Author's note: This part contains some disturbing scenes of torture and other such unappealing acts. If you are offended by violence or non-consensual acts...don't read this. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Ying/Yang
By: Silver Rayne

Part 2

"Are you awake?"

A thin ray of colors shone through his fluttering eyelashes, but it was too soon. Ringing was buzzing in his head. Something was throbbing...was it pain? He couldn't answer the voice, not yet. Vincent moaned and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Just another minute...he was so tired. *Let me sleep.*

"Fine. Be lazy...while you're dozing off there, I'm just going to busy myself with the removal of both of your arms."

Sephiroth! Suddenly, he was more alert than he ever had been in his life. *Where am I?* He looked around from where he lay and was dismayed to find that they were in a cave. A small fire warmed Vincent a little but not enough. And there was the devil himself, sitting across the flames, gloating. If Vincent were ever to develop malicious tendencies, the first thing he would bash in would be Sephiroth's face. Crush his skull with the business end of Cloud's Buster sword.

"What do you want with me?" His words slurred together, he had to speak slowly to understand them himself. When was the fog going to clear up?

"What are you prepared to give me?" Sephiroth smiled the wicked, pasty faced smile which nearly made Vincent ill. He was just as insane as he had been on his stupid reunion crusade. He probably thought his mother was still an ancient and he was God Himself.

This was not how Vincent had pictured his night turning out. Did Cid miss him, was he searching for him? "Not a moment more of whatever game it is you're playing," was the answer he gave. He almost laughed aloud when he managed to sit up, unrestrained. So, Sephiroth was underestimating him, thinking he couldn't escape with a broken arm. That arm had been damaged numerous times, he had adapted, could survive without it temporarily. "Why have you come back?"

Now the man was cackling, reaching for his hip, but he stopped. "My Masamune! Where the hell is my sword?" He had longed to divide Vincent into a couple of meals which would last him until he finished his new quest. To kill Cloud. Rip him limb from limb. Gouge out his eyes. Personally torch every friend he had ever made. But, he couldn't do it without his faithful sword. Sephiroth glared at Vincent, beginning to uncoil from his position next to the fire. "You took it, didn't you? Give it back...now!"

This was definitely not good. Sephiroth's hold on reality had snapped, how could he be convinced of the truth. "I couldn't have taken it when you're holding me hostage, watching over me like some...demon."

"No." The white head shook back and forth. "You're lying. I can tell. Give me my sword."

At that second request, Vincent became very afraid. Sephiroth was towering above him, his hands clenched into very tense fists. He was huffing and puffing like a man who had just murdered and needed to hide from being persecuted. Vincent measured his next sentence very carefully. "You left it at the bottom of the mountain." Time passed, it seemed like Sephiroth had bought it. It was plausible that Sephiroth would believe it because it was the only option set up for him. Since he was crazy, the man couldn't think for himself. Vincent had just given him a nice, safe location to look for his weapon. Give himself an opportunity to sneak down the other side of the mountain and get help.

"The bottom...?" That one mulled over in his head, although he started to come to his senses as a result of it. "I didn't leave it there. I would have remembered." He crouched down to Vincent and snatched his good arm, pinning to the sharp surface above his head. The rocks scraped his wrist and drew blood from two of his fingers but he refused to flinch. "I hate liars!" Sephiroth snarled at Vincent, using his other hand to grab his captive's jaw and wrench it sideways. The strain pulled a muscle in Vincent's neck, causing him to moan and see stars. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Fuck...you...crazy..." An all too familiar boot crunched down on Vincent's limp, metallic arm. "Ahhh!!!" He attempted to pull away but his movements were suppressed by the grip of a madman. Once more, Vincent couldn't breathe, felt a grinding pressure building up in his shoulder as his arm was pinched harder against a slab of needles. *I can't take...much more of this.* He grit his teeth together, gnashing them against the agonized terror mounting in his body.

As for Sephiroth, the depraved man could not have been enjoying himself more. He had a life specimen, a toy to play with until it bored him. Grinning proudly, he leaned heavier into Vincent's good arm, trying to increase the strangled moaning which was escaping the man. "Now would be a good time to beg for mercy," he advised.

