Keeper of Cerberus

Vincent had his attention spread in three different directions. One part on the attacks that were coming at him, one part on Cloud and the last part on Fay who had been met in battle by a fierce Summon. The feline like creature was working her hard. She was barely keeping the upper hand on it. He threw his gun up to block a sword that flashed in the corner of his vision.
‘Vincent move!’ Chaos roared suddenly in his mind.
Startled, the gunman shifted as quickly as his position would allow. It wasn’t fast enough though. A sharp pain spread over him as another slimy blade pierced him through. A grown of partial shock was his first reaction but when the blade was twisted violently he grunted. His mind was numb for a moment as he staggered backward when the wound suddenly began burning. Cerberus barked in his grip and a few others fell as he held tightly to the wound with his free hand.
Cloud reached out to catch him when Vincent went to his knees.
‘This is not live Vincent,’ Cloud thought. There was a sticky film on his cape that seemed out of place. Clouded rubbed it between his fingers and smelled it carefully. The pungent scent confirmed his suspicions, ‘Poison!’
‘Vincent, you can’t go down right here,’ Chaos said. He sounded some what groggy.
‘I can’t work my muscles,’ Vincents reply was strained. He clenched his teeth as his body swayed.
‘She is coming. Faye and that worthless vampire can help,’ Chaos felt a pang of panic. If Vincent died he too would no longer exist, this in it self was unacceptable.
‘Don’t let her die Chaos,’ Vincent growled.
The demon didn’t have time to reach the surface.
Cloud roared in anger. He stepped easily between the slowly dwindling army and Vincents form.
“Damn…” Vincents low voice grumbled as he was taken by another wave of the poisons burning.
“Hold on Vincent,” Cloud said. It was more of an order than a statement.

Faye had worn herself to the bone trying to kill the Summon and by throwing a few explosive caps she managed to scatter the enemy for a moment. They retreated to regroup. When they made a path for her to reach the two fighters she saw Vincent hit his knees.
“NO!” Panic swelled in her chest as she sprinted forward. Her trench flew out behind her and the Cerberus on the back of her gloves flashed in the dim light. When she reached them Cloud had knelt down opposite of where she was approaching. She was suddenly sick to her stomach when the overwhelming scent of his blood smashed into her. She nearly stumbled back as her arm flew up to caver her nose with a hiss. The vampire in her surfaced for a moment before forcing herself back when she recognized who had been hurt.
“What…” she broke off when the red clad male bulled his gauntlet away from his stomach. The golden claws were sloppily dipped in a sticky red that dripped from their tips. Tears welled in her eyes when she felt him weaken a little. The pooling blood under him soaked into her knees as she tried to battle the tears. Her hands fluttered erratically over him for a moment as the tears broke over the barrier of her dark lashes and spilled down her cheeks.
“No … gods this isn’t happening,” she whispered. Her voice quivered lightly as she finally pressed the heel of her palm onto the hole firmly. He winced at the pressure.
“Please Vince,” she begged.
“The blade was poisoned,” Cloud told her.
The group of soldiers was coming toward them now. Tears were rolling endless trails down her cheeks. Cloud hadn’t seen her cry… not since what had happened to Zack. She met his gaze, and he felt a very familiar situation coming. It was so strange to see her in Zacks place, the soldiers closing in behind her, and her eyes harboring fear, pain and urgency.
With her voice breaking she said the words he knew were coming, “Cloud run!”
The ex-SOLDIER shook his head defiantly, “Not this time.”

Faye felt the approach and knew that she had to do something to protect them. She couldn’t fight and concentrated on trying to help Vincent and protect Cloud at the same time. The shadows surrounding her suddenly pooled over the crimson on the earth under her knees. Like when you put a rock on suspended plastic and pour water onto it, the dark splotched gravitated toward her. Around her they became alive, glittering and liquid against the ground. Her wings burst forth with tearing sounds as they pushed through her skin. The wings flexed and flared out to the sides. The shadow pool leapt off the ground and her eyes bled in black a little. She bared her teeth and yelled, sending the shadows racing toward the approaching army.

It was not a simple move, in fact it left her terribly exhausted. Her wings went limp against the ground dragging brilliant white blue feathers in the blood and dirt. The enemy fell and the shadows disappeared back to their original position. With that taken care of she could try to focus what was left of her energy to heal Vincent. Her eyelids drooped and her frame sagged slightly against the pull of sleep. Her wings shrank back into her body and she pressed a little harder on the wound.
Her hands trembled as she struggled to focus the small amount of remaining energy in her body. A cool hand pressed lightly against her cheek and she turned to gaze at the owner.
Vincents crimson eyes were trying to focus on her through the slight glaze that held them. She choked on a soft weak sob.

Cloud pushed his hands over hers making her turn to look at him. His face was set in a determined grimace, “I will not let another friend die… not again.”
She drew courage from his glowing mako eyes. She turned her eyes back to her hands and settled in a little. The energy that washed off of Cloud made her feel drunk. She clenched her teeth and channeled his energy through her body. She stopped though when the bracelet of materia around her wrist began to pulse. The heal materia glowed the brightest. She watched it in astonishment, never guessing that being such small cuts they would still work. She felt the wound heal up and she flicked the slimy poison from her palms.
A sigh of relief echoed from all three of them and she flopped sideways in exhaustion. Cloud shook for a moment before calming down. Footfall set them on edge but they relaxed when they noticed it was Barret.
“What happened?” he asked.
“We nearly lost Vincent,” Cloud heaved a ragged sigh as he sat back onto his heels.
Vincent gripped at his head and sat forward, “I am fine now thanks to Faye and Cloud.”
Faye turned her head to look at him. Mai was voicing her hunger now that the situation was ok. “I need to eat…” she trembled with the effort of getting to her feet, “I will meet you at the bar.” She stooped to place a light kiss on Vincents forehead before leaving with a slight wobble in her step.