(no subject)
Who: Vincent
Status: Open
When: 7:05 AM
Where: Sector Six streets.
What: Vincent broods while patrolling with one of the WRO teams.
warning: blood, violence
They were a group of five - one woman, three men, and himself. He hadn't particularly taken note of their names at first, but they spoke often enough to each other that he eventually came to learn of them: Nancy, Andrew, Hindley, and Sam, all similar in rank and title, from the red hats they wore to the vests over their chests. The only thing that really separated them were the guns they carried - different models, same use. Not that they were really relevant, he supposed, not against Sephiroth. There was only some hope that with the patrols, Sephiroth wouldn't be so apt to attack - if he had wanted to make himself known, wouldn't he have shown himself to all of them?
He couldn't pretend to know the ex-general by hand, but being with the patrols made him feel more useful than standing by and waiting for the inevitable. He couldn't simply wait for the others to meet up - by now, Sephiroth may not even be in the city, and they would have to go on some wild goose chase, just as before. No, they needed to have acted sooner, but that window had opportunity had shut when Cloud informed him of the sight after an hour of the fact.
Within an hour, Sephiroth could be anywhere, and the fact the others would rather wait... Well. Baffled him wasn't exactly correct, but it was close enough.
Yet, he was being too harsh, he knew. Cloud could have been suffering from severe hemorrhaging from the encounter with the silver-haired men. He hadn't even asked if the blond was all right, but that was irrelevant now.
Sephiroth... Lucrecia's son, back from the grave once more, with the larva forms as well.
"Mr. Valentine, we're going to take a quick break, if that's all right?" He glanced over to Nancy, nodding once. "I'm going to get coffee for us, then. Andrew, come with me?" The man straightened the red hat on his head, shouldering his gun before following the woman further down the street.
Sam was the first to relax, sitting down upon the curb and slouching, resting his arms ontop of his knees. "Jeez, it's cold," he sighed out, straightening his back and rolling his shoulders briefly, a hand beginning to rub his calf. Vincent looked up, scanning the rooftops. "When's Jeff coming to switch teams with us?" the redhead continued.
Hindley held up an arm, pulling back the sleeve to look at the watch. "Not for another four hours. Hang in there, man."
"Yeah, yeah." There was a brief silence, each of them looking at their surroundings, before Vincent finally moved from his position towards a nearby crate, leaning his lower back against it and crossing one ankle over the other, arms folding across his chest.
Sephiroth... Lucrecia and Hojo's son. If only he had been able to stop the experiments before they had begun, he... they... Gaia wouldn't be in the position they were in. Even at the cost of his own life, he wanted to save the child - it wasn't his, he knew it, but even so... The child had been a part of her, an innocent little thing that didn't deserve to be a part of such unnatural science (no one did). Still, Hojo had taken both his and Sephiroth's life, in essence, with little to give in return for the sacrifice. Taken it, ripped it to shreds, and molded it back together in the deformed, monstrous ways that was only Hojo's signature.
Unfortunately, Hojo had been a master at making his creations, his experiments (failed or otherwise), practically indestructible. As much as Vincent hated him, loathed him with every torn and remended part of his body, every permanent scar of a wound that should have been fatal, every lurking shadow in his mind, the man had been a genius.
He didn't realize he had closed his eyes until he felt the warmth of another nearby. He opened them, turning his head to gaze at Nancy, who held out a styrofoam cup to him.
"Here you go, Mr. Valentine. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just took black and put in two sugars for you."
He only nodded, taking it from her with his human hand, sipping at the hot liquid and letting it burn its way down his throat. She took a step back, tugging her skirt and smoothing it against her thick leggings.
They took a few more minutes to finish the coffee and rest a little longer before they were moving again, Vincent trailing behind. He kept one eye on them and the other on their surroundings, closing his thoughts off to divert his attention to his senses.
The faint sound of a gunshot made him pause, halting in his steps. He gazed down the alleyway he had heard it from, glancing at the others who seemed to have not heard it. Nancy looked over her shoulder to him, stopping and raising her hand for the others to halt as well.
"Mr. Valentine?"
He gestured with his head to the alleyway before taking off, long strides quickly carrying him to yet another gunfire, the shot resounding off the narrow walls of the alley. He slowed to a quick walk, frowning at the sight before him.
