FINAL FANTASY VII
Chapter Three:  Sweet Darkness

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Cloud had given the Black Materia to Sephiroth.  Aeris had asked all the others to ignore Cloud's sudden change.  He had attacked her in rage, but she had let that pass.  The team left the Temple of the Ancients, taking the Tiny Bronco to Gongaga.  Here everyone would spend the night, and the actions to now be taken against Sephiroth would be discussed in the morning.

Aeris awoke in the middle of the night.  She was preparing to travel alone to the Sleeping Forest.  Her final destination would be the City of the Ancients.  She kneeled at the side of Cloud's bed, telling him where she was going.  He only saw her in his dreams, though.

She walked outside the hut of Gongaga.  She knew she wouldn't be coming back, but she was the only one who could save the Planet.  She looked up at the stars and breathed in the cool air.  A dark, shadowy figure approached her from the distance.  As she looked at the shape headed toward her, Aeris could see only the red cape on his back.  The strange, sinister man carried his characteristic cold face about him this night.  He was now within speaking distance.

"Hi, Vincent," said the Ancient.

"Hello to you, too," replied Vincent.

Aeris wanted to know what he, of all people, was doing here.  "Why aren't you sleeping?  Aren't you tired?"

Vincent simply said, "No."

Aeris was a bit afraid to talk to this man, for he had barely uttered a word since joining the party.  "Oh."

Vincent continued.  "After twenty long years of sleep, what's a night or two?"

Aeris giggled.  He definitely had a point there.  "True," she said shyly.

Vincent asked Aeris a question.  "Now, really, why are you out here tonight?"

Aeris didn't want to reveal her true purpose.  "Well, I'm just out here looking at the stars."

"What about sleep?  Have you been asleep for a few years too?" came Vincent's sarcastic response.

Aeris chuckled again.  "No.  I'm just not tired."

Vincent was a bit suspicious of her.  "I doubt that.  There's more to it.  You're tired, but you can't sleep.  Something more important is keeping you up."

Aeris was shocked at the accusation.  "How do you know what keeps me up, huh?" she asked him.

"I can tell," said the dark figure.  "Your eyes give away your thoughts.  I see fear and anxiety.  Something bad is going to happen."

Aeris was silent for some time.  "Yes..." she finally conceded.

Vincent was not a cruel man.  "Please don't be upset."

"About Sephiroth and the Black Materia..." Aeris had to tell someone now.  "I'm going to stop him."

"What do you plan to do, Aeris?"  Vincent reflected upon his past.  This was the first time in decades he had called anyone by name.

"I'm going to the Sleeping Forest," admitted Aeris.

"I see, but what will that accomplish?" asked Vincent.

"Only one thing can save the Planet," explained Aeris.  "I need to leave here and head north..."  She concluded the inevitable.  "I won't be coming back."

"So..." Vincent remained silent for awhile.  "No," he finally said.  "You can't do this."

"I must," resolved Aeris.  "There's nothing you or anyone else can do.  I've been prepared for this.  I'm leaving tonight."  She suddenly wondered why she was telling this strange man her plan.

"I can't have you sacrificing yourself,"  Vincent demanded.  "If anyone should die for the Planet, it is the one who allowed all this evil to occur in the first place.  That's me."

Aeris had known nothing about Vincent.  "What?" she asked in surprise.

"It's all my fault," said Vincent.

"No it's not," said Aeris kindly.  "This is all because of Sephiroth, and Shinra, and..."

"Please, Aeris.  I can see that you will not stay, but before you leave, at least let me tell you my story," said Vincent.

"Sure," whispered the Ancient.

The two sat down and faced each other as Vincent began his story.  "Many years ago, I was a Turk of Shinra.  I loved a woman named Lucrecia.  However, she did not love me."

"To love and not be loved..."  Aeris was thinking of Cloud.

"She loved Hojo, the master scientist.  Our love was not meant to be.  I knew she was unhappy with me.  I told her to do what she wanted.  She went with Hojo."

Aeris recalled her own pain.  "A love can be lost so easily.  I remember my boyfriend Zack.  He just dropped of the face of the Planet.  I never knew what happened to him."

"They were very happy together," continued Vincent.  "I let her go because I didn't want to upset her.  Hojo and Lucrecia had a child one year later."

"I don't understand," said the confused Aeris.  "I can't see how you could be responsible for the crisis of the Planet."

"The child's name was Sephiroth," concluded Vincent.

Aeris gasped in horror as she understood the whole truth.  Vincent had given up Lucrecia to Hojo.  In doing so, he had allowed for the birth of Sephiroth.  "I'm so sorry," said the sympathetic Ancient.  She looked hard into his dull red eyes.  She could almost sense some emotion inside.

"That's why I don't want you running off," Vincent explained.  "This is my fault.  I should be the one to die for the Planet.  You shouldn't have to sacrifice yourself."

