Disclaimer: I don’t own FF7 or Legacy of Kain. I own the fic and my fan character. Sooooo… how’s it going?
Cloud had awakened after a troublesome nightmare. Sweat poured down his body as he panted for a breath. Along side him, Tifa had awakened as well. She wrapped a arm around his shoulders and comforted him, trying her hardest to calm him. After a long, deep sigh, Cloud looked her in the eye. Tifa had a crimson brown color in her eyes, one showing a shadow of beauty and the fiery spirit of Ifrit’s flames. They were comforting, soothing, and at the same time… protective. They went along with her huge, loving heart and her unbelievable strength that she had inside of her. But most of all, it was Tifa herself for which he admired and loved. He looked at her, and didn’t even have to force a smile. Whenever he saw Tifa, all he could do was smile, because she was there. She was always there, and she had always loved him.
“The nightmare came again…” Cloud said.
“The one about vampires?” Tifa questioned.
“Yes… the seven of them.”
“The six Lieutenants…”
“And the Lord Vampire…”
“Does it mean something?”
“I’m not sure… it comes night after night, but I can never make sense of it all. The location, the humans, the vampire hunters, the vampires, and the citizens’ lives… it all is brutal, but I can’t understand why I have these dreams…”
“Shh… calm down Cloud. We can talk about this in the morning. At least then you’ll be able to calm yourself.”
“Right… goodnight Tifa…”
With that, Cloud kissed Tifa on the mouth, and then settled back under the covers. Tifa snuck another look at him with concern, and then laid herself down. Cloud closed his eyes and wrapped a arm around Tifa’s waist as he fell asleep. When morning came he was alone in the bed. Tifa was already in the kitchen, making a cup of coffee and bringing in the newspaper. Cloud walked into the kitchen and greeted his lover by nuzzling her neck. Tifa replied with a gentle laugh, then turning around and kissing him on the mouth. The two sat at the table and sipped some coffee. Life was perfect for the two: The Meteor was destroyed, Sephiroth and Jenova were destroyed, Shinra was never heard from again, and the planet was safe. After a cup of coffee, Cloud explained about the dream. Tifa listened closely, becoming very interested with what Cloud had to say.
“The Lord Vampire is Kain, the most powerful vampire in Nosgoth. I’m sure you know what Nosgoth is.” Cloud said.
“The empire in which the vampires live, correct?” Tifa questioned.
“Right. Well, he has six lieutenants, but the strongest out of them is his eldest son, Raziel. Raziel and the other lieutenants have clan vampires, for example: Raziel’s clans are Razielim vampires, but to the point, the vampires rule Nosgoth. The vampire hunters are called Sarafan, and the vampires overpower them. It’s a very brutal dream but… I’m not sure why I still have it over and over…”
“Hmm… maybe what you need is some familiar company. Vincent and Nanaki don’t live very far. Why don’t we go visit?”
“Maybe your right… sounds good…”
Cloud gave Tifa another heart-warming smile, and then walked over to his room to get dressed. He put on his regular wardrobe, and then strapped his buster sword ontop him. When he was done, Tifa walked in and put on her clothes as well: the regular mini-skirt and white shirt with her fighting gloves and red hiking boots. Once they were both dressed and ready, the two left their home and walked towards the Shinra Mansion. Hopefully Vincent had awakened and was in good condition. He was so stern when he traveled with them, but he still was a true friend. Cloud and Tifa made their way towards the mansion and walked in. Vincent never locked the door, because basically he didn’t care. As the two made their way through the mansion and into the crypt, they saw that Vincent wasn’t anywhere in sight.
