Metamorphose Chapter Thirteen

Metamorphose - Chapter Thirteen : "Count Me In"

"Could there be a different ending to the same old story?
'Cause you're not the first to say you're gonna' be there for me.
I need to know what's in your heart
Can you finish what you start?
A promise ain't no good if you can't keep it

If heartaches and tears
and shadows of doubt
are part of the deal
you can count me out.
But if you're talkin' about
a game I can win
You can count me in."

"Count Me In" by Deana Carter.

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A few days had passed since that awkward night. Things were still a bit awkward between the two immortals in question, but atleast things were out in the open. Sadly, though, Vincent was still transforming on a regular basis. Each time, he appeared a bit less human. But, still, Aeris treated him as if he were any other ordinary human being. Aside from this, the last few days had been rather... uneventful.

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Aeris stirred awake, though her eyes remained heavy. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, looking around. Naturally, when she sat up to peek into the coffin, it had been abandoned. Since that night, she usually slept in the basement. She simply hated being alone upstairs at night. She stood up and folded his cloak, which she had used as a blanket.

She made her to the upstairs of the mansion. She looked around for Vincent, but couldn't see him. She she slowly crept through the hallways, listening in hopes of finding him.

She couldn't hear any trace of him, which began to make her nervous.

She suddenly felt two hands grip her shoulders and she gasped a bit. "Boo." She jumped a bit and turned around to look at him. She found his damp hair covering one of his eyes, and a maroon towel around his bare shoulders. She stopped herself from looking and further, and frowned a bit. "What's wrong with you?!" She asked, taking him by surprise.

"What did I do?"

"Scaring me like that!"

He studied her face as she contorted it into an annoyed, sad expression, and he chuckled. "What's so funny?" He gave a small smile as he studied her features. She could feel her face growing hot. She looked up at him and blinked. Inside, he wanted to kiss her at that moment, but he felt that he was getting ahead of himself. He let go of her and began making his way to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

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Again, this seemed like any other day. Over the past few, they had been cleaning up the mansion some. Today, they were cleaning up the living room; sorting and dusting off all of the books and shelves, wiping down the walls, collecting all the cobwebs and dust. Everything.

"Some of these books belong in the library in the basement." Vincent stated. "Alright." Aeris answered as she wiped one of the shelves. She turned around to rinse the rag in the bucket, and saw Vincent sitting on the floor by a large stack of books. She couldn't help but smile. He looked so curiously adorable. He obviously wasn't enjoying cleaning, and he was looking through one of the books with a quizzical look on his face.

"What are you reading, slacker?" She asked, strolling over to him.

"How did I not notice this before...?"

"Hm?" Aeris leaned over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. "This is one of Hojo's logs... it says that he took the DNA of three of his prior 'specimens' and created a new being. But this was only... twenty years ago." Aeris arched an eyebrow. "This is the first I've heard anything of the such."

"There is a page missing... the only other details about it on this page are that the being ages at one half the rate of a normal human... and that this being, as well, was infused with Jenova cells."

Suddenly, the sound of the front door slamming interrupted them. They both looked to the doorway, waiting for the person to arrive at the doorway. They saw a familiar figure.

"Cloud." Vincent muttered.

The man seemed irritated. "What's the matter?" Aeris asked. "So, how are the two of you?" he asked. Vincent found something very peculiar about his tone. "Is something the matter, Cloud?" he asked. Cloud looked at him, then at Aeris, in surprise. "Is something the matter?" He mocked. He looked back at Vincent. "Is something the matter with me, Vincent?" Vincent narrowed his brow as he stared at Cloud, slowly getting to his feet.

Aeris frowned uneasily. She could plainly see that Cloud was getting an attitude yet again, and she looked down at the floor. Vincent, though, never once let his scrutinizing gaze escape Cloud. He was simply waiting for the man to try something. "Do you think I didn't see it?!" the blonde suddenly cried out, looking at Aeris, who looked up at him in shock and alarm. Vincent's ears perked up, and he stared at Cloud even more intently.

"Cloud!" Aeris gasped. She could feel her eye beginning to throb.

"Do you think I didn't see the way that creep pinned you down against the ground?!"

"Cloud, stop!"

"The way he pressed himself against you?!"

"Stop it!"

"The way the two of you practically fucked outside the mansion?!"

"Shut up, Cloud!"

"God only knows what you did after you got his ass back in there!" With every word Cloud uttered, Vincent became more and more angry.

"Cloud, nothing-"

"I'll bet that freak put his deformed, purple hands all over you!"

"Stop..."

"And I'll bet you loved every second of it, you little slut." From nowhere, Cloud drew his hand back and swiftly slapped Aeris across the face.

Vincent's eyes narrowed hatefully. That was the final straw.

"Cloud-"

"Tell me, Aeris! Is his dick purple too?!" Cloud yelled in rage. Tears spilled from Aeris' amethyst eyes and she looked at Cloud in absolute shock and pain, her trembling hand covering her red cheek.

Out of nowhere, Aeris saw Cloud's expression change from one of anger and rage into one of intense physical pain. "What in the... hell-" He turned around to the source of the blow, only to find Vincent's fist yet again, which sent him flying onto his side. "How dare you lay a single finger on her..." Cloud didn't even have time to look up before he felt Vincent grip the collar of his shirt and yank him closer. "She is NOT a slut, you son of a bitch!" He growled. "You don't have a GOD DAMN clue as to what happened last night, so DON'T act like you do!"

