Faithless Memories

Captured

Chapter 77

After several intense moments of the same thing, Vincent managed to catch Zack's eyes. Even though neither man knew each other, it was not difficult for the gunman to pass on his intent without tipping off Angeal. Part of it was the fact that he had been knocked down once more. By the time he got back to his feet with another unearthly growl, his two opponents had split to either side of him.

Angeal hesitated for a moment as he seemed to be debating who he wanted to attack next. That was all the time they needed. When Angeal looked toward Zack, Vincent gave the boy a slight nod, and they both lunged toward the possessed Soldier at the same time. Angeal was unable to block both his superhuman opponents at the same time, and Zack was able to get behind his defenses to deliver a blow with the flat of his blade. Angeal staggered slightly, and Vincent followed it up with a nasty hit from the handle of his enormous gun. With that, Angeal finally went down once more.

Unfortunately, they all knew well enough that he would not stay down. Kris somehow managed to slip past Reno and Rude to run to her brother's side. He had knelt to check on Angeal before he stood with a frown. His gaze landed on Vincent and gave the man a nod. Kris was by his side before he could thank the man for the assistance. She had grabbed Zack's arm, but she was looking at the gunman.

"Do you know if there is anything down here strong enough to hold him. There is a team that is currently trying to deal with Jenova, so he should come back to his senses as soon as she is gone."

Vincent let loose a soft sigh before he finally pointed toward the far end of the cave. "There are things in there that were made-" He paused and looked away before he continued. "They were made to hold a monster. They should work for now."

Kris took a step toward him. She didn't touch him, but she was close enough that he could hear her whisper. "You are not a monster." She then stepped back and looked over her shoulder. She didn't give him any chance to refute her before she spoke again. "We won't have much time to restrain him. Let's take care of it while he is still out."

Vincent watched the strange woman as she turned to go to the lab. He still had so many questions, and he planned on getting answers. However, she was correct in that they needed to move while they had the chance. He followed her into the room where he had spent more time than he cared to remember. He did his best to ignore the memories the tanks pulled up as he searched for the restraints Hojo had once used on him to hold back the worst of the beasts under his skin.

It was a silent few minutes later that he found what he was looking for. The two Turks had followed them and stuck close to the girl, but the boy that was her brother had stayed with the unconscious man. Presumably, to make sure he did not attack again if he woke before they found the means to hold him.

As worried as Kris was for Angeal, she was still glad that he had yet to rouse again. She hoped it was not more than the fact that he had been knocked unconscious twice in a relatively short amount of time.

Between Vincent and Zack, they managed to get the restraints on Angeal and hauled him into the lab. As disgusted as they all were by the evidence of human experimentation in the place, none of them objected when Vincent suggested they put Angeal in one of the specimen tanks. Between the chains on his arms and legs and the thick glass of the chamber, hopefully, it would be enough to keep the Soldier at bay for the time being.

They managed to get Angeal situated before Vincent turned to pin Kris with a glare. Now that the worst was dealt with, he had questions. However, he was not allowed to ask them. All but the gunman nearly jumped out of their skin when a resounding bang echoed through the room. They all turned to see Angeal had tried to ram the tank but was thrown back.