Poking Around [Yuffie/Vincent]

[Vincent Valentine]

Have you no decency?
--

Of course she hadn't had enough. Of course. Vincent never got that lucky. He sighed and was just about to suggest they explore a different place when she started freaking out.

"See what?[/color]" he asked, rushing over to see. She didn't answer of course, only told him they had to go check it out. He didn't particularly want to go gallivanting around the castle, chasing something when he wasn't even quite sure what he was. He turned to head back to the library and take the stairs like any sane person but before he could even make it a half step....

Yuffie jumped over the railing.
From the second story.

Of course she did.

He gripped the railing and gazed over, watching her hit the floor deftly and take off running after whatever had caught her attention. He was left with a choice. Head back through the library and risk losing track of his hyperactive partner... or jump.

Vincent decided to jump. He'd survived worse, much worse. With an exasperated growl, he vaulted one-hand over the railing and landed in a crouch with out so much as a stumble.

He checked Cerberus as he chased after her. Loaded. Ready to fire.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie followed after the creature into an area that had lifts, one immediately in front of her. Though she could see the creature out of the corner of her eyes heading to a doorway that was on her left. "Get back here you stupid heartless!" she yelled at it as she continued her chase.

Soon she was outside again, the doorway having lead to here. She saw another lift thing in the distance that had just moved, so she figured it must have gone up. Though a heartless using one of these things seemed a little odd. She hopped onto it and followed it up, to a new place outside of the castle.

There wasn't much up here, just the platform she was currently on with another lift thing, though it was bigger than the other ones, and another area off in the distance. She couldn't see the heartless anymore and could only conclude it had gone across, but it seemed unlikely it could get over there so fast. She waited there for a moment trying to see if she had overlooked anything. "No way that heartless could be this fast...." she said as she looked around.

[Vincent Valentine]

Things become a little bit clearer.
--

Vincent heard her voice, very far away, say something about a Heartless. But when he rounded the corner, expecting to see Yuffie engaged in battle with said Heartless, he saw nothing.

Alarmed, he looked back and forth and listened, trying to find the sound of her voice again, or even the sound of her footsteps. Nothing. She was gone. He'd lost her.

The castle was a big place, not to mention all the surrounding areas she could have run off to in pursuit of the only Heartless that had shown its face. It couldn't have been a very big Heartless to get past their attention like that. The way Yuffie had made it out to be was that she had just barely seen it. She had asked Vincent if he saw it too, which is what tipped him off. A bigger Heartless would have been much more noticeable.

What scared him even more was that the creature was running. Most Heartless wouldn't have retreated. They acted on impulse and their mission in existence- not life- was to consume hearts. It wouldn't have run, it would have attacked them to try and fulfill its purpose.

The Heartless was bait. Leading her somewhere.

Vincent couldn't protect her if he didn't know where she was. No time to waste standing around cursing himself for losing track of the girl.

"Yuffie![/color]" he yelled, well aware that there was anger in his voice. Anger at many different things. At her for getting them into this mess and running off. At whoever was trying to lure her in. And at himself for not being able to protect her. It was just too familiar.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie looked around, nothing that seemed to indicate where that heartless had went. She was frustrated that she had lost it, having had been tailing it very closely. "Well....now what?" she asked herself aloud as she thought about what to do next. It was then that she heard Vincent call out her name though he sounded far away.

He sounded angry and she didn't blame him. She had been a bit impulsive in chasing that heartless and coming in here in the first place. But was it that bad to want to find out what that witch was up too? She leaned up against the crystal thing that was on the platform she was on. "Up here!" she yelled out, hoping he could hear her. Now all she had to do was wait for him to catch up.

It did feel like it was probably time to leave. At this rate they would run into some trouble and she had promised Vincent they wouldn't. Though it seemed she couldn't catch a break as all of a sudden the crystal she was leaning against activated and she was teleported into the giant lift in front of her. She looked around confused for a moment.

"What?! I didn't activate the lift!" she exclaimed confused. She yelled out to Vincent if he could hear her. "Vincent! The lift started up all by itself! I don't know where it's going!"

