I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)

Disk 01: Chapter 20: The Vampire And The Villain

"Forget it Barrett, he's not coming back out." Cloud said. "Let's move on."

"And by 'move on' you mean 'move on back out of here,' right?" Yuffie asked.

"Not yet Yuff." Cloud corrected. "There's one more room to check out down here. Come on, it shouldn't be much further..."

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We found the door to the combination library/laboratory a few minutes later. Cloud insisted on taking point, and everyone followed him in. Bookcases covered every square inch of wall, from the floor to the high ceilings twelve feet up. A pair of desks stood near the door, and near the farthest wall were the mako tanks Cloud and Zack had been held in, shattered open. Beyond them lay rows of library stacks, oriented in a direction that made seeing down the rows between them impossible from where we stood. Several sections of the bookcases were empty, their contents strewn about on the floor. There wasn't anywhere to step that you wouldn't be standing on a book, loose papers, or torn-open folders.

Aerith was peering about, and I could feel how unsettled she was becoming. I put a hand on her right shoulder as she silently asked me "Y/N, is this...?"

"Yeah..." I thought back. "Cloud and Zack were in those tanks... Be cautious, Sephiroth is somewhere in this room..." Even with the knowledge that this encounter shouldn't turn violent, Aerith stepped closer to my side and gripped her staff tighter, and I let my hand drift to the hilt of my sword.

"Cloud, why are we here?" Tifa asked. "What are we looking for?"

Cloud turned with a start to face her. A strange expression crossed his face, the look of a man realizing that he doesn't know the answer that he should have known. "Why... Why are we here?" He repeated.

A laugh rose from somewhere in the stacks. "Don't you remember Cloud?" came a familiar voice. "You're here to see me of course." Sephiroth stepped from one of the aisles. He approached us, but stopped after only a few steps.

Cloud drew his sword, Tifa and Red dropped into combat stances, and Barrett and Yuffie took aim with their weapons. "There's no need for that." Sephiroth sneered. "I'm not looking for a fight today. I just want to speak with Cloud... Tell me, do you remember what happened that day? That day five years ago? The day I finally learned the truth?"

"Don't let him in your head Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed. "He's trying to confuse you."

"Don't worry Teef, I'm okay." Cloud said. He stared at Sephiroth and said "You think I could forget? You killed nearly everyone I knew! You burned the town!"

"True, true... Though to look outside, the second part of that might seem questionable."

"No more mind games Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted. "You know, I was planning to ask you what the point of all this has been, but now I'm wondering what it even matters... Let's just end this here and now!"

"End it? Dear Cloud, I've barely begun. And you, you don't even understand the nature of my question. I wasn't asking if you remembered what happened in the town, in the reactor. I was asking if you remembered what happened in this very room..." He pulled a file folder from the bookcase to his left and threw it to the ground, papers scattering about. "Do you remember Cloud?"

Cloud fell to his knees, clutching his head. "Do I? I don't... Or I do? I don't know..."

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed, kneeling at his side. She turned a fierce gaze on Sephiroth. "What are you doing to him?"

"Nothing more than his nature requires." Sephiroth replied.

With a scream, Tifa leapt to her feet and tried to rush the madman. She didn't even get close before being thrown backwards by an invisible force.

"Now now..." Sephiroth said, wagging a finger at Tifa. "I said I wasn't here to fight today and I meant it."

Pulling himself back together, Cloud began to stand back up. He confirmed that Tifa was unharmed, then said "Enough riddles Sephiroth, what do you want from me?"

"Fair enough then." Sephiroth chuckled madly. "Two things: First, I'm heading over Mount Nibel... Why don't you follow? I'm sure it'll be nostalgic for you to visit the reactor after all... And second, I have a gift for you."

What happened next happened almost too fast to follow. Sephiroth flew up from the floor, and disappeared by phasing through the rock ceiling. As he went, he threw a small dark object at Cloud, knocking Cloud off of his feet again. Everyone scrambled backwards, keeping themselves facing the object, thinking it was another Jenova monster. Of course, such was not the case.

"A Destruct Materia?" Red wondered, examining the object. "Why in the world would Sephiroth give us this?"

"Good question." Cloud agreed.

"Maybe it's symbolic..." Yuffie suggested. "Destruct Materia can cast 'Death' at high enough levels... Maybe this is his way of implying he'll kill us all?"

Everyone stared at the young ninja. "Wow... Did Yuffie just... think?" Tifa asked, incredulous.

"Oh, very funny." Yuffie shot back.

"We're done here." Cloud said suddenly. "Let's get out of here already."

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As we passed Vincent's chamber, the door swung open. Everyone spun around to find the man standing behind us. "Do you truly think more can be accomplished by aiding you?" He said to Barrett. "Do you believe I can atone by stopping Sephiroth from harming others?"

"Hell, I dunno." Barrett answered. "But for sure it's a better chance than just hidin' in that coffin!"

Nodding slowly, Vincent replied "Then, if you will accept it, I will accompany you on your journey. I was too late to save Sephiroth, or even Lucrestia... Maybe I can still save others, though."

"You understand we do most of our travelling in the daytime, right?" Yuffie said. "In the sunlight?"

"For the second time, young lady, I am not a vampire..." Vincent's words were strained and tired, but I swear that even then I saw the faintest hint of a smile briefly come to the corner of his mouth.

We left the mansion without further incident. Outside, the sun was still up, but sinking quickly lower in the western sky. Cloud and Tifa looked off in the direction of Mount Nibel. "That's the mountain we've got to cross?" Aerith asked, following their gaze.

"That's it alright." Tifa answered.

"Do we go now, or wait in town until dawn?" I asked.

Cloud answered "We wait. Five years ago Mount Nibel was crawling with green dragons, and I doubt that's changed. They're extremely powerful, we don't want to fight any more of them than we have to... And since most of them are nocturnal..."

"... we wait." I finished.

"Exactly."

We made our way back into town, and then towards the inn. As we walked, Cait said "Well, there's one good thing."

"What's that?" Tifa asked.

"The town's still here." Cait answered. "Considering everything you've told me about this Sephiroth it's kind of surprising he didn't re-burn the town Lass."

Tifa stared at the cat in surprise. "Huh... You're right." She said. "I wonder why he left it standing this time?"

"Mystery for another day." Barrett said. "Here's the inn."

"Alright everyone." Cloud announced standing on the doorstep of the inn. "Get plenty of rest, and be ready to be up and on the move before dawn. I intend to be clear of Mount Nibel before sunset tomorrow, and that won't be easy even if we don't have to stop for anything at all. So be ready, it's gonna be a hard day..."