Title: Space Troopers
Chapter 11
Rating: PG-13; beware of monster gore in this one
Pairings: Mainly Cid/Vincent. In-between-the-lines Cloud/Aerith, Zack/Cloud/Sephiroth and any couple combination amongst the three.
Warnings: AU. Violence and yaoi in further chapters. Spoilers for both movie and game.
Summary: Space mechanic Cid Highwind was having a wonderfully crappy day when he happened to stumble upon an old Shinra-issued cryogenic pod. His kind heart forbade him not to wake up the poor bastard. His cursing brain knew he was getting into a heap of trouble.
Notes: All my babble about technology is pure guesswork and imagination. Don't take it too much at heart. Also, I will be freely mixing elements from both game and movie.

The dry, barren landscape was at odds with the smell that drifted on the increasingly cold breeze. It was thick and cloyingly humid, like one would expect to herald a thriving swamp. They smelled it long before they reached it; as they reined in at the edge of a dip in the land, Vincent finally saw the bog that was at the source of the stink.

The land stretching from the bottom of the bowl-like depression of the fields was all grey-green, with tufts of sparse vegetation sticking up here and there from the murk. There were no trees or larger plants to hinder the view of the squat mountains through which ran the abandoned mines. Their profile was farther away than Vincent was comfortable with.

Following Cloud's example, Vincent swung off the saddle. His boots sank ankle-deep in the soft ground; he nearly lost one squelching them out.

"Charming," he couldn't help but remark, casting around for something solid he could rest on. There wasn't much, so he looped the reins loosely around his wrist and gave his chocobo a break as he remained standing.

Aerith alighted only marginally more gracefully to the ground, patting her bird's neck as it ruffled its wings and tail. She had to hold on to the saddle to extricate her feet from the mud.

"We'll be grateful for the chocobos," she hummed in agreement, peering down at the awaiting bog.

"Perhaps." At her quirked eyebrow, Vincent elaborated. "If they are fast enough." He appraised the distant mountains. "And strong enough."

"It'll be alright." The way she said it, it was as if she spoke of much more than their imminent crossing.

Vincent did not offer a reply, instead studying what lay before them. He'd never travelled here as a Turk. Shinra had had very little interest in the mines and the depreciation of mythril had been worsened by its difficult geographical location. They had been abandoned by the local miners and left to the zoloms and monsters.

He could feel Aerith's eyes resting on him. He was very good at ignoring stares, but he still felt the hair at the nape of his neck raise. Unwittingly annoyed, he looked back and held her gaze. She did not flinch away or smile or frown.

"Did you receive mako treatments?"

Vincent couldn't hide his surprise at the straightforward question. The prying didn't offend him, it would just as easily be ignored, but he had not expected it. Aside from occasionally Cid, they had all been very careful not to ask him private or possibly uncomfortable questions. It was exactly as he preferred it and he had encouraged their discretion.

As the silence lengthened, Aerith's lips etched upwards in a wryly amused smile.

"I knew a SOLDIER once, back in Midgar" she started instead, breaking eye contact and looking over at the Mythril Mountains. "He assimilated the mako so easily, I could hear it in him whenever we were together."

Her tone was all he needed to understand that the SOLDIER in question was dead.

"Hear?" he queried instead.

Aerith nodded. "Cloud, too," she didn't answer. Turning to him, she tilted her head, now curious. "But not you. You show some signs, but I can't hear it at all."

What was she? He couldn't sense aggression or danger from her at all, but these things she was saying had all his instincts rear up, the beasts rumbling.

Vincent very carefully weighed his next move. "I did not receive mako treatments," he finally confirmed. He actually had no way of confirming that without talking to Hojo or getting into his files, but he suspected that he had been treated with just enough mako to help settle in the beasts. There may be minimal lasting effects, but the substance itself had not been enough to become a permanent addition to his bloodstream.

"I see," she said vaguely. "Thank you."

Feeling unsettled about what she may be thanking him for, Vincent hummed noncommittally. Tifa came up then and engaged Aerith in conversation, leaving him free to naturally drop out of it and wonder about the exchange.

They gave the chocobos as much of a rest as they dared in preparation for the grueling run ahead of them, but as the sun dipped steadily towards the horizon they climbed back into the saddle. They divided into two teams to split the zoloms' attention; Vincent headed southward with RedXIII and Cid leading Cait Sith's chocobo, the AI sitting astride the shut down robot while the rest of the group circled northward.

