An Angels Pain
Chapter 10: Broken
By Sycorax
An Angels Pain
Chapter 10: Broken
By Sycorax
"How…..secluded….." Vincent remarked dryly after arriving on Earth. The two angels had reappeared in a large, barren field. No light shone, only dark clouds adorned the sky as they stood in a field of wild grass, wind sweeping their hair around.
Arios shrugged. "This is where Lady Aeris said there was a demon presence."
"Well, I don't see nor sense anything." Vincent replied, crossing his arms. Again, Arios shrugged.
"Well, well, well, doesn't this save me the trouble of hunting you down?"
Vincent's eyes widened in surprise at the unknown voice. "Cloud!?" He looked off into the field and could see a faint silhouette of a man standing in the distance. He started off towards the figure, but Arios caught him roughly by the arm.
"What is it?" Vincent asked irritably.
"Don't. Something seems different about him."
"Who cares!? He's here, not 'lost somewhere between Heaven and Earth!'" Vincent scowled, pulling away from Arios' grip and sprinting away towards the figure. Before Arios could go to stop him, a long, black claw wrapped itself around Arios' mouth. He gasped and fell back against the form that held him silent and still.
"Be still," Chaos hissed into Arios' ear, "else I'll kill that fledgling myself."
Vincent started his pace slow, but as he grew more and more desperate to reach the distant figure, he broke into a run. For what seemed like an eternity, he ran, but for some reason the figure never grew closer. The angel grew frustrated and in his desperation, he made one final sprint before spreading his wings and taking flight, speeding through the field.
High above Vincent, a young demon watched the angel below, marveling at the grace and speed of the creature. It then pulled its own leathery wings to its side, entering a steep dive towards the fledgling below. During the heart-wrenching dive, the demon remembered the words of its master and grinned. "Always have stealth on your side when encountering an angel….." The thought echoed through his mind as he sped towards the doomed angel.
About ten feet from reaching Vincent, the demon flipped itself midair, sending itself talon first into the angel, kicking it hard into the ground. Deftly, the demon flipped back and landed in a kneeling position. Vincent skidded to a stop on the ground, the hard dirt scraping his chest painfully. He struggled to regain himself; the friction from the impact had knocked him off guard. Slowly he rose and snapped his head to his attacker, his face blanching at the sight.
"Cloud…..?"
The demon rose from its kneeling position, chuckling. "Like it matters anymore." He muttered, issuing an icy glare at Vincent. "This is what Cloud Strife has become, so I suppose I am the one you call 'Cloud.'"
"What…..happened…..?" Vincent managed to stutter, his voice barely above a whisper. The demon's ears twitched; apparently he had heard Vincent quite fine.
"I came to my senses, Vincent. But let's not delay the inevitable any longer, shall we?" Cloud said in a demonically calm tone.
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked.
"Well, there's the slight matter of revenge….."
"Revenge?" Vincent interrupted.
"Oh yes. See, you killed Tifa."
"What!?"
Cloud glared, his eyes bearing down on the angel. "You heard me, you fuck. You -killed- Tifa. Don't you remember? You hated her so much….."
"Cloud, I didn't kil-"
The demon raised his claw, stopped Vincent's speech. "Are you denying that you hated her?"
Vincent paused then sighed sullenly. "…..no, but-"
"Then do you deny that your hatred was the reason Tifa had to die!?" Cloud's stance had staggered and his eyes were glossing over.
"Cloud….." Vincent said softly.
"Answer me, damn it! Tell me Tifa died because of your selfish hatred for her! Tell me!!" The demon screamed. He lost all composure the, angrily wiping tears of blood from his eyes.
Vincent's face turned to one of sympathy and sorrow. "Yes…..yes, Cloud. Tifa died…..because I hated her."
Cloud paused. It seemed as if that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. "I loved her, Vincent. I loved her more than life itself and yet her soul was torn away from me in an instant! In that single moment my life shattered. My joy stolen from me forever." He raised an accusing claw to Vincent. "All thanks to you, sweet, sweet Vincent." Fire leapt in his cobalt eyes as he glared at the angel before him.
