~Fang's POV~

I don't think I can express enough how much I hate awkward silences. And Vincent. But mostly awkward silences. We stand outside silently, me waiting for him to say something and Vincent just being his annoying self. How did he get here? I didn't know we had a portal... Crap.

"There's no way for you to go home," I state finally. He sighs.

"I am aware." I roll my eyes and glare down at the town.

"Well if you're done stalking my town, I'd like to know why you're here."

"It was an accident. Cloud tripped over the controls and sent us here."

"Us?" My heart stings at the thought that he didn't even want to be seeing me, but he did any way so that he wouldn't feel guilt here forever. Selfish.

"Yes. Cloud, Tifa, and I went brought over."

"Good for Snow and Light," I grumble.

"They worry for you," his head tilts slightly.

"They shouldn't."

"But they do. Why have you not visited them?"

"Haven't had time," I watch him out of the corner of my eye. This is different than what I thought seeing him again would be like. I thought I would be screaming at him, ignoring him, beating him up. Instead I just feel this deep seated betrayal burning inside, yet the yearning to be back in his thin arms. No. "Now are you gonna talk or can I leave?" He inhales deeply before speaking.

"I'm sorry."

"No you ain't."

"But I could not bear the thought of hurting you again," he continues, not minding my input or even looking at me. "It seems... That is all I am capable of doing."

"Nah, I don't think so," I grumble. He sends a quick glance in my direction before looking back out at the water.

"You're right. I can also kill, destroy, and self loathe." His straightforwardness surprises me, but I pretend not to be affected. Thats what he wants, isn't it? For me to pity him and come running to pull him out of the darkness he's sprinted into head on. He can get himself out if he wants out.

"Is that all? I have an army to collect," I inform stiffly.

"I..." He blinks and shakes off whatever he was going to say. "Lokir... He is your new lover?" I burst into sarcastic laughter.

"He's as much of a lover as you are my brother. No, he's just my general."

"Hm," he hums, slightly pink than before. Just had to ask, didn't he?

"You kinda ruined the whole love thing for me," I blurt in my defense.

"My apologies."

Rolling my eyes, I step back into the apartment and ignore the look Lokir sends me. Snow raises an eyebrow, but I ignore him too.

"How close are they?" I snap at my second in command. He moves quickly, going back to the telescope and whistling just like last time.

"Only a few miles to go, Fang."

"Shoot," I hiss, glaring at the stupid map that's being no help. Frill sighs and shakes her head.

"What's going on?" Snow frowns. Lokir gives him a brief explanation while Vincent silently slips into the room, standing against the back wall. Don't think we don't notice you. Sonyeh eyes him for a second, staring at him. Vince shifts uncomfortably at her look and I suddenly realize why she's staring. His eyes are the exact color of blood, the liquid she so creepily cherishes.

"There's no possible way," I groan. "Lokir, Snow, run out there and get as many able bodied people you can find. Don't be afraid to ask the women, big oaf, ninety percent of them could kick your butt."

"Yes Commander," Lokir nods and hurries out, followed by Snow. It's been awhile since he's called me that. Smirking at the memories, I turn to Frill, who nods and grabs her spike-ended pole she calls a weapon. That thing hurts. Made out of Mythril, so it doesn't wear down too easily. The woman's had it easy since she got that thing.

"Sonyeh, are you ready?" The girl nods and reveals her wicked ebony dagger, the twisted be sharp metal lethal to all Cei'th do to a curse put over the blade. Vincent eyes the eldest person in the room, surprised to see a woman with the appearance of a ninety year old grabbing a fifty pound weapon and twirling it around as if it was nothing. "Good. Now where's..." Right on cue, the devil himself arrives.

"Fang!" Alec pants, bursting through the doorway. "The Cei'th..."

"We know already," I snap. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess. I should have you put on the front lines." He pales slightly, knowing that that's the worst place to be if you lack in great skill and strength. Taking pity on the guy, I lift my chin with a scowl. "But since you're a weakling, you can hang in the back. You, Sonyeh, and anyone.else that looks your age are casting Ruin as long as you can, just don't back into the city. Once you get that far, you'll have to charge in. Lokir, Frill, and I will take the very front. I'm assuming Snow will too, if he's staying."

"May I be of assistance?" Vincent speaks up. Sonyeh immediately turns to get lost in his eyes again.

"Depends," I narrow my eyes at him. "You gonna leave at the last second because you don't want to hurt anyone?" He shifts awkwardly and looks down at his pointy shoes. Frill sighs.

"Fang, let the poor boy fight. We all make mistakes, let him make up for it."

"Fine. But I ain't forgivin' you yet, Vampy." He looks back up and nods slightly, drawing his gun.

"Well isn't that something," Frill smiles. Vincent only shrugs before sinking further into his cape. Sonyeh is really freaking him out.

"Ayana, go back to bed, darling," the old woman coos to a yawning little girl.

"But Gramma.."

"No. Bed."

"Alright."

"Reminds me of Yuffie," I huff, catching Vince's attention again.

