Diamond in the Rough (FFVII Dirge of Cerberus)

Chapter VII

Upon reaching the foyer of Shinra Manor, Vincent suddenly dropped to his knee. A throbbing pain had him gripping at his chest, groaning and grimacing. Why did that keep happening lately? Vianca went to his side, reaching a hand to his shoulder, but stopped just before touching him.

"Vincent?" She was about to question him, but paused when she looked up at the redhead that pushed open the front doors. "Rosso."

The Crimson strolled right over. "Well, well, we meet again. This is perfect. I so wanted to see you, my love." Her gaze landed on the other female. "And Vianca dear is here to watch the fun unfold as well, I see."

Vianca remained silent, but Vincent stood once the pain subsided, his focus on the woman. "Deepground. What are they attempting to do with Omega?" He cut right to the chase, not at all interested in idle chatter with that psycho.

"I don't know, and to be honest, I don't care. But this is what Weiss desires. And what Weiss orders, we do. It's very simple. If he desires the awakening of Omega, then that is what all of Deepground desires. We could care less what happens to the planet. But all this matters little to me. It's not every day you are given the chance to cleanse the world of all life. Just the thought sends a chill of excitement through my body. The Deepground soldiers were born and bred to kill. We were chained to a destiny of servitude. But then, three years ago, we were freed from our chains. But waiting for us was darkness lit only by the faint glow of mako. And what do you think we did when we earned our freedom, hmm?" A wicked laugh erupted from her. "We killed. It was how we were raised. That is all we knew. And so I bathed in the blood of a thousand soldiers. And I enjoyed it. I reveled in it. And when I finally stepped out of the abyss, I craved for more."

Vianca gave a quiet sigh, turned, and starting walking up the stairs. "Blood. Killing. That's all Deepground cares about lately."

Rosso laughed at the girl. "But of course, dear. I always forget that you are a Tsviet only in name. You did not experience what the rest of us did. You're too soft. You don't even require mako to survive. Your uniform is only for show, it serves no function."

Vianca stopped at the top floor, leaning against the railing only to frown at the Crimson. "If I'm such an outcast, why did Weiss awaken me from my slumber?"

"He had need of you, Vianca. You are one of a kind. A precious gem to Deepground." She chuckled with amusement. "You have no idea of the true power you hold, my dear. But Weiss, he saw your potential."

Vincent grabbed his gun and pointed it at Rosso. "If you have nothing relevant to say, then I'll just have to silence you."

"I'd like to see you try, darling!"

With an impish grin, she leapt backwards out of the front doors. Before Vincent could give chase, a large robot crashed into the building, leaving a massive hole in the wall. The gun equipped on it started shooting, though Vincent was quick to avoid the gunfire. With a frustrated sigh, Vianca sat idly on the railing above, forming a thin wall of crystals between her and the action. Stray bullets clinked against her barrier, but she mostly just watched the man below with fascination. His speed and agility were extraordinary, a testament to the experimentation and the addition of Chaos in his body.

She debated on whether she should jump in to help, but he seemed to be doing fine on his own. She was still unsure of whether it was a good idea to pick a fight with Deepground when they still believed she was on their side. It was the first time she had to make a big decision on her own, so she wanted to at least think it through first. For now, she would let Vincent handle situations like those.

Rapid gunfire reverberated throughout the mansion. Vincent was doing well in picking out the weakest points of the robot. With his excellent marksmanship, he actually disabled the gun the machine was using. He moved in closer, becoming a red blur as he jumped on top of the robot and fired multiple rounds right into its core. He then leapt off it before it blew apart. His gaze moved up to where Vianca sat, and she smiled at his victory. The girl suddenly gasped as her eyes darted past him, and Vincent was quick to twist around in alarm. Before anyone could react, Rosso's hand was buried in Vincent's chest.