Although the downward slope was not very sharp the footing was muddy and slippery. It took them some time before they managed to find a suitable path down. The chocobos became nervous the closer they got to the swamp, perhaps knowing what lurked underneath.

"Hovercrafts," Cid declared suddenly and with certainty as they stopped just at the edge of the still water.

RedXIII huffed a breath that might have been a laugh.

"Next time, we get a bloody hovercraft."

"Of course," Vincent agreed smoothly, privately entertained by Cid's discomfiture at the imminent crossing. Chocobos would certainly not be pleasant but a hovercraft would be missed if stolen or would leave a bright, obvious paper trail if bought.

"At least you don't have to run in this," RedXIII added, raising a paw in demonstration.

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Cid retorted but there was no fire in it. Jaw working, Cid gave slack to the reins and shifted his seat. "Let's get this over with."

Vincent nodded and did the same. He waited as RedXIII gathered his weight on his hindquarters and tensed. A few seconds passed in utter stillness before he sprang forward, an explosion of intent, precise motion and began lopping through the bog in long, jumping strides. Cid kicked his bird in motion and met a moment of resistance from the one carrying Cait Sith before it began following with a dismayed squawk. Vincent was behind them by just a few paces.

With his sharp eyes and lower line of sight, RedXIII kept them on as hard ground as he possibly could, following the trails of shrubs and stunted trees as landmarks to less watery footing. Even then, it made for a very bumpy ride. Vincent rose in the saddle, absorbing the stumbles and sudden shifts in his knees to avoid being thrown off, keeping pressure into the chocobo's flanks so that it would keep up with RedXIII.

At first there was nothing except for the wind and the occasional curses or chocobo warks. Knowing what thrived in this bog, Vincent was almost relieved when he saw an elongated shadow ripple its way towards them.

"Zolom, 4 o'clock and closing from the front," he called out sharply.

Immediately RedXIII turned sharp, putting the zolom to their rear so that it could not catch up to them. Vincent felt his chocobo try to put on a burst of speed and had to restrain it sharply with the reins so that it would not override Cid and RedXIII and burn itself out. They still had a long distance to go.

The new angle prevented the zolom from catching up but also left the mountains on their flank and curtailed their progress. Slowly, RedXIII turned them back towards the mountain range, the zolom still following but not gaining ground.

Vincent looked over his shoulder every few strides to make sure it remained at as comfortable a distance as possible, occasionally catching glimpses of a muscular back and glistening scales when they navigated shallower waters. Its size was remarkable, however Vincent was far from a zolom specialist and did not know if it was an adult or juvenile.

He got his answer more quickly than he cared for. A rolling back only half submerged by bog at the best of times slithered closer. The smaller zolom disappeared at its approach, leaving them with their more sizable foe.

Vincent called the newest arrival to the others. Cait Sith jabbered worriedly, hanging on for dear life to his strapped plushie. This time RedXIII did pick up the pace as much as he could, but he was not built for prolonged speed like the chocobos and Vincent worried that he would not make it. The mountains were looming much closer but they were not there yet.

The measure seemed to keep the zolom from reaching them. It stopped closing distance and was slowed down by its bulk whenever they reached a shallower, drier stretch. He heard Cid calling encouragements to RedXIII as he wove through the bog, keeping them as much as possible on those easier paths for them but still towards the mountains. As they began to be able to see etches of dry land in the distance, Vincent allowed himself to think that they might reach it without mishap.

Of course, fate was rarely so kind, as he should very well know. With the rumbling of the zolom at his heels, Vincent missed the sudden yowl of surprise from RedXIII and the splash that accompanied it. He only realized something was wrong when Cid circled the birds around wide and slowed to a halt.

His view unobstructed, Vincent saw that RedXIII had run straight into a deep pocket of water and had floundered under. The water was churning violently as he tried to resurface and find his footing. Without thinking about it for a second, Cid was out of the saddle and thigh-deep in bog just at the edge of the sudden hole.

"Cid!" Vincent called out, his voice heavy with the threat of the approaching zolom. Already this delay was too much. The monster would catch up to them now.

"Distract it!" Cid yelled back. Flipping the reins over his chocobo's neck, he tossed them in the churning water where RedXIII was trying to keep his head afloat. "Red, stop trashing and catch the reins!" Whether he was in any position to hear was debatable.

The whole venture was doomed, but still Vincent spun his bird around, forcing it to face the incoming zolom. The monster actually slowed down as it realized that its preys were no longer moving. Placing himself squarely between the zolom and his comrades, Vincent held the reins tight with his off hand and drew his pistol with the other. The barrel rose, perfectly steady despite his frisking mount, and waited.