A chill ran up Cloud’s spine once he saw the empty crypt. Vincent was eventually not here at the moment, and not in Nibelheim at all. Cloud knew that right off the back. But where could a man who never leaves a mansion and spends most of his time in a crypt have possibly gone? Things were just getting more suspicious every step of the way. Just then, there was a small tap on the back, and even though it was nothing more then a tap, it made him jump and let out a small yell. His yell startled Tifa and she jumped herself. Cloud quickly looked at Tifa to see if she was alright, hoping that nothing had hurt her or anything. She was probably thinking the same thing, because she looked at him as well, but the just thing they heard was a thundering laughter. The two groaned and turned around, seeing Yuffie rolling on the floor, holding her ribs and laughing hardly.
“Yuffie, what the blue hell are you doing here?” Cloud sighed.
“Nyuk-nyuk… you guys are so easy to scare… heh-heh-heh… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Yuffie managed saying, then got up.
“You enjoy dodging the question, Yuffie. What are you doing here? Wutai’s miles from Nibelheim.” Tifa said, growing a tad bit irritated.
“Hey, I wanted to see how my old buddies were doing! It’s been years after we killed Sephiroth! And it wasn’t just me who decided to show up either! Take a lookie!” Yuffie replied, and held out a hand towards the doorway.
Just as Cloud and Tifa looked, Barret, Marlene and Cid had just walked into the room. Tifa seemed to be beaming, because she was just so happy to see that the others were there. And no sooner did she have a smile across her face, Nanaki shyly walked over next to Marlene and looked over at his old friends. Cloud seemed to be happy as well and life just seemed to pass right before his eyes. He saw the adventure that the group went through, and how much fun they had. But only three were missing: Cait Sith, Vincent and… Aeris. Cloud never cared for Aeris, but didn’t refuse from buying a flower from her. He only bought it to give to Tifa, but he never cared for Aeris. When he fell through the roof and met her, he was just a mercenary looking for work. But he never agreed to go on a date with Aeris, he only agreed to protect her. But when Sephiroth stabbed her with his sword, it was of course depressing, but now he felt that something good came out of it… she saved the planet.
“Hey Cloud! Tifa! What the hell have you two been up to?” Cid asked, taking a puff from his cigarette.
“Never been better. How about you and Shera?” Cloud questioned.
“Shit Cloud, you should know about that! Shera is a pain in the ass… but that’s why I love the girl. She can drive an old bastard like me crazy, but is somebody you can never hate. Got me?” Cid said.
“Gotcha loud ‘n clear, Captain.” Tifa said, teasing the old pilot.
“It’s been a while, ‘eh folks? Where the hell is Vincent and that #%$^*ing idiot Cait Sith?” Barret asked.
“Dad! You’ve traveled all over the planet with the guy and ya call ‘em an idiot? What’s that for?” Marlene snapped as she gave her father a look. Marlene was older now, an eight-year-old, who took after her father quite well.
“Oh Marlene, I barely recognized you. We barely get the chance to meet like this anymore. Man… you’ve grown up so fast…” Tifa said, smiling.
It was a very long time before they saw each other. Yuffie, now nineteen, was still the naïve sixteen-year-old Materia hunter that she was four years ago. Barret and Cid were older as well, and it was a sight to see Nanaki still alive and still silent as ever. Just as the party began to socialize like old times, a crimson light appeared. The ground began to shake rapidly as if an earthquake was forming. The ground slowly began to break apart, separating the friends. And then, the entire room was covered in flames just like the incident when Sephiroth had Nibelheim on fire. All Cloud could hear was Yuffie and Marlene’s screams, but he couldn’t pay attention to them. Tifa was in just enough danger as well, and he couldn’t bear to see her die like the way so many others have.
He raced towards her as fast as he could. Tifa was trying to help Cid, whom had fallen to the ground during the rumbling. Once he was up, she told him to stick with Barret. He was far from harm’s way, and was protecting Marlene while Nanaki saved a troubled Yuffie. But just as Cid began to run towards Barret, Tifa saw Cloud coming her way. She tried to run for him, but no sooner did she lift her foot off the ground, the ground below her shattered as if smacking a mirror with a hammer. Tifa began to fall, heading towards a fiery pit. But just before she was out of reach, Cloud jumped towards her and grabbed her quickly by the wrist. He couldn’t explain what was happening though… how did the fire appear, and why did an earthquake come with it? All of this just wasn’t making sense.
