Blood & Sympathy (FFVII: Vincent x OC)

Ch81 - Rule Through Fear

He couldn't tell how late it was, but he could tell it was still night. Tifa's head was resting on his chest. She had been sleeping peacefully. Her breathing had fallen into a steady rhythm. He brushed his hand into her silky hair and pressed a kiss on top of her head. Her hand was around him, clutching on his thin white shirt.

Cloud let his head roll back on the pillow, and he closed his eyes, reminding himself that he had to sleep. But then he heard familiar footsteps from the outside of their room's door. Marlene's and Denzel's heads popped in from the half-opened door. Cloud lifted his head back up and he looked at the two as they rushed in the room. They looked frightened. He tried his best not to move a lot, not to wake Tifa. But Tifa raised her head off his chest as if she had sensed them being there.

"Aw, what's wrong, sweethearts?" Tifa asked.

"I can hear screams," Marlene said.

"Me too," Denzel added

Both Tifa and Cloud sat up. Suddenly they weren't so much into falling back to sleep. Cloud stood up. He had a pretty good feeling of what was going on. "I'll go check it out," he said as he grabbed his clothes and his boots.

"Be careful," Tifa said and he gave her a smile before he exited the room. Tifa turned at the other two and she pulled back the sheets "C'mon, you two, lie down with me,"

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Dealing with the Deepground troops in Kalm, took him longer than he expected. While the WRO recruits commenced rescue operations on the citizens, Vincent took it upon himself to deal with the Deepground soldiers and airplanes that wrought chaos in the city. Reeve had asked him to meet back at the eastern side of the church.

He had helped whatever WRO troops needed help, and now he walked on his own towards the church. There was a large square in the middle and the church rested in the distance. A large airplane came towards him. One of the many of Deepground's and it started firing at him. Vincent found cover behind the gauntlet of his hand, that the enemy's bullets didn't seem to be doing it any damage. He kept firing at it with Cerberus's thick bullets.

A large bomb came his way. Vincent was planning to jump out of the way, but Sephiroth jumped between. He used the Masamune to dodge the bomb back to the airplane, blowing it up. Vincent just stood there and watched him. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. He could hardly believe Sephiroth was his son. He had a son and he knew nothing about him.

Seeing that there were no other threats around, Sephiroth settled Masamune back in its case and he turned at Vincent to check if he was okay. "Thanks," Vincent said and it was honestly the only thing he thought it was fit to say that moment.

Sephiroth didn't answer at first. He just checked for any other threats and saw that there were none. The airplane crashed on the square, burning in the flames of its own bomb. He just stared at the flames and at the people that they were possibly burning with them, trapped in the metallic walls of the crashed airplane. After everything, he was still fighting. He was still killing. But this time, he was there because he wanted to. He too didn't care about aiding the world as much as he cared about finding her.

Jocasta was the only mother figure that he ever had. The night she'd disappeared he had sworn himself that he'd find her. He'd keep her safe. Just as she had kept him long ago. She was the only one who had tried. The only one who stood between him, a three-year-old, helpless, afraid, and that cursed scientist, Hojo, who wouldn't stop experimenting on him. No. He was going to find her.

The main reason he was there, the main reason that he was fighting, teaching recruits and aiding Reeve, was learning all that he could about Deepground. And now that they had figured out where that place was, it was only Hester the one who was keeping him from attacking. Barging in on his own and rescuing her.