Violet Shadows (FFVII)

XIX) Intuition

The world is black but Shadow's smirk is bright as day, a sneer pulled back into snarling black lips. She's the only thing I can see. This is almost like the dream I had before, except... I can see her now. We're not in that weird pocket of darkness we trade so often.

"Here comes a crucial question," she growls. I can hear her? Where are we? She's no longer a whisper in the back of my mind, almost like a thought. Now she speaks in her hissed, sickeningly sweet sneer. "Who do you value most?"

"What?" I frown, She chuckles, raising a hand and snapping her clawed fingers. Two tall figures appear across from her, behind me. David and Vincent. My heart skips a beat. David grins at me, hands tucked in his pockets and blue eyes glittering. Vincent stares back at me, expressionless, his crimson eyes glowing just like David's. His cape flutters and swishes in some invisible breeze, heavy and warm just like my black cloak.

"Who do you wish to be rid of?"

"Neither," I snap, my heart pounding against my chest. "Why should I—"

"Fine, fine," Shadow sighs. "Since the two of you are engaged..." She materializes a handgun and I rush forward to stop her. The bullet sails through me as though I'm nothing but a spirit of myself, striking her target cleanly between the eyes.

"Vincent!" I turn on my heels sharply and skid onto my knees, desperately lifting him to search for any sign of life. Crimson drips down his pale face, his eyes closed peacefully and his cape having gone still at last. My fingers tremble as I reach up and brush heavy black bangs from his eyes. "Gods, no..." I press a hand to his chest, startled by the sudden burst of warmth there.

"Vi?" David lays a hand on my shoulder and I shudder. You're not real. He's not real. I take a deep breath, settling Vincent's limp form back onto the ground and turning to glower at Shadow, enraged.

"What did you do?!"

"Oh dear," Shadow coos, mocking me. "You seem to have forgotten that my power is far greater than yours. Did you truly believe I'd stand by forever and allow you to cause me suffering by stashing me away like a possession? I allowed you your fun; now it's time for mine."

"I don't—"

"Let me ask you one more thing," she snarls, darting forward and gripping my collar. David and Vincent fade away as she towers over me. "How much do you care for your life?"

"I—" A deafening crack echoes through my skull and I fall to the pitch black ground, my head ringing and throbbing as pure agony tears through every fiber of my miserable being. A scream. My name.

The front of my head explodes into shooting pains when I sit up and slam it into something equally as hard. A surprised grunt is the first sound I hear, the second the sound of Vincent falling back into his seat beside my bed. My eyes fly open and I look to see Vince with one gloved hand over his left eye, a slight wince twisting his pale face. I groan and clutch my throbbing forehead, whispering curses to myself.

"Sorry," I cringe.

"No need to apologize," Vincent replies, his voice strained. He hesitates. "Are you alright?"

"It was just my forehead," I offer a small smile, rubbing the forming bruise. "It didn't hurt that bad." He sighs, letting his hand fall back into his lap to reveal a dark mark just above his eyebrow.

"I wish that was so," he huffs.

"Sorry about that, Vince."

"Vincent," he corrects with a frown. "And I was not referring to that rather clumsy moment." The crack of Shadow's gun, the death of Vincent and the gentle of touch of David all come flooding back to me. I frown must be clear because Vincent's eyes reflect his regret for prodding.