“*&^*^%&#*! We’ve gotta help ‘em!” Cid shouted, and raced towards Cloud and Tifa.
“Yuffie, Nanaki, look after Marlene, will ya?” Barret said to his comrades as he and Cid raced towards their companions.
“Uhh… no problem!” Yuffie stammered and she held Marlene.
Just as Cid and Barret approached Cloud and Tifa, there was a flash of black light. And then, out of the blue, Vincent did a front flip and landed right next to Cloud and Tifa. He just stood there as Cloud pulled up his lover, and then watched as he held her close to him. Then the two stared up at the cynical, devious-looking man. But now, Vincent wasn’t staring at them anymore. He was looking at the ceiling, because now the ceiling was cracking, and the heat and bright glow from the fire was coming. Barret and Cid could only stand and watch as Vincent just stood there, staring up. Yuffie held Marlene in her arms, trying to cover the little girl from any nearby flames, and Nanaki just guarded the two. Cloud stopped looking at Vincent and looked at the ceiling as well. He stroked his hand through Tifa’s hair as she held onto him, trembling with fear.
“This is it…” Vincent said.
“Huh?” Cloud questioned.
“The dream…”
“The dream…? How did you know about…”
“This is where it all begins… this
is our destiny…”
Cloud was taken by Vincent’s
serious words. He couldn’t bare to stare up at the ceiling any longer. He didn’t
want fire to be the last thing he saw… he wanted Tifa to be the last thing he
saw before death. He stared her in the eye and then gave her his last kiss. The
flames surrounded their bodies, but before pain could tingle their nerves, everything
paused. Cloud suddenly lost his consciousness, along with Tifa and the others.
Just then, the dream returned to Cloud, only this time it was different. Kain
was there, and so were the other vampires… they were outnumbered by Sarafan warriors.
All around them, the vampires where in a small circle as the Sarafan moved towards
them. Kain had a large sword in his hand, and Raziel and his brethren were all
prepared for a battle. And then finally… the circle just grew in closer until
the vampires finally attacked.
His Mako-eyes finally opened. He wasn’t dead, that was for
sure… but he wasn’t burnt either. He looked the same, and Tifa was still in his
arms. She was unconscious and a little beaten up. Barret, Cid, Marlene and Nanaki
were sprawled on the floor, also unconscious. Vincent and Yuffie were nowhere
in sight, and the location didn’t give him confidence if they were alright. They
were in a gothic empire with mist flowing through the air, and their were growls
and screams in the distance. He wasn’t comfortable at all, and held Tifa closer
to him. He finally rose to his feet, now carrying Tifa in his arms as he walked
over towards Barret and the others. Once he approached Barret, he gave the man
a hard kick in the ribs, causing him to wake up.
“*^&%^& Cloud! That *&^&&%^ing hurts,
you foo’!” Barret snapped as he got up. “Well… at least we ain’t dead.”
“Shut the &%^&$%^ up you stupid &^%^%$^$.” Cid
was finally waking up, along with Nanaki and Marlene.
“God… where the hell are we, Cloud?” Barret questioned.
“…Nosgoth…” Cloud replied coldly as he stared at the sky.
“Where the &%^*^*% is Vincent and Yuffie? That bastard
Vincent just comes a waltzing right in and then his &%^$%^$ing place comes
burning up and then we end up in Spooksville. The hell’s the matter with that
&^%$^&?” Cid snapped.
“Say Cloud, how do ya know where we be?” Barret said.
“I’ve been having dreams of this place for nights on end.
And I’m not even gonna start explaining about what lives here.” Cloud replied.
Yuffie woke up by a small body of water. She looked about
the area, getting the chills. She got up and took her boomerang, gripping it tightly.