[Vincent Valentine]

It's a lose lose situation, here.
--

Vincent heard her voice, trying to tell him her location. She still sounded kind of far away, but he ran towards the sound of her voice and saw her up on the platform. He almost sighed with relief, but of course, it was too early for that. As he was approaching the platform, he heard her start screaming about the lift activating itself. She sounded terrified, and to be honest, so was he. Yuffie didn't even know where the lift went, and he couldn't remember.

To make matters worse, he didn't see any Heartless. It wasn't that she had fought and defeated it, though. There was no sign of a battle, and he hadn't heard anything on his way over. That just further cemented his theory that this was a trap. It probably had been from the start and they had walked right into it. Vincent had allowed her to walk into it. He cursed himself as he finally made it to the platform. The lift Yuffie was on was making its way away from the platform and it was a long way down.

He didn't know what to do. Your average hero probably would have tried to jump and save her, but Vincent was sensible and knew a stunt like that would only serve to get both of them killed. He would have to wait until the lift came back and ride it to wherever it was taking Yuffie... and hope he wasn't too late.

"I'll follow you when the lift comes back,[/color]" he called. "Don't get killed and and please... stay put.[/color]"

He trusted her to take care of herself.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie couldn't believe how careless she had been today. That heartless thing she had chased had led her here probably. There was no way she had activated the lift by accident, she wasn't that ditzy. It had been off and after she had leaned on it, it suddenly turned on. She looked at the platform as the lift got further away from it, seeing Vincent finally catch up.

He hadn't caught up quick enough, he'd have to wait till the lift came back. She felt bad, Vincent hadn't even wanted to them to come in here and she had promised there wouldn't be trouble. Vincent called out and told her to not get killed and stay put. She nodded and put on a brave face. "Of course I will, Vincent! No one can take down The Great Ninja Yuffie!" she yelled out to him.

Truth be told she was a bit afraid now, but she would face whatever was coming next. She waited in the lift and soon it reached the other platform that had been on the other side. However, instead of being teleported over there she suddenly found herself in front of some giant doors. She looked around confused, the lift shouldn't have dropped her here. Unless...someone else had wanted her to be here.

"Maleficent...." she whispered angrily. She had to be the one behind this. Soon after she had said the name the doors opened. Yuffie knew Vincent had told her to stay put but... since she was already here she might as well go all the way. She took a deep breath and walked forward the doors closing behind her.

(She's gonna be in the room where you fight Maleficent the first time)

[Vincent Valentine]

I'm going to need a drink after this is done. Yuffie's buying.
--

Vincent stood there somewhat impatiently and waited for the lift to return. He didn't pace about, but there was a definite air of impatience about him. The lift finally returned and Vincent boarded it, using the crystal just as Yuffie had. Only in his case, it was his choice to board, whereas she had been forced.

The ride took a while. Vincent tried to keep calm, knowing that anything else would only be a handicap. The view from this height was stunning and helped to calm his mind. He could see far into the land, as well as a great view of the exterior of the castle.

When he reached the end of the line, he sighed heavily. Yuffie wasn't here, and after he told her to stay put? Maybe she'd been kidnapped, but knowing her, she'd gone against his suggestion (again) and ran off.

There was only one way to know for sure and that was to go through the only available door. Maybe Yuffie had gone through to hide or something like that. The door didn't open when he tried it, but there was an easy way to finish. He fired a shot into the lock, blowing the mechanism to bits and blowing the door open.

He walked in, ready for almost anything...

This was the castle chapel, a place he had rarely if ever visited in his time. There was an eerie feel to the place, even it was sort of beautiful.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie walked forward cautiously, unsure of what she would run into. She looked around, the castle now looking more creepy up here than the other parts of the castle had been. It was darker than the rest of the castle had been too which probably made it look creepier. Her hand was ready to grab a shuriken if she needed to defend herself.

As she walked in further, she began to see a figure. She thought it was Maleficent at first, but it was too short for it to be her. As she got closer she noticed the figure was turned and it was all black, but it was a vaguely familiar shape. Then the figure turned around and she let out an audible gasp. "No, no, no it can't be....." she said in disbelief.