A thin trickle of blood traced down Vincent's wrist, to his elbow, and then onto the granite surface next to him. Dripping onto his black, tattered cape, so much blood from one arm. When would it stop? The hurting, the perverse pleasure his captor was getting out of injuring him? Vincent's entire arm began to go numb, pins and needles sparking up to his shoulder. The pain became terrible, threatening to pop Vincent's shoulder from its socket. He couldn't fight Sephiroth, even if he had the use of his arms. Nobody could stand up to Sephiroth, at least not unarmed.

More stomping to his clawed arm made Vincent slump backwards, biting into his lower lip to keep quiet. He couldn't keep it up for long and let out a high pitched scream which reverberated off of the walls of his prison. It didn't make him feel any better, only scared him into screaming again. Was it really him who was going through this? He glanced down at his trapped, metallic arm, at the broken claws beneath Sephiroth's heel. *That can't be fixed.* His eyes became moist, making him furious at his weakness. He had been damned with the obscene replacement that Hojo designed for his arm. And now...if it couldn't be replaced entirely, would he be without an arm?

The fingers around Vincent's jaw moved up to his lips as Sephiroth knelt down to him. He wiped the blood away from where Vincent had been chewing on his lower lip and licked it. If Vincent had been afraid before, now he was truly terrified. What was Sephiroth doing? This was not part of the insanity.

"Where is Cloud?"

He couldn't betray his friend. No matter what was done to him, Vincent would not sentence Cloud to what he was enduring. And under no circumstances would he endanger Cid. *Cid...how I miss you.* A stray tear slipped from Vincent's eyelashes and slid down the side of his face. He looked up in time to see Sephiroth close the gap between them and lick his tongue over his face to catch the tear before it fell. Vincent gasped, then reeled away, shocked at the violation. *He's only trying to scare me...I can't give in. I can't sacrifice Cloud.*

"Where is Cloud?"

When Sephiroth didn't hear a single word uttered, he couldn't have cared less. This game was fun. He didn't want to look for the blonde boy, not just yet. He laughed when Vincent tried to move his legs to kick him. But, sitting in one place for three hours had blocked the circulation in them. The only thing he could do was to close his eyes and try to imagine he was somewhere else. Anywhere but with Sephiroth, too close to him, breathing on him. Panting, Sephiroth's hands clamping onto his face, holding him still. Vincent glared up at him, wanting to shake him off, to impale him through the heart he didn't have.

"Where is Cloud?"

"I don't know."

"And if you did...?" He smirked. "That's what I thought." Then, Sephiroth's lips were crushing Vincent's, forcing his mouth open with his fingers. His tongue sought out Vincent's as his body rubbed against him. There was a brief struggle but Vincent couldn't hold his arm up to bat the evil man away. He refused the kiss but found himself an unwilling participant nevertheless. He moaned twice into Sephiroth's mouth, only because of the teeth which sank into his lip, biting ferally. Vincent swallowed blood, his blood, and tears mixed in with them. Was he crying? *No...don't let him see how weak you are...*

But Sephiroth did notice and pulled away, rolling his tongue down Vincent's throat, biting his collarbone viciously. Vincent cried out, choked sobs suddenly delighting Sephiroth's attacks to a greater extent. This was what he wanted, to torture and torment his prey before killing it. And he was far from finished yet. Before Sephiroth went hunting to appease the grumbling of his stomach, he punched Vincent, aiming for his temple, and rendering him unconscious.

**

*It's very purple tonight,* Cloud thought to himself. He had eaten some of Vincent's leftover chicken in the oven and then returned to gazing out the window of their rented cabin. Cloud was grateful that Vincent and Cid had allowed him to tag along with them, even though he was a third wheel. The others were going about their normal lives now that Sephiroth was dead. All Cloud required was the companionship of the quiet couple before he too carried on with his life. Without Zack. How many years was it now? *Purple? Where did that come from?*

"Cloud!"