She walked away from the water and made her way through the place. Now Yuffie
was terrified, and she really hated places that were gothic-like and spooky. This
place had gothic-like and spooky written all over it in Yuffie’s opinion. Suddenly,
it was like she stepped in a puddle, but when she looked down, it wasn’t a puddle
of water. Her eyes widened as she saw that her foot had stepped in a puddle of
blood. But that didn’t come close to what she saw next… in the distance was a
fishlike creature that was coming out of the water and towards her. And there
were about ten of them coming for her, and that made Yuffie jump out of her skin.
“AHHHHH! OH MY GAWD!” Yuffie screamed and began to run for
cover.
The creatures were hissing and chasing after her. Yuffie
was beyond terrified now. Sephiroth, the guy who was going to destroy the planet,
was like an angel compared to these creatures. If only Yuffie had stronger Materia
instead of the one she had, then she would’ve been able to fight back. But fire
Materia against water creatures was not a very good idea. All Yuffie could do
was run, forgetting that she even had her boomerang with her. She just went running
and screaming at the top of her lungs like a madman. That’s when she saw a few
crumbled up old pillars in the distance, and that was Yuffie’s only method of
safety. She charged for the pillars, the creatures still chasing her. Once she
made it to them, she jumped onto the nearest pillar and began to climb up it.
She was climbing high up too, and out of the reach form the monsters that were
jumping up at her.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA! I’M OUT OF YER REACH YOU FOOLS! YOU CAN’T
CATCH ME NOW! EHEHEHE!” Yuffie shouted, taunting the monsters. Growling at her
words, the creatures slowly backed away until they were out of sight. But then,
a man came walking towards the pillar Yuffie was up.
“You can come down now. It’s safe now.” He said, calling
up at Yuffie.
Yuffie sighed out loud and made her way down the pillar.
Once she reached the ground, she saw a handsome young man. He had a blue cloth
hanging over his left shoulder, had jet-black hair and was deathly pale. Yuffie
was now a little boy-crazy, but then she noticed the man’s cloven hands and once
he flashed her a smile, she saw a pair of fangs. Now Yuffie was scared, but she
also knew that her boy crazy habits would probably save her life. It didn’t work
on Cloud when she wanted to go out with him, but it might work on this guy. He
looked young, and she knew that boys could get their minds on girls if they really
wanted to. So Yuffie did the first thing that came to her mind.
“I… gotta go home! See ya!” She shouted and then began to run for it, but the man gripped her
shoulder.
“I can at least walk you home.” He said with a sly, slick
voice.
“O…kay… but I hafta warn ya! I don’t live around here! I
live far, far away in a place called Wutai.”
“Wutai? Never heard of that place before. What’s it like?”
Awright! Yuffie, you are awesome! I got him eating out of
the palm of my hand! Yuffie thought and smiled.
“Well… it’s a place were ninjas live. We live in a small,
Yamato-like village surrounded by mountains, a river, and all the kitties!” Yuffie
said, expressing herself like a child.
“Sounds like a nice place. So I take it… you’re a ninja,
correct?” the man asked.
“Yep. Hey, I didn’t catch yer name.”
“My name is Rahab. And yours is?”
“Yuffie! Yuffie Kisaragi!”
“Yuffie huh? That’s a nice name. So… where do we go to get
to this Wutai?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure actually. The last thing I remember was
being with the gang at Vincent’s place, and then the roof catching on fire and
then ground breaking up like an earthquake, then being chased by these freaky
little gooneys, then meeting you. That’s ‘bout it.”
“Hey, since you don’t remember the location very well, you…
wanna hang out?”
“Whadda ya mean by that?”
“Well, you’re lost, and there’s nothing for me to do, so…
do ya wanna hang?”
“Hmm… I guess so. Maybe we’ll crash into Cloud and the gang
if we walk around some more.”
“Sounds good. C’mon, let’s hang out. I wanna hear more about
your friends.”
“Kewl!”