Blood splattered against the brick walls, the WRO soldier trembling as he dragged his body backwards along the ground, away from the approaching attacker. Glowing eyes, ones bright enough to light up a dark room, focused with deadly intent on the soldier, fingers twitching, knuckles bloodied and torn. Another fire from the soldier's gun, and the other's leg was shot out from underneath him, a sickening sound emitting from the body as it crumpled to the ground with a shriek.
Vincent wasn't sure what kept him from moving at first, watching with an almost morbid fascination as the drugged man began to drag himself forward with his hands, nails breaking against the concrete, leaving streaks of red. The soldier's gun clicked. Click, click, and it was out of bullets.
Finally, Vincent approached, stepping over the soldier and unholstering Cerberus.
"C-careful, sir!" the soldier shouted, but Vincent paid him no mind, padding over to the human, watching distantly as saliva dribbled from the male's mouth, body heaving with every intake of breath.
He knew the signs well enough. The man would die of an overdose soon. The man's hand shot out when he had come close enough, wrapping around his plated ankle, but Vincent only aimed Cerberus down at the man's head and fired. He turned his head, avoiding the splatter of blood before crouching and unwrapping the fingers from around his ankle.
He soon stepped back, nose wrinkling slightly at the distinct smell of death, before turning to look at the soldier. His leg was bent at an awkward angle, one hand resting against his bloodied side, face littered with bruises and cuts.
"Where's your team?" Vincent questioned, returning Cerberus to his thigh holster before helping the man up, slinging one of the other's arms around his shoulders and supporting his weight.
"I got separated," he mumbled, swallowing thickly before letting out a wet cough. "T-Thanks."
"Sir!" He recognized Hindley's voice before he saw the approaching soldier. "What hap - oh, Gaia. Here, I'll take him, Mr. Valentine." Vincent waited until Hindley had shouldered most of the man's weight before releasing him. "Come on. Let's get to the main road and we can call for transportation," the soldier murmured soothingly.
Vincent followed them out of the alleyway, glancing back briefly to the tattered body of the addict.
Is this what Gaia has been reduced to?
Status: Open
When: 7:05 AM
Where: Sector Six streets.
What: Vincent broods while patrolling with one of the WRO teams.
warning: blood, violence
They were a group of five - one woman, three men, and himself. He hadn't particularly taken note of their names at first, but they spoke often enough to each other that he eventually came to learn of them: Nancy, Andrew, Hindley, and Sam, all similar in rank and title, from the red hats they wore to the vests over their chests. The only thing that really separated them were the guns they carried - different models, same use. Not that they were really relevant, he supposed, not against Sephiroth. There was only some hope that with the patrols, Sephiroth wouldn't be so apt to attack - if he had wanted to make himself known, wouldn't he have shown himself to all of them?
He couldn't pretend to know the ex-general by hand, but being with the patrols made him feel more useful than standing by and waiting for the inevitable. He couldn't simply wait for the others to meet up - by now, Sephiroth may not even be in the city, and they would have to go on some wild goose chase, just as before. No, they needed to have acted sooner, but that window had opportunity had shut when Cloud informed him of the sight after an hour of the fact.
Within an hour, Sephiroth could be anywhere, and the fact the others would rather wait... Well. Baffled him wasn't exactly correct, but it was close enough.
Yet, he was being too harsh, he knew. Cloud could have been suffering from severe hemorrhaging from the encounter with the silver-haired men. He hadn't even asked if the blond was all right, but that was irrelevant now.
Sephiroth... Lucrecia's son, back from the grave once more, with the larva forms as well.
"Mr. Valentine, we're going to take a quick break, if that's all right?" He glanced over to Nancy, nodding once. "I'm going to get coffee for us, then. Andrew, come with me?" The man straightened the red hat on his head, shouldering his gun before following the woman further down the street.
Sam was the first to relax, sitting down upon the curb and slouching, resting his arms ontop of his knees. "Jeez, it's cold," he sighed out, straightening his back and rolling his shoulders briefly, a hand beginning to rub his calf. Vincent looked up, scanning the rooftops. "When's Jeff coming to switch teams with us?" the redhead continued.