The zolom stopped a short distance away and rose. The head was huge, the jaws large enough to swallow man and bird alike in one bite. A forked tongue just as big flickered out to smell the air as the grey-green cobra-like skull swayed slowly side-to-side, disturbingly assessing.

Vincent's pistol roared. His shot took out the zolom's bulbous left eye, dragging a guttural hiss from the monster. The next one snapped its head to the side before it could initiate its enraged lunge.

Its attention caught, Vincent spurred his chocobo into motion, bolting to the side and away from his companions. The zolom lashed its tail but missed him, sending murky water raining over their heads. From the corner of his eye he saw that Cid had managed to entangle RedXIII in the reins and was coaxing the chocobo to pull his bulk out of the bog. Although RedXIII was no lightweight, the chocobo was desperately trying to get away from the predator and was thus helping with the extraction process.

Vincent led the zolom in circles, shooting when he could. His rounds could not penetrate its scales but were quite successful at infuriating it and keeping it from turning to easier prey. Nevertheless, the strategy would only last for so long.

Mercifully, Cid managed to extricate RedXIII from the deep pool before the zolom could land a hit. He took only a minute to confirm that he was alright before disengaging the reins and swinging back in the saddle. Without a word, he unhooked his spear from the saddle strap and spurred his mount forward, hampered by the one carrying Cait Sith but determined nonetheless.

"Keep it as still as you can," Vincent called. If he could take out its other eye they may have a better chance at this. The zolom's submerged chase clearly indicated that it did not hunt by sight. They would have to defeat it or chase it away to be able to win.

"Bait, got it!" Cid swerved and tried to catch the zolom's attention.

It didn't take much. Two chocobos were better than one; the zolom turned to follow Cid and lunged. The snap of jaws missed Cait's bird by a hair, removing a few feathers and eliciting a terrified wark. In a show of impressive riding skills, Cid spun his bird on the spot and lashed out with his spear at the zolom's neck. The blade bounced off the scales ineffectually. Before the monster could raise its head again RedXIII appeared in a blur of brackish mud and dirty red fur, launching himself on the head and laying waste with claws and fangs. His growls and snarls pierced the air through the sounds of the trashing snake, the raking claws like metal against metal.

RedXIII's position atop the head prevented Vincent from taking his shot at the remaining eye so he concentrated on confusing the zolom with bullets along its neck. A shrill hiss soon told him that RedXIII had succeeded where he hadn't. Throwing its head in a sudden and sinuous dive that finally succeeded in dislodging RedXIII, Vincent saw that the zolom's right eye was now a weeping socket of black and oozing green.

Its tail rattling ominously over the water, the zolom raised its head high and became still, its tongue flickering out rapidly. Vincent did not trust the sudden break in attacks and held his bird firmly in check, his pistol raised as he observed for minute hints of movement. Blind and furious, the zolom was only marginally less dangerous than before.

Many moments passed in this eerie stillness, both sides weighing each other, until suddenly the zolom drew its head back with an inhaled hiss like industrial ventilation. Opening cavernous jaws, it exhaled a great gout of flames.

No amount of control could have dictated the chocobos' movements then. Vincent's bird tried jumping out of the way but was not quite fast enough. Flames engulfed its right flank and legs, forcing Vincent to bolt out of the saddle as his coat and pants caught fire. He landed awkwardly in the bog, sinking to the chest and extinguishing his clothing, but still he felt the tenacious heat against his skin, magical and voracious. He still had his gun and he fired at the black hole of fangs and fire that bore down on him, yet it did not stop it. Mired in mud and unable to extricate himself in time, Vincent's world became that of a giant gullet.

xxx

"Vincent!' Cid screamed as he watched Vincent disappear beneath the zolom's crashing head and spraying water. He'd managed to keep his seat and regain control of his mount, somewhat, but it would mean jack shit if Vincent died eaten by a fucking giant snake. The lead had snapped; Cait Sith was on his own. Feeling his teeth bare in a snarl, Cid slipped his boots out of the stirrups and kicked his bird forward, applying the butt of his spear to its side to urge it faster. When he was close enough he released the reins, jumped up on the saddle and used it as a boost to propel himself high and over the zolom's still half-submerged head before he could lose his own balance.