Lokir arrives minutes later with Snow close behind, both big men panting like dogs.

"We got em out there," Lokir wheezes. I roll my eyes.

"You're so out of shape. Get them arranged like we did last time. Alec, Sonyeh, go with them. Snow, you fighting with us?"

"You bet I am!" He grins cheekily.

"Us four up front then. Vince, you try to stay near the back." Vincent nods and follows Lokir and the two practical kids out.

"Don't come out," Frill says firmly to Ayana before following me out the door. I grab my lance and grab a bunch of bangles. I slip toss a Mythril one toward Frill and slip one on myself. Outside, I toss Diamond Bangles toward Sonyeh and Alec and Platinum to Lokir. Everyone else either has to suck it up or get their own enhancing stuff, I only have enough for my top fighters. Yes, I have favorites and you'll have to get over it. No one ever said life was easy. Still, I can't help but check up on Snow.

"Need anything Snow?" I ask, subtly offering my own armor. He shakes his head with a grin.

"Nope! I've got my lovely Nibletoes on today," he motions down to his boots I roll my eyes good naturedly. The boots let you see incoming attacks a split second before they're delivered, giving you time to act fast. I tried them once, and found the slight future telling annoying, but Snow just can't get enough of it. "Oh yeah, I let Vince use that mastered black belt." I force any acknowledgement of his words down and turn to Lokir.

"Ready?"

"Only when you are," he winks. I smirk and look up at the crowd of Cei'th still a ways off. Turning around, I face my small army of willing soldiers.

"Left and right split off to their designated positions when I give the word!" Somehow I manage to catch Vincent's eye and narrow mine on him. "Stick to the main group, Vampy!" He blinks at me before giving a single nod.

"We're attacking when they reach the horizon?" Frill frowns.

"No way," I chuckle irritably. "Give it exactly two more minutes, Lokir. Start the watch."

He nods and we wait a torturous one hundred twenty seconds before I lift my lance into the air as a signal for us to split. I see Alec end up on the left and Sonyeh on the left, the groups creating some sort of triangular funnel shape that reaches toward the main attackers, aka, me, my buddies, and my ex lover. The second I see the first flashes of Ruin, we run in. The first enemy I run into is one of those stupid Vampires. Rolling under a string blow with that big split arm. Lokir and Snow hurry to either side of me. Dirty Fighting my mind automatically labels the battle arrangement.

"Try that on me!" Snow challenges as it tries to hit me again before bringing his large arms up in a Steelguard block. I cast Deshell and Deprotect on it while Lokir attacks. He damages well, but I have most physical power out of everyone here right now. The thought makes me smirk as I cast Imperil.

"Relentless!" I call. Then I dive in to strike it with my lance. Snow hits it with magic driven attacks while Lokir focuses on spells. We take down at least a dozen Vampires that way before tackling a few Taxims also. Then I take a quick look around to assess the situation.

"Three lost!" Lokir calls as if reading my thoughts. "Five injured!"

The back row is just now getting hit by the cursed Cei'th, Vincent repeatedly having to use his golden claw as a weapon instead of his gun when a Seeker or flying Cei'th get too close. It's quite amusing and interesting to watch him slashing at them as if the armor was actually a piece of him.

"Fang!" Someone pushes me out of the way before a large rumble marks where another Vampire struck. I look up to see Alec pinning me to the ground, his heavy panting fanning over my face. My face involuntarily flushes when I notice Vincent looking over at us, jealousy clear in his narrowed eyes. If I could mess around right now... A little pranking for my revenge... I roll my eyes at my thoughts as Alec scrambles to his feet and accept his offering of a helping hand. "No zoning out now, Commander," he scolds playfully. I don't have time to warn him before the Vampire strikes down on him. He yells out, crushed beneath the blow and landing back on the ground, hissing in pain while he holds his arm.

Angered that the Cei'th took down one of my best men, I use my sabetour magic before completely annihilating the beast. I would call Sonyeh to help him back, but his leg is dripping heavily in blood and she's already collecting bottles of the stuff from the Cei'th anyway, so I don't want her anywhere near him. Vince looks sick just watch it her lick a drop of blood off her finger while I shudder. Strange girl.

"Frill!" I call out to the old woman, kneeling beside Alec. He looks up at me with his pained, pale green eyes, still clinging tightly to his arm. Frill's attacked by a Taxim on her way over and has to stop to kill it before she can help. "Alec, let me see your arm." He winces as he moves his hand away, revealing the both to be snapped in half and poking out of his skin. I grimace and ruffle his hair gently. "You'll be fine. Just hang on and don't fall asleep."

"I'll try," he grits. Frill takes the Cei'th down in one more blow and rushes over, kneeling on his other side.

"Vampire blow?"

"Yeah." She nods and loops an arm under his.

"I'll get him back inside. He'll have to wait to be healed, but maybe Ayana can keep him awake."