She was facing....herself. Only black and with yellow eyes, a bit of a creepy looking smile on its face. It was just like the figure in her dream. Was she dreaming now. She wanted to pinch herself to see if she was, but her arms wouldn't move. She wanted to start backing away, but it seemed her legs were frozen in place. No, this wasn't right! It couldn't be standing there in front of her, but there it was plain as day.

The Anti-Yuffie began moving towards her, that creepy smile seeming to widen. Yuffie knew she should do something, but it seemed all of her usually energy was just gone, replaced with terror.

[Vincent Valentine]

Wasn't expecting this...
--

When Vincent thought he was ready for almost anything, an Anti-Yuffie was not on that list. He hesitated a little in shock but shook it off. Yuffie was frozen and he didn't know what that... thing... was capable of. Was it a Heartless? It certainly looked like one, but Yuffie didn't have a Heartless- one that he was aware of anyway.

The Anti-Yuffie was approaching the normal one slowly with a terrible smile on its face. Vincent rushed over, starting at a brisk walk but breaking out into a run. He stepped in front of Yuffie in hopes that if he blocked the girl's view, she would be able to move.

Maleficent would have been better... Vincent thought as he leveled Cerberus with the Anti-Yuffie's head. At least then I would have no qualms about firing.

It was true. Had it been the witch, Vincent would have shot at her without a moment's hesitation. But even as the Anti-Yuffie drew closer and closer, Vincent couldn't bring himself to shoot anything in her likeness. Besides the obvious, Vincent wasn't sure attacking this thing would affect the real Yuffie.

Vincent took a few steps back, forcing Yuffie back with him. He wanted to tell her to run and hide, but didn't want her getting separated again. Better to try and end this now while they were close... just in case.

He prayed nothing bad happened to the girl standing behind him and fired three times at the Anti-Yuffie.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie barely registered that Vincent had blown out the lock and had entered the room. She was still too focused on the Anti-Yuffie slowly approaching her. She was trying to move, trying really hard, but she was just frozen in place. This was one of the last things she expected to come across while they were here. She wanted to believe this was just another horrible nightmare, but she knew that this was real.

After a few moments Vincent stood between her and the Anti-Yuffie, blocking her few of it. He saw Vincent had his gun out ready to shoot the thing, but it seemed like he was hesitating. He started forcing them backwards toward the exit and Yuffie started to feel her legs again as she was forced backwards. She then heard three shots fired and yelped in surprise from the sudden noise.

She looked over Vincent's shoulder to see what had happened to the Anti-Yuffie. It seemed to have been knocked back a bit, but it hadn't been phased much, it still approached. She had to do something. She couldn't stand back, like some scared little girl (even though she was terrified). She was a great ninja wasn't she?

She stepped next to Vincent, so that she wasn't behind him anymore. She could do this, she could face this somehow. She felt sick, but she fought the feeling and took out her fuma shuriken. "I...I can do this...." she said aloud trying to reassure herself. She then rushed her doppelganger. "I am the Great Ninja Yuffie and you don't intimidate me!" she yelled at it as she attacked, mostly just trying to reassure herself that this....thing posed no threat to her.

[Vincent Valentine]

A worthy opponent for Yuffie. Herself.
--

Vincent made a growling noise when he saw his bullets hadn't been quite as effective as he wanted them to be. At least they served to push the Anti-Yuffie back a little, and pull the normal Yuffie out of her shock. He figured something like this might happen. This wasn't his battle, this was something Yuffie was going to have to do on her own.

Yuffie attacked... herself... shurkien raised high. Vincent wasn't sure what to do with himself, but decided that if it looked like she needed help he would either try shooting it again or transforming. As much as he hated to change in front of the girl, it might have been necessary given the circumstances. And if it scarred her for life... well, at least she still had a life.

He felt kind of stupid, just standing there. What, no Heartless sent after him? Yuffie got one all to herself and he just had to sit there and watch. This did not please him, he didn't like watching her fight because any minute now, she was going to get hit.