He hadn't thought this move out and would later piss his pants and wonder at his sheer dumb luck, but in that instant that he was airborne and staring down at the zolom everything was crystal clear. The monster's every twitch was telegraphed and accounted for; his spearhead was aimed unerringly and with perfect precision. He could already feel the impact of the collision, was prepared to brace for it while still maximizing damage. His mind was white noise over red rage and focused only on not letting Vincent get eaten.

And then he began to fall. Letting his spear lead the way, he leaned all of his weight on it as he came down on the zolom's neck, right in the middle of its crest. He expected his blade to break on the scales, maybe skim off if he was lucky. He did not expect it to break through the natural armor, to slide in with the screech of a runaway train and the shock of a mako-burn. His spear kept going once the layer of scales was pierced and he had to relinquish it as it disappeared almost completely in the zolom's body, skewering it nicely.

Cid's landing was much less gracious or fortuitous. He fell badly on his feet only to promptly skid and tumble off the zolom, disappearing in the water as the monster trashed anew. Miraculously this part of the bog wasn't too deep and Cid managed to recover his footing, feeling his latest acrobatics in the pulse of adrenaline in his joints.

"Watch out!" Cid heard in RedXIII's guttural -alive- voice before something snagged his shirt and ruthlessly dragged him back and away from the coils of the zolom's body.

"Fuck!" Cid barked out with feeling. "Let go, damn, I'm good!" But RedXIII didn't let go that quickly, making sure that Cid was well out of wild-trashing-range before releasing his mouthful of shirt. Only then was he allowed to regain proper footing.

Patches of grass and even swamp were still on fire. However, as Cid crouched defensively, he noted that the zolom had not raised its head. He knew it couldn't be his spear. It wasn't long enough to pin it to the swampy bottom. But as he watched, the zolom's movements became less coordinated, jerkier, until they slowed to a halt. The silence was eerie after the battle. Cid's ears were still ringing.

"The hell," he murmured, expecting a ruse. He took a careful step forward. When that didn't elicit a response from the zolom, he took another.

"Wait," RedXIII said suddenly. He sloshed forward, deceptively silent in the liquid mud, and sniffed the air loudly. "I know what this is."

"I'm glad one of us does." He grunted as his knee vehemently protested his next step but otherwise ignored it. "We need to get Vincent out of there."

"Don't!" RedXIII insisted, and there went the shirt-biting again.

Cid's very careful choice of angry words died in his throat when the zolom's head began to twitch again. He froze in place, acutely aware that his hands were empty and that his spear was imbedded in a giant snake's neck. RedXIII kept a very firm grip on him as the zolom's jaws slowly twitched open in fits and starts. He needn't have worried; what came out of those jaws had Cid rooted to the spot.

The smaller behemoth was entirely covered in green blood. Its curved horns, fur, mane, bared fangs and claws, it was all dripping green. It was very, very clear from the smallest glimpse Cid got of the zolom's maw that it had been ravaged from the inside where it was soft and vulnerable.

Words gathered in his throat, choking, but he couldn't make his tongue move, his jaw working uselessly. The beast's eyes swiveled to him, tarnished gold and prehistoric predator.

Undoubtedly sensing his mood RedXIII released him but stepped slightly forward. "Don't move. That's Vincent."

"What?" Cid managed to gurgle.

"I saw him transform before," RedXIII elaborated succinctly. "He helped me then. Just wait."

"Easier fucking said than done." But what else could he do? He would never outrun this long-legged monster, his chocobo had bolted and Caith Sith was nowhere to be seen, probably stuck on a spooked chocobo that he couldn't control.

"Stay calm," RedXIII admonished.

Vincent, if that was truly him, ambled slowly forward, its tail moving in slow arcs as it licked its chops clean and closed the blinds over its impressive set of fangs. It stopped at a reasonable distance and leaned forward slightly, sniffing, considering. The eyes never blinked, intent.

And just as Cid was about to lose his shit completely, Vincent transformed back into himself. The process was indescribable and Cid didn't even try to make sense of it. He just knew that one moment some kind of maybe-purplish monster was considering if he was ally or food, the other that his friend was standing in front of him, a little woozy-looking but otherwise just peachy in burned clothes.

"...That's useful." Cleverness, thy name is Cid Highwind.

Vincent blinked and the wariness that had marked his every feature and stance bled away to be replaced by befuddlement.

"It can be," he replied very carefully. Still he didn't step closer, perhaps thinking he would spook them.

If he was completely honest with himself, Cid would be tempted to agree. However, he was a goddamn grown man who had seen some weird shit in his life and if whatever Vincent became had the guts to not be completely swallowed by a zolom and rip it inside out, he owed it to him not to freak out.