"Cloud, I admit that your soul was shattered the moment she died, but you recovered. Don't you remember? The two months afterwards, I…..I took care of you. And you….."
"I what?" the demon hissed angrily. "Fell in love with you? Is that what you were about to say? That's insanity!! I could never love you! Tifa was the only one I could love, and she was ripped away from me. There's no way in fucking hell that I would ever fall in love with the likes of you!"
Vincent's throat suddenly ran dry. "You…..you can't mean that….." Vincent stated weakly, his voice losing confidence. "That night we shared….."
"Meant nothing! It meant nothing to me. It was just something to get my mind off of things. It meant absolutely -nothing-!"
"…..no….." Vincent cried softly, taking a step backwards. Everything he had wished for and thought he had gained, gone. His one desire ripped from his heart. His crimson eyes grew very distant and gleamed with moisture. His mind, his heart, his soul, all of it blanked out. Nothing mattered. The only thing he could feel was the pain. The sharp, throbbing pain that welling in his chest, exploding over and over again, constricting his lungs, causing his breath to grow shallow and ragged.
A small white tear fell from his eyes as a thousand more began their similar descent from the heavens.
Cloud grinned, his fangs bared. "Now that I've broken you, I'll kill you." He growled, summoning a sword very similar to Ultima Weapon to his side. He dashed forward with the weapon, slicing Vincent across the chest, sending the angel skidding across the dirt. Vincent gripped his wound, breathing slowly.
"Why aren't you defending yourself!?" Cloud screamed. Vincent offer no reply. His eyes no longer held any thought. He was lost.
Chaos smiled, watching his new demon at play. Arios watched as the demon attacked Vincent, eyes widening when his fledgling didn't fight back. He struggled against Chaos' grip, but found it to be a futile attempt.
//Arios.//
Arios abruptly stopped his struggling. Chaos regarded him. "I see you've given up. Well, I'll allow you to watch your fledgling die before I kill you myself. Be patient, dear archangel."
Arios had the sudden urge to bite Chaos, but thought it out to be a worthless attempt.
//Arios, answer me!//
//Lady Aeris?// Arios questioned, hearing the voice in his mind. He raised his eyes back to look at Chaos. It seemed the demon was too caught up in the fight to pay any real attention to the one he held captive. Arios rolled his lavender eyes back and allowed his spirit to abandon his body, answering Aeris' call.
"It's about time." Aeris said irritably when Arios made his appearance.
"I'm afraid Chaos has my body in a slight bind, Lady."
"Oh no, will you be alright?"
"For the time being." Arios reassured her. "Now what is it you wanted?"
"I called you to give you something of mine that will help in the defeat of Chaos."
Arios looked at her quizzically. "What?"
Aeris held out her hands and a powerful white light appeared between them. The light rose from her palms and levitated between Aeris and the archangel. Arios recognized the light and backed away.
"That's the power the higher being gave you. I can't take that. What will happen to you?"
"I don't know what will happen to me. But I do know that this power is powerful enough to destroy Chaos. Heaven doesn't need a ruler."
"But Lady….."
"Arios, I beg you, take it." She said quietly. "Take it and destroy Chaos."
"Defend yourself!" Cloud demanded, creating another gash across Vincent's already torn chest. The angel shook his head wearily.
"No….." Vincent replied defiantly.
Cloud growled, pulling his blade into a wide arc, sending Vincent flying backwards. The angel hit the ground hard, his head lolling over to the side, blood seeping from the corner of his lips. Vincent didn't bother getting up. He just allowed the rain to pound against him, the cool water a comforted touch versus the pain the welled all over.
The demon hissed angrily, throwing his sword to the ground. He marched up to the fallen angel, straddling his hips and pulling Vincent's face up to his.
Their lips barely an inch apart, Cloud spoke, "Why?"
"Why what?" Vincent asked.
Cloud shook him violently. "Why won't you defend yourself?"
Vincent grew limp and remained silent. Another growl escaped the demons lips as he slapped the angel across the face. Vincent flinched as Cloud brought the angel's face back to his.
"Answer me, angel!" Cloud snarled.
"Because….." Vincent's eyes locked with the demons. "I love you."