Violet Shadows (FF7)

19) Possessed

Shadow smirks at me as I look around the empty space of pure black. The only thing I can see is her, so clearly you would think someone had put lights in her.

"Here comes a crucial question," she smirks. Where am I? "Who do you care for most?"

"What?" I frown. She chuckles evilly and snaps her fingers, two figures appearing. David and Vincent, I recognize as my heart flutters. David grins at me with his head tilted, hands causally stuffed in his pockets. Vincent merely gives me a flat look, crimson eyes glowing just like David's blue ones. His cape flaps slowly behind him, though there is no breeze, reminding me of my thick black cloak I have tied on all the time.

"Who do you wish to be rid of?" I frown.

"Neither, why would I.."

"Fine, fine. Since you two are engaged..." She materializes a gun and fires, my eyes shooting wide, my hand balling up and resting over my heart like it usually does with I see of hear something shocking.

"Vincent!" I shriek, rushing forward to kneel beside him where he lies crumpled on the ground, his eyes shut in a way that seems to display bitterness in his heart. His blood red cape lays around him as I kneel, lifting his head into my lap with trembling hands. "Gods no.." I say breathily, one hand gently touching the smooth skin of his face.

"Vi?" David lays a hand on my shoulder. I swallow hard and brush my fingers over the bullet hole that penetrated his brain. What did she do? Enraged, I stand and glare at the smirking demon.

"What did you do to him!?"

"Oh dear," she sneers. "You seem to have forgotten that my power is greater than yours. Do you honestly think that I'd stand by and allow you to cause me suffering?"

"I don't..."

"Let me ask you one more thing," she snarls, grabbing my collar and jerking me forward. I have one phrase to describe this: WOMAN, YOU ARE ALL UP IN MY GRILL! "How much do you care about your life?"

"What?" I frown. A loud bang echoes through the room and I fall to the pitch black floor, clutching my head. I should be dead. Another excruciating burn through my skull. A scream. A voice yelling my name.

The front of my head explodes into aches when I sit up and slam it into something equally as hard, a grunt of surprise and pain. My eyes fly open and I look sideways to see Vincent with one gloved hand over his eye, a wince gracing his pale face. I groan and hold my own growing bump, whispering curses to myself.

"Sorry," I cringe.

"No need to apologize," Vince replies through a somewhat strained voice. Then he hesitates. "Are you alright?"

"It was only a forehead bump," I smile slightly, rubbing my bruise. He huffs, moving his hand to reveal a dark mark forming around his crimson eye.

"I wish it was so." I force down a laugh at the thought that Vincent Valentine has a black eye.

"Sorry about that, Vince."

"Vincent," he scowls, covering his eye again. "And I was not referring to that... Clumsy moment." My nightmare suddenly comes back to me after I had forgotten it for a few moments. My frown must be evident, because Vincent eyes reflect his slight regret toward prodding.

"Yeah... Sorry again."

"Violet," he sighs. "Stop apologizing. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I blink down at my tossed and wrinkled blankets. He was dead... I was supposed to be dead... David lived? What the... I shudder and look up into his concerned eyes, my heart sinking at the thought that any of us could die, that I could be left with more nightmares like these because I let someone in after thirty years... "You're... Alive, right?" He blinks at me with a frown, armored hand resting over my wrist.