Hindley held up an arm, pulling back the sleeve to look at the watch. "Not for another four hours. Hang in there, man."
"Yeah, yeah." There was a brief silence, each of them looking at their surroundings, before Vincent finally moved from his position towards a nearby crate, leaning his lower back against it and crossing one ankle over the other, arms folding across his chest.
Sephiroth... Lucrecia and Hojo's son. If only he had been able to stop the experiments before they had begun, he... they... Gaia wouldn't be in the position they were in. Even at the cost of his own life, he wanted to save the child - it wasn't his, he knew it, but even so... The child had been a part of her, an innocent little thing that didn't deserve to be a part of such unnatural science (no one did). Still, Hojo had taken both his and Sephiroth's life, in essence, with little to give in return for the sacrifice. Taken it, ripped it to shreds, and molded it back together in the deformed, monstrous ways that was only Hojo's signature.
Unfortunately, Hojo had been a master at making his creations, his experiments (failed or otherwise), practically indestructible. As much as Vincent hated him, loathed him with every torn and remended part of his body, every permanent scar of a wound that should have been fatal, every lurking shadow in his mind, the man had been a genius.
He didn't realize he had closed his eyes until he felt the warmth of another nearby. He opened them, turning his head to gaze at Nancy, who held out a styrofoam cup to him.
"Here you go, Mr. Valentine. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just took black and put in two sugars for you."
He only nodded, taking it from her with his human hand, sipping at the hot liquid and letting it burn its way down his throat. She took a step back, tugging her skirt and smoothing it against her thick leggings.
They took a few more minutes to finish the coffee and rest a little longer before they were moving again, Vincent trailing behind. He kept one eye on them and the other on their surroundings, closing his thoughts off to divert his attention to his senses.
The faint sound of a gunshot made him pause, halting in his steps. He gazed down the alleyway he had heard it from, glancing at the others who seemed to have not heard it. Nancy looked over her shoulder to him, stopping and raising her hand for the others to halt as well.
"Mr. Valentine?"
He gestured with his head to the alleyway before taking off, long strides quickly carrying him to yet another gunfire, the shot resounding off the narrow walls of the alley. He slowed to a quick walk, frowning at the sight before him.
Blood splattered against the brick walls, the WRO soldier trembling as he dragged his body backwards along the ground, away from the approaching attacker. Glowing eyes, ones bright enough to light up a dark room, focused with deadly intent on the soldier, fingers twitching, knuckles bloodied and torn. Another fire from the soldier's gun, and the other's leg was shot out from underneath him, a sickening sound emitting from the body as it crumpled to the ground with a shriek.
Vincent wasn't sure what kept him from moving at first, watching with an almost morbid fascination as the drugged man began to drag himself forward with his hands, nails breaking against the concrete, leaving streaks of red. The soldier's gun clicked. Click, click, and it was out of bullets.
Finally, Vincent approached, stepping over the soldier and unholstering Cerberus.
"C-careful, sir!" the soldier shouted, but Vincent paid him no mind, padding over to the human, watching distantly as saliva dribbled from the male's mouth, body heaving with every intake of breath.
He knew the signs well enough. The man would die of an overdose soon. The man's hand shot out when he had come close enough, wrapping around his plated ankle, but Vincent only aimed Cerberus down at the man's head and fired. He turned his head, avoiding the splatter of blood before crouching and unwrapping the fingers from around his ankle.
He soon stepped back, nose wrinkling slightly at the distinct smell of death, before turning to look at the soldier. His leg was bent at an awkward angle, one hand resting against his bloodied side, face littered with bruises and cuts.
"Where's your team?" Vincent questioned, returning Cerberus to his thigh holster before helping the man up, slinging one of the other's arms around his shoulders and supporting his weight.
"I got separated," he mumbled, swallowing thickly before letting out a wet cough. "T-Thanks."
"Sir!" He recognized Hindley's voice before he saw the approaching soldier. "What hap - oh, Gaia. Here, I'll take him, Mr. Valentine." Vincent waited until Hindley had shouldered most of the man's weight before releasing him. "Come on. Let's get to the main road and we can call for transportation," the soldier murmured soothingly.
Vincent followed them out of the alleyway, glancing back briefly to the tattered body of the addict.
Is this what Gaia has been reduced to?