Absolute terror was written on Cloud's face. He couldn't even speak.

"Now, you listen to me, Cloud." Vincent demanded. "You have a wife and a child at home, damn it. So leave Aeris the hell alone and go spend time with THEM. She DOESN'T love you anymore, and nothing you do will change that!" Cloud was shocked.

Aeris stood in the corner, simply watching, stunned.

"Especially hounding her the way you do... and then you suddenly have enough gumption to slap her! What kind of man acts that way?!" Vincent asked. "Atleast I... AM a man!" Cloud retorted. As if on cue, Vincent gasped as he felt a familiar, sudden pain building in his chest and in his back. "N... no!" He cried internally. He grabbed Cloud by his throat and lifted him up. Cloud could plainly see the delirium in Vincent's eyes, and absolute terror hit him right in the gut.

Aeris could see Vincent's entire body twitching, and she knew what was happening. When she saw how tightly Vincent's hand encircled Cloud's throat, and the blows he was dealing the man's stomach, she dashed over and wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying desperately to stop him. "Stop it! You'll kill him if you transform!" She cried. After a moment of holding, crying, and begging, Vincent released Cloud's neck and then slumped to his own knees.

Aeris simply sat there, cradling Vincent as he recovered his 'sanity', and Cloud stood rubbing his neck in shock.

"Cloud..." she began to speak. "Vincent is more of a man than you could ever hope to be..." Cloud's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, and Vincent's ears perked a bit. "I don't love you anymore. You have a wife and a son at home waiting for you. Why don't you go back there?"

Cloud, dumbfounded, slowly made his way to the door, his mako blue eyes shifting from her to him, and back again. He wiped the blood from his nose and his lip. He pursed his lips and sighed, making his way down the stairs and out the door.

When they heard the door shut, Aeris sighed in relief and looked at Vincent. "Are you alright?" She whispered softly. He slowly raised his twitching head and looked her in the eye. "I swear to God, Aeris... if he so much as looks at you the wrong way..." She sighed softly and rested his head against her shoulder. She nestled her head against his and stroked his hair affectionately. "Don't get too carried away, now..." she said. He sighed tiredly and closed his eyes.

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Vincent frowned in annoyance as his PHS rang. It was 10:00 PM. "Who in the sam hell is it now?" He opened it and lifted it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Vincent!"

"Charles?"

"You... do still have a television in the mansion, don't you?"

"What do you take me for? Some primitive beast? Yes, I still have a TV here."

"Are you watching the news?"

"No... why?"

"Turn it on, quickly. Something strange happened earlier..."

"Alright..."

"Just watch it and you'll know what I'm talking about. But I'm going for now."

"Alright. Good night."

"See you tomorrow."

Vincent closed his PHS and stalked over to the secluded corner of the living room, where the old TV sat, freshly cleaned. He flipped the switch, turning it on. He walked back and joined Aeris on the couch, watching in anticipation of whatever Charles had called about. "What was that about?" Aeris asked.

"Charles told me to watch the news... he didn't say why, though." Aeris cocked her head a bit, then shrugged. Without even realizing it, she had rested her chin on his shoulder and gripped his arm, her eyes glued to the news. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a slight smile on his face, but soon turned back to the TV.

"There have been reports of a strange, cloaked figure wandering the streets of various cities on the cenrtal continent. Some seem to think this mysterious person may be associated with the recent murders near Gongaga. If anyone has any information, please contact..."

"You don't think it could be one of the clones, perhaps?" Aeris asked. She frowned a bit, her eye still throbbing.

"I highly doubt it. But this is rather awkward..." Vincent pondered to himself for a moment. "Unless, perhaps..." He looked over at the book he had been reading earlier.  When they turned to look at one another, they found their faces all-too-familiarly close. Aeris blinked in surprise, and she found that her cheeks felt hot. Slowly, their lips grew closer and closer. Suddenly, Vincent's PHS rang again, and he bowed his head, sighing to himself. "Charles." He muttered. He got up to answer it. "Yes?"

"Did you see it?"

"Yes, Charles."

"What do you think it may be?"

"I thought you said we'd talk about it tomorrow."

"No, I said 'see you tomorrow'."

Vincent sighed in annoyance. "Well, let's."

"I see how you are. Don't wanna' talk to me, huh?"

"It's not that, it's just- ugh!"

"Alrighty then. I get it. I'll leave the two of you alone. Good niiiiiiiight!"

Vincent closed the PHS in frustration. "Why does he always- augh!" He threw it down on the table, then noticed Aeris out of the corner of his eye. He turned to find her purple eyes staring back into his expectantly. He frowned and looked down at the floor. "Um... I think I'm heading downstairs." He said, unsure of what else to do. He frowned shamefully. "I'm... sorry that I'm... so bad at this. I want to be good, but I..." he sighed deeply.

Aeris blinked in surprise at his words. He turned the TV off and made his way out of the room. "Ah-w-wait!" He paused in his tracks and gave Aeris enough time to catch up. "It's alright." She said, smiling warmly. He nodded, and they made their way to the basement.

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-End of Chapter Thirteen.