Instead he snorted loudly and walked forward, making his sloshing way to the zolom to retrieve his weapon. "Well, it saved our asses. Hopefully these things don't like their own dead and will stay the fuck away from here, because we're walking the rest of the way."

Vincent didn't smile, exactly, but something definitively lightened in his expression. "Where's Caith Sith?"

"Beats me. We'll have to find him first." Cid closed his teeth over a curse as he clambered back over the zolom. His right knee and shoulders shot with pain dulled by adrenaline. He was going to feel this one in the morning. There was only about a hand span of haft left peaking from the scales, but it came away easily enough, if messily. Cid grimaced at the gore and the damage it might do the metal before he would have a chance to clean it. "Ugh," he added emphatically.

"Thank you, Cid," Vincent said sincerely from his position down in the bog.

"For what?"

"Your spear. It interrupted its swallow."

Oh. Cid straightened, his dripping spear in hand, and raised his shoulders, abashed. "Well, you brained it, so let's just call us quits."

Again Vincent was not smiling, but Cid still had the definite impression that he was, somehow.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I suggest that we hurry," RedXIII put in smoothly, traces of exasperation in his voice. He shook his mane, sprinkling mud about.

"Right." Cid wiped as much blood as he could from the haft then slid down the zolom's side. "Let's find that shit AI."

xxx

In the end, it was Cait Sith who found them. When his chocobo had broken its lead and fled he had reactivated his robot plushie. It was now plodding through the bog while holding the reins in one meaty fist, forcing the unhappy bird to follow.

"Guys!" Caith Sith jumped up and down on the chocobo's back, a large grin splitting his face. "You're still alive!"

Cid avoided acknowledging his relief by harrumphing loudly. "No thanks to you."

"Sorry! This guy managed to go far before I got him under control." Cait Sith promptly jumped from the chocobo to his plushie. "Is anyone injured? You should ride the rest of the way."

"I'm fine," Cid stated. "Just hurry up."

He wisely didn't comment as Vincent accepted Cait Sith's offer and concentrated on making as much speed as he could in this sludge. The mountains were close, maybe less than half an hour's trudging. They could make it.

RedXIII joined him, his long legs breaching the water more easily. Vincent moved the chocobo in circles around the small group, keeping a watchful eye trained outward for any oncoming zoloms.

Time had flown since their arrival at the swamp. Cid scowled up at the disappearing sun and, consequently, the fading light. He didn't doubt that the bog would become infinitively more dangerous if they were caught in it at full dark. He picked up the pace as much as he could. Keeping to shallower waters meant they could move faster but also that they were not following the most direct route.

Halfway there and still there were no signs of zoloms. On the next circle Vincent matched his bird's pace with his.

"Do you need to ride?" he asked quietly.

Rather than answering, Cid looked up at Vincent. Really looked. He didn't seem injured but his skin looked paler than usual and there was uncommon tension in his shoulders, the line of his spine. It also transpired in his riding. The chocobo's gait was jerky and uncomfortable. In all fairness, though, that might just be the consequence of almost being made into fried chicken by an overgrown fire-breathing reptile.

"How hard is it to transform?" he asked instead.

Vincent took his sweet time answering, his eyes roaming the surroundings as he thought. They were brighter in the dimming light.

"It's painless," he finally answered.

Which wasn't exactly an answer either, but whatever, Cid was flexible.

"Then I'm fine," he reiterated stubbornly. Sure, his knee gave a twinge at every step but it still worked. Plus, giving the long-range fighter the higher vantage point made sense.

"Very well."

And with that Vincent went off again. The rest of the walk was made in wary, expectant silence, their ears straining to catch the merest rippling sound that could tip them off to potential danger. A zolom did eventually pick up the chase, but as Cid was about three steps away from solid ground, blessed, rocky ground, he couldn't give a shit beyond jogging those last three steps and putting some distance between himself and the water line.

"We made it," Cait Sith exhaled with obvious relief, sagging against his robot's head. "Next time, we're getting hovercrafts."

As Cid shook off as much of the mud and water as he could, he saw the zolom stop close to the end of the bog. Slowly it drew itself up. It was another big specimen, just a bit smaller than the one they'd defeated. Its head slithered side-to-side for a few moments, its eyes trained on its potential prey as its tongue peaked out once, twice, before it decided they weren't worth the trouble. Just as slowly, casually, it lowered its upper body back into the water and swam away.

Cid exhaled in heavy relief. "Let's just not have a second time."

TBC