly face. Though the resemblance was twisted and diminished by the experiments done on them and Sephiroth, it was still there. Reaching up with a gloved hand, he ran it over the smooth surface of the crystal, soft words echoing in the cave, "Mother...."



A small sound behind him reminded him of Vincent's presence and he looked over his shoulder with a bittersweet smile, "She... is sealed in here forever, isn't she?"



The raven-haired man shook his head, "No. I don't believe that. I think she remains here partly to allow the Planet to cleanse her body and spirit of the taints of the experiments done on her. She also feels guilt for what her choices wrought on this world. There are times when she has the power to speak and to even aid." His fingers brushed over Death Penalty, a chill running through him as he remembered just what he had done with the weapon. Now that Sin's presence was truly merged with his own, disgust and horror churned in his heart.



Shaking away the thoughts, he looked at Yazoo only to find the silver-haired man kneeling and reaching for something in the water. Curious, he moved closer as the other stood, a pair of large triple-barreled, triple-chambered revolvers. Both men looked up in surprise as a melodic voice filled the cavern.



::Cerberus....and Archangel....Guardians of Death's and Heaven's Gates...protect each other...and those you love...::



Vincent couldn't fight the smile as he nodded his thanks, taking the one dubbed Cerberus from Yazoo. The smaller male pouted, "Why do you get that one?"



A deep chuckle left the elder gunman, "It suits me more. After all," he leaned in close to Yazoo, "You certainly look more like an angel than I."



A playful smile slowly broke over Yazoo and he leaned in to kiss Vincent only to stop as Chaos' voice echoed in both their heads.



'YOU BETTER DAMN WELL GIVE ME THE OTHER GUN, HOST.'



Nearly snarling a few curses at being interrupted again, Vincent nodded in agreement before snatching Yazoo up and kissing him before anything else could stop them.



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AN: I was informed that it would be wiser to start a forum for answering to comments. If anyone is really interested in hearing the answers, let me know when you comment and I will start a thread in the forums