*So many stars...Zack used to tell me all about the stars.* He sighed. *He was full of shit most of the time but...I liked the romance of it.*

"Cloud! Are you in here?"

"Oh...Cid! I'm in the bedroom." Cloud moved away from the window but kept one eye watching one particular star. *I wonder what Zack is doing now.* He prayed that there was life after death and Zack was having a ball messing up the heavens with outrageous colors.

"Have you seen Vincent?" The older man hurried into the room, looking exasperated and on the verge of panicking. He was all dressed up, that is without his pilot's uniform, and holding a wiltering bouquet of flowers.

That brought Cloud's attention back to the here and now. "Yes, three hours ago. What happened? Did you say something stupid?" Cid was notorious for his foul mouth and could easily have offended Vincent. *Lovers' quarrel.*

"No, I didn't see him at all. We were supposed to meet at the mountains to..."

"Why would you be going out to the mountains? What is there to do...? Um...never mind." He had a vague idea of the intentions behind a desolate setting where there would be no interruptions. "Vincent went to meet you early...maybe he got tired of waiting."

"I was up there for over two hours and I couldn't find him. Where could he go in that time?" Cid dropped the flowers onto the floor and dove into his pile of belongings to find a flashlight. "He might have fallen somewhere...damn idiot...," he muttered. "It's so fucking late...blasted mosqitoes all over the place. He picked a great time to put some excitement into our relationship."

Cloud found a flashlight of his own and, for an extra precaution, he hung his Buster sword over his shoulder. "I'd hardly call this exciting. Shouldn't we get some of the townspeople to help us?"

"No way. I don't trust those zombies. Those poor bastards are too screwed up on their acting roles to be of any use to us."

Together, Cloud and Cid rushed out of the cabin, the older man moving his short legs very quickly to keep up with Cloud. They passed the Nibelheim inn where a strange man began to approach them. He looked very wild with a long, unshaven beard, straggly jet-black hair and bloodshot eyes. A long sword dragged over the uneven ground, held by his right hand. His mouth opened when he saw Cloud, tried to get his attention.

"Cloud..."

"Not now, old man." Cloud shoved past him, feeling strong muscles beneath the man's rags. He was too distraught over Vincent's disappearance to think twice about it. They kept going, flashlights dimming in the distance.

Zack was stunned. His Cloud, his beloved Cloud didn't recognize him. How could he forget? So, this was the way it was going to be. Zack's shoulders drooped and he slumped onto a patch of grass housing a wishing well. "Boy, do I ever have a wish," he grumbled. "After all this time, I see Cloud and...it's like I never existed. I can hardly blame him...I would have wanted him to go on without me." He gazed over the side of the well, staring at his reflection in the water. "Holy!" He nearly toppled over after witnessing the sight below him. "I look like a bloody mess." When was the last time he had shaven? He looked like a grandfather clock with way too much hair. No wonder Cloud had trouble realizing who he was. His eyes weren't even visible beneath the busy eyebrows shielding them. The first thing he would need to do is fix his appearance to make his entrance into Cloud's life more dramatic.

"And then I tell him about Sephiroth." Either way, Cloud was not going to be a happy camper.

**

"VINCENT!" Cid's irritating voice shattered the area surrounding him. He tried again, this time accidentally yelling into Cloud's ear. "VINCENT!!!"

"Hey! Have some consideration." Cloud tapped his ear a couple of times to get the sensation back in it.

"Sorry. Did you find anything?"

"No." Cloud watched his friend's positive attitude diminishing. It was only a matter of time before Cid would start suggesting they check out the canyon. And if they resorted to doing that, it would be like admitting that Vincent was gone. "What if he was on the other side?" Cloud had to blow on his hands to warm them up. The wind was making it very chilly the higher they went.

"He would never go to the other side. We've met here before and..." Cid's expression melted into a horrified one. He kept his flashlight centered on the ground near the side of the mountain.

"What is it?"

Cid bent down and picked up a shining object in his hand. "How could this have happened?" The man's voice cracked as he passed Cloud a single, broken claw. "It would be like breaking a very strong bone. What kind of animal...?" He ran to the ledge and screamed over it. "VINCENT!!!"