"Good," I stand and rush back into battle. Lokir has a gash that runs blood into his eyes, but he ignores it and keeps fighting, large muscles bulging as he strikes with a spear that looks remarkably similar to Cid Highwind's. In case you haven't noticed, a majority of the older citizens here specialize in martial arts and pole arms, me included. Snow kills the last flying Cei'th in his area and gives me a playful salute and wink before punching a Taxim. I imagine that hurt... That guy has fists of steel, not to mention ridiculously huge muscles, though that's nothing compared to Barret.

"Come and get it!" I yell at a Cei'th heading toward Vince from behind. It whirls around and shrieks, making my head ring and makes my vision go black for a second. But I recover quickly and jump into the air, diving down to plunge my weapon into it's hard flesh. Vincent barely casts a glance my way before taking down the flying Cei'th in front of him. I concentrate on Mediguarding while the thing beats on me, using it's large arm to bludgeon the crap out of me. Ow.... The lance may weaken the blows, but it certainty doesn't stop them at all. Suddenly, a frantic cry breaks my concentration.

"Ayana!? Where are you?!"

"Frill?" I call out, looking up to see the panicked old woman searching frantically for her granddaughter.

"Fang, she's gone! Ayana!"

"Hang on, I'll be..." I'm cut off by a heavy hit my body that knocks me backward and roughly pushes the wind out of me.

My head hits the hard ground harshly, making me have to blink away all the black spots fading in. But before I can even think about getting back up to my feet, it swings its heavy limb down at me. I weakly raise my lance to block it, but something in my elbow snaps, making me yell out in pain. I hear three gunshots go off and a spear clinking against the rock hard surface of the Cei'th. I try to get up and help, but two hands roughly push my back down. I look up to see Sonyeh shaking her head at me in warning. She must be over her short blood spell then, even though that small vial she always has hanging around her neck by a black cord is filled up with crimson... Ugh, best not think about it.

"They're retreating," I hear Lokir call. Smirking to myself, I sit up and watch as Vincent puts the last bullet into the Cei'th that tried to end my life.

"Ayana!" Frill screams. I frown and turn toward her voice. Then I spot the oblivious little girl, a large Taxim behind her. It feels like everyone nearby cries out a warning, except for Sonyeh, she just balls her fists up in fear, but it's no use. The little girl is struck by the beast twice by the time Frill gets there, and is half dead by the time Vincent has reloaded.l enough to finish it off. Sonyeh lets me up this time while I scramble toward the little girl like everyone else. Okay, fine. Vincent gracefully glides over the ground, but what else did you expect?

We all know she isn't breathing when we get there, and Frill scoops her up to hold her tightly. Snow jogs over last, frowning at the scene as I cross my arms.

"We'll bury her tomorrow," I say stiffly before turning on my heel to leave. Vincent stands behind me, frown gracing his deceptively beautiful face.

"Don't you have any sympathy?"

"Wow, I must be terrible for you of all people to notice," I snap.

"Fang," he sighs. "I told you I'm sorry. What more must I do?"

"Two words ain't gonna make anything better, Vince. It takes time."

"Indeed," he mutters, brushing past me toward Frill. With a glare I turn to see what he's doing. He kneels beside Frill silently, hesitantly laying a large but bony hand on her shoulder.

The teary eyed old woman looks up at him with no emotion whatsoever. From where I am, I can't hear what he's saying, but I watch as he gently wipes her tears a way with one gloved hand before she nods and gently lays Ayana's head on his lap. He takes out a glowing green orb and lays it over her chest, the top of his tongue poking past his lips in concentration. All I can think is: Wow. He's really changed. Not ten seconds later, Ayana's eyes flutter open and Vincent hurriedly pulls out a different materia, rainbow colored magic flittering around her twice before he outs it away.

"Ayana!" Frill exclaims in disbelief, hugging the now living girl tightly. "You're alright!" Then she looks at Vincent. "Young man, how can I ever repay you for this? I don't even.."

"You don't need to."

"But I..."

"No," he says firmly, standing. Frill finally gives in with a nod.

"Alright. At least tell me.your name then."

"Vincent."

"I'm Frill," she smiles. "That girl over there that looks kinda like you is Sonyeh, Alex was the boy injured earlier, and Lokir is the general under command of our leader and commander, Fang." Vincent glances at me, studying me a moment before walking over.

"Would you like me to cure that?" He motions towards my elbow. I shake my head stubbornly.

"I'm fine." To prove my point, I reach for my lance and hold it in the most likely broken arm, but I end up dropping it when my elbow makes a painful popping noise.

"No, you're not," he frowns, taking hold of my arm and observing the injury. "Cure 3." I instantly feel the bone move back into place and any bruises left behind are gone.

"Is that like Curaga or something?" I blink at my arm, not noticing that his hand is still holding it up by my wrist.

"I suppose."

"Vincent! Think you could help Alec out too?" Frill crosses her arms. He looks at me before nodding. That's when I notice a burning feeling on my wrist and yank my arm away from his touch.

Vincent Valentine, you may have won everyone else over, but it's going to take more than materia to win my heart back.