Aeris was sad.  "I know, but I must.  I'm the only one that can stop Sephiroth now."

Vincent knew she was right.  "You're right, Aeris."  He paused his speech and looked into her bright green eyes.  He saw her sympathy and kindness.  "You know, you remind me a lot of Lucrecia.  I've already lost her.  To lose you will be like losing her all over again."

Aeris felt the same way about Zack.  She wished she had known just what happened to him.  "Yeah, I feel that way about Zack too.  He was my first boyfriend."

"Did you love him?" asked Vincent.

Aeris thought long and hard.  "I'm... not sure I did, honestly."

Vincent smirked.  "That's not all bad.  It takes some time to truly learn love.  I barely got a chance."

Aeris was curious.  "Well, I have a really personal question, but you don't have to answer.  Before she left you, did you and Lucrecia ever, well, you know, uh..."

Vincent wondered why she was asking him, but he answered her quite frankly.  "No, we never slept together.  Why did you ask me that?"

Aeris looked deep into Vincent's eyes and told him the truth.  "I'm going to die tomorrow.  I've never been with a man before, and I wanted to know how love felt."

"I couldn't tell you," answered Vincent.

Aeris knew she had to leave soon, but there were still a few hours before sunrise.  She had one last chance to do it.  "Vincent," she said quietly, "I wanted my first time to be with someone who understood me."

"Me too," stated the enigmatic one.

She reached out to him and held his cold hands.  "Thank you for listening and understanding me.  We both have had bad luck with luck.  I'll be going soon, but before I do, there's something else I want."

Vincent interrupted the Ancient.  "Wait, not yet.  I want to thank you for listening and understanding, too.  You're the only person that knows my entire story."  He stopped.  "Now, what is it you wanted?"  Vincent anticipated her answer as he stared longingly into her eyes.

"You..." said Aeris, as she kissed him on the lips.

Aeris stood up and removed her little red vest and her military boots.  Vincent removed his red flowing cape and his shoes.  The two approached each other.  Aeris removed Vincent's layers of clothing as he undid her light pink dress and undergarments.  The two stood naked in the still, quiet night.  Aeris' pussy became wet as Vincent's penis became long and stiff.

Aeris admired the naked man before her.  "You're beautiful, Vincent.  I can't imagine why Lucrecia ever left you," she told him.  "I guess she was saving you for me," added the Ancient.

As she finished talking, Aeris lay down on the soft ground with her knees up and her arms wide open.  Vincent pushed her legs down with his own and embraced her.  He then forced Aeris' legs apart and connected their parts properly.  A mix of fluids surrounded their genitals as they made passionate love to each other.  Vincent felt the soft, cushioning breasts of Aeris toughening against his own chest as they kissed, their tongues tangling together.  Vincent quickly peaked several times, blasting a stream into Aeris' face each time.

Vincent removed himself from Aeris.  He then lay his head down on her chest and began sucking and fondling her breasts as she moaned in pleasure.  He then moved farther down her body until his mouth was situated in front of her pussy.

Aeris yelled wildly as Vincent rapidly lashed his tongue at her clitoris, causing her to unleash a great flood.  Vincent's face was drenched in Aeris' sticky cum.  The two got up and held each other.  Aeris licked her own cum from Vincent's face. She was happily startled as she felt something entering her vagina again.  The two stood for several minutes, holding each other as fluids were exchanged.

They stopped together and put their clothes back on.  It was still the dead of the night.  Aeris spoke first, "I'm not sure I want to die now," she remarked.

Vincent replied, "I don't want to lose you either."

"We both know there is no choice," said Aeris.  "Please, Vincent, treasure this night forever."

"Don't worry, Aeris, I will," stated the former Turk.

"I need your help one last time," requested Aeris.  "Please take me to the Sleeping Forest."

"Yes, my love," said Vincent.

Vincent and Aeris took the Tiny Bronco to the northern continent.  As Aeris was leaving him behind forever, she could see the tears building in his eyes.  When Aeris was no longer visible, Vincent took the crashed plane back to Gongaga.  He remained outside until dawn, looking at the moon and the stars.  If only he had never left Lucrecia behind.  All this could have been prevented.  But it was too late now.  He was to lose another love this day.

*	*	*

Vincent is quite the tragic character.  A victim of love and kindness, he is indirectly involved in the creation of Sephiroth, and he pays dearly for his mistakes.  Aeris, young and innocent, becomes an unfortunate casualty of the war to protect the Planet.  Vincent and Aeris did not know each other at any point in the game.  I decided to change that.

E-mail sailor_terra@hotbot.com if you have any ideas, normal or weird.

As a side note, how many other players stopped using Vincent when his Galian Beast Flare healed the Materia Keeper inside Mt. Nibel?