Not knowing what to do, Cloud merely kept his distance, waiting until Cid was rational again. "There isn't any blood."

"Is that good?" He tried to keep his emotions intact. If he let the situation get to him, he would be useless in finding Vincent. "Tell me that means something good."

"Why would an animal damage his artificial arm and not anything else? Look! There are more pieces of Vincent's clawed arm."

"You think a human did this?," came the incredulous bellow which Cid turned into a yell. "What sick son-of-a-bitch would want to hurt Vincent? He's a good person, dammit! I know he doesn't think so but I do...you do, right?"

Cloud patted Cid on the back and nodded. "Everyone knows that. Trying to figure out why someone would do this isn't important. We just have to find Vincent right away. He might catch pneumonia being out here in this weather." Cloud drew his sword.

"That's going to warm him up?" There was a nervous tremor in Cid's voice but he chose to ignore it. Keep himself going, find Vincent, and then kill whoever had hurt him.

"We're also going to assume that the person who did this is still with him. Be careful and...follow me." They began to climb further into the mountains when a noise startled them both into turning around.

Cloud swung his sword in a semi circle, putting his weight into it when it clashed with another sword. The force of the other man's attack jarred Cloud's sword out of his hands to clatter onto the rocks behind him. "Is that any way to say 'hello'?" The man seemed to be someone Cloud knew, but from where. Then, he saw the Masamune, glinting in the moonlight and the long hair of a demon.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud threw himself bodily at the man, caught off guard when his fists were knocked away. An arm caught him as he came nearer and pulled him very close.

"That is the worst insult you have ever given me."

"Who...?" That voice. The hair. The eyes. "Zack!!!" Cloud grabbed the man around his neck, weeping into his shoulder. "You bastard!" He started to punch Zack blindly, not intending to hurt him but more as a result of the shock. Zack held him in return, his face a mask of emotions. "How...?"

"Aerith brought me back to life. But, I can't go into the details right now. You guys have to go back inside. What the hell are you doing all alone, in the middle of the night, on top of some eerie mountain?" Zack kept his arms wrapped around Cloud, holding him tenderly but looking at his companion. He didn't know Cid but the sadness within him was all too evident.

"So, you're Zack." Cid reached into his pocket to produce a cigarette and a lighter. "Well...stranger things have happened." He lit up shakily and inhaled the rich aroma before gathering the courage to say what was wrong. "My...friend, Vincent, is lost somewhere up here. We think that someone abducted him."

That was not good, not good at all. "Cloud...Aerith also let Sephiroth return." Zack backed away when the cigarette fell from Cid's lips. The older man stalked towards Zack, pushing Cloud out of his arms.

"You had something to do with this! And now Sephiroth has my Vincent!" Cid didn't care about his slip-up, he wanted Vincent back safe and sound or he would kick Zack back into the lifestream without a second thought. "So, you get to live again but that freak Sephiroth is going to kill because of it?" He raised his fist.

"No! I didn't know anything about Sephiroth. Aerith was acting strangely, she didn't tell me about Sephiroth until I found his sword. If I could reverse all of this, I would. Do you think I would endanger Cloud's life for the sake of my own?"

It did make sense. Cloud was and always had been Sephiroth's main target. "Where is he?" Cid pushed Zack backwards, only because Zack let him vent his fury. "Where is Sephiroth?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Cid growled and fumbled for another cigarette. "Do you know what he did to the people of this town? Do you have any idea what he is capable of?"

Now, it was Zack's turn to coldly glare at Cid. "I was there when he burnt this town to dust. Some of my friends went with it...including Cloud's family. Don't act like you're the only one who is suffering here. I didn't come back to bring this evilness with me. If I could rescue your friend, I would. So, why don't you calm down, quit blaming me, and keep looking for...what's his name? Vincent."

Cid did exactly that, he was too worried to think much about Zack's loss. Now that he knew who they were dealing with, he became very afraid. If Sephiroth lost his temper, had no more use for Vincent, then his lover was as good as dead.

End of part 2 1