But he was as calm as ever. He stood back to give the lady and her opponent room to fight. This was a battle that would have to be finished here. Retreat was not an option. That thing couldn't be left to roam Radiant Garden, especially not if there were more where she came from. That thought chilled Vincent to the bone, that there might be others like this in the form of the rest of his friends.

Despite standing back, he still stayed close enough to leap into action if the situation called for it.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie had attacked the Anti-Yuffie, and it seemed to be in pain but it was hard to tell. It still had that stupid creepy smile on its face. And if that wasn't insulting enough, it now had out its own fuma shuriken. Was this thing just going to copy her?! That annoyed her, first it had to copy her appearance and then it was going to copy her moves.

The Anti-Yuffie then rushed her and Yuffie jumped over it to avoid the attack. While she was in the air she threw her fuma shuriken at its back and that seemed to do something, but it still wasn't gone. The fuma shuriken came back to her and she put it away. When she landed she then threw shurikens at it, though it started to rush her, the surikens not seeming to bother it.

She was fed up with this thing. She took back out her fuma shuriken. That thing still had that creepy smile. "Stop looking at me with that creepy smile!!" she yelled at it and threw her fuma shuriken at it as hard as she could. This attack was the one that did it, as it decapitated the Anti-Yuffie. It stayed there for a moment, before disappearing. Yuffie couldn't help but gasp and barely managed to remember to catch the shuriken when it came back around. It wasn't everyday you saw yourself without a head.

[Vincent Valentine]

Please tell me this is it.
--

Vincent was merely an onlooker to the battle, but he couldn't help but feel a little sick at Yuffie's final, lethal attack. Yes, it had been the Anti-Yuffie but seeing anything resembling Yuffie, or anything at all, be decapitated was enough to make Vincent- or anyone, really- a little sick.

The Anti-Yuffie disappeared and the castle chapel fell into silence. Hesitantly, Vincent returned Cerberus to the holster strapped to his thigh and crossed his arms. There were so many questions that still needed answering. What happened to all the Heartless? Who created and controlled this dark clone of his friend? Were there more where the Anti-Yuffie had come from? And for that matter, where was Maleficent, who Yuffie had been sure was lurking around the castle?

Those questions could be pondered and hopefully answered back home. "Now, may we leave? Surely, this was enough adventure for you,[/color]" Vincent said quietly. At first, he had cursed himself for letting this "adventure" go too far but now he understood there was some good that had come out of it. This problem was something that didn't need to go ignored for long.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie just stood there for a moment, trying to process what had exactly happened. She had just fought what was possibly a heartless version of herself and then at the end decapitated it. She felt real sick all of a sudden, and for sure knew that coming here had been a bad idea. She didn't even find out anything more that she wanted to find out about. In fact they were now left with more questions than answers.

It was frustrating, however she was done exploring for today. There was no way she could do anything more here after that. She soon realized Vincent had asked her if she wanted to leave. "Y...Yeah. Let's get out of here..." she told him softly. She was surprised she had anything to say at all after all that.

She started moving towards the exit. She really more felt like running out of here, but she'd rather stay close by Vincent right now instead of running off before. She didn't want to run into another one of those things if there were more around.

[Vincent Valentine]

Finally, the lady comes to her senses.
--

Vincent followed closely behind her, breathing a barely audible sigh of relief. He was so glad Yuffie had agreed to stop this madness and return home. He didn't expect to- no, he hoped not to run into anymore trouble. But still, his hand stayed close to his weapon, just in case. He didn't want to spook Yuffie or put her anymore on edge than she already was, however, so he did not draw the gun again.

They managed to maneuver their way through the lifts once again and returned to the castle. From there, they made their way to the exit and left the castle. The journey from there to home was made without any notable events. No Heartless, no clones, no evil sorceresses.

Vincent did notice that Yuffie was being uncharacteristically quiet and sullen all the way home. That was to be expected considering what she had been through.

There was something still nagging at him, though. He dearly hoped there wasn't an Anti-Vincent running around. Logically, he didn't think this was possible. He assumed it must have something to do with the so called "Tool of Darkness"... Vincent had been absent from that battle.

Still, he wasn't sure he would have the same kind of strength Yuffie did if he were to meet a Heartless version of himself.