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Who: Vincent Valentine and OPEN -thread closed/complete-
What: People watching...for now
Where: A bar at the crossroads of the worlds
When: Late Afternoon/Early Evening
Rating: PG

The bar was dimly lit and smoky. The tables and chairs were sturdy and didn’t match; they were purchased or made for durability, not aesthetics. The bar was made of heavy ironwood and its surface was pitted and scarred from multiple traumas – be they from beer bottles, knives or heads. The clientele was not much better off than the beaten-up furniture. Most had had trouble with some sort of authority at some point in their lives, and were violent and unpredictable. This was not a bar where you met up with friends or had a social hour. This was a place where dark deals were made, debts were collected and lives were ended, either bought or sold, by a blade to the back or a bullet to the head.

The shadows here were deep and they were dark, guarding their secrets well. In the deepest, darkest corner of the bar sat a monster. They couldn’t see it, but they knew it was there when they felt the eyes on them when they sat down. If a man were perceptive or quick enough to look at the right moment in the rasping flick of a cigarette lighter or the quick flash of a bumped light, he would catch the glint of gold or the glow of deep carmine, and he would see the beautiful creature before it disappeared again into the dark to which is was most comfortable. In the midst of the dregs and twisted remnants of humanity the creature has found a home of sorts. It shall sit in its corner and continue to watch the ebb and flow of ruined lives around it, and contemplate its place in the inglorious mess called life.

He had an apartment. It was a small one-room box with a un-slept-in bed and no kitchen. He did not have to eat. To keep himself busy, Vincent Valentine took random jobs, and the bounties that no one else wanted. He didn’t need the money, but he needed the activity. He was to meet his contact here and receive the stats on his next job; but an hour later found him irritated, and slowly scratching a divot out of the tabletop he was sitting at with one of the claws on his gauntlet. He had been stood up, and that tended to piss him off. He could have left, but something told him to stay. So he sat and watched those around him, vermilion eyes flicking over every face and body posture in the place, assessing and missing nothing. He kept one eye on the door to see who next walked through, and the other on the heavy caliber weapon of the rough-looking piece of work that sat nearest him at a table that wobbled, and kept Cerberus un-strapped and ready for use. His body was deceptively relaxed and ready for anything.

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A smug grin appeared on the feline's face as he entered the dark and dank bar, satisfied with finding a place that would suit his needs, though not all. While Kefka recruited more allies to the cause, or at least tried, he had left the safety of his Research Center to spy on his nemeses, only to be bored as they merely did nothing but argue with another and go on a hunt for Heartless in Dollet. He didn't recognize the other three that were there with them, but he knew warriors when he sensed them, and those three were no exception. Once FATE becomes operational, he would have to check out their records.

Speaking of warriors, he saw one man he knew: Vincent Valentine, the harbor of Chaos. Before he had been killed by Serge and co., he had heard a lot about several fighters in different worlds, but Valentine was one of the few to catch his attention. But why a gunman of all things? Surely he could have used someone else that would be far more suited and willing to the job.

Chaos, at he hoped it was still within him. Were he to unite his powers with Chaos, even for a brief second, he could easily get rid of his foes from this realm. Sadly, he needed Serge and Kid for the moment, so that left only the Dragoon, Glenn. And even without it, Valentine had more than one demon inside of him. And even without any of them, magic and skill was on Vincent's side, more than enough to at least equal if not kill the wretched Dragoon.

He pulled the chair out from Vincent's table, earning a stare from the gunslinger. Holding out his hand, the smirk grew wider, his teeth flashing against whatever light that was in the area. "Vincent Valentine, I do hope I am not interrupting...whatever it is you are doing, but I have a job for you, if you are interested. My name is Wazuki." He would have snarled at the mention of his old name, but he kept his cool as he waited for Vincent to respond.

It wasn't long after the feline entered the bar that the doors opened again, this time to a figure much more colorful than the usual patron. But anyone who saw his eyes, his almost permanent smile thought him for a weakling. Kefka chuckled to himself as he walked over the place, humming some tune as he spotted Lynx, skipping over to the corner. Though Kefka rarely walked any other way as the clown took another seat, crouching in the chair like a frog as he waved at the two of them. "and I'm Kefka Palazzo! Are you connected to the cupid guy?"

Vincent looked up into the face of the felid that stood over him, and after a moment accepted the hand held out to him as the creature sat. He only peripherally knew of this “Wazuki”, or Lynx rather as his sources had revealed to him when he had tapped various databases during previous jobs. Lynx’s name had some come up several times, but he surprisingly couldn’t find much else on him. Regardless, Vincent knew him to be dangerous, and not to be trusted. He kept his red stare on Lynx’s face, sniffing deeply as the creature’s scent drifted to his nostrils. He felt the Galian beast’s sudden awareness and he tensed slightly. The beast in him could quite possibly consider Lynx a challenge, which would end badly for a lot of people, not to mention the building would get a rather abrupt overhaul…namely reducing the structure to rubble. Leaning back on the bench along the wall at which he sat, he left his clawed gauntlet on the table and regarded his new companion. He would be lying if he wasn’t somewhat intrigued by the prospect of a “job”, and he was silently grateful that Chaos had returned to the planet because the harbinger would have jumped at the chance to destroy. As it was, one did not play host to the demon fated to end all life on the planet and remain unchanged. He had retained some residual power from Chaos, and it was that darkness in him now that wished to hear “Wazuki’s” offer, “I’m listening.” He growled.

As the felid’s mouth opened to speak, the entrance of a rather garishly flamboyant character, resembling a psychotic clown, abruptly captured his attention. With the majority of his focus fixed upon Lynx, as he determined the cat to be the bigger threat, Vincent scrutinized the newest addition to their little tête-à-tête. The cold cunning of Lynx coupled with the madness of one self-introduced Kefka Palazzo, reminded Vincent of a certain silver-haired former-General. To the clown’s question, Vincent raised an eyebrow and asked flatly, “Cupid…guy? Might you care to elaborate?” before turning back to Lynx, “I must confess that your methods of propositioning are rather unorthodox, as I would have guessed you one for favoring subtlety. Do all of your…associates, make such obvious entrances?” As he spoke his gloved right hand, hidden under the table and further obscured by his crimson mantle came to rest lightly on the butt of Cerberus, forefinger tapping a silent and gentle rhythm as he waited for his companions to speak.

It took all of Lynx's effort to conceal the vein popping in his head and to not growl at Kefka's antics. 'I truly hate clowns...' he thought, thinking over his past experiences with Harle. True, the harlequin was nowhere near as annoying as the jester, and she was far more helpful...at least until she betrayed him, defying FATE just like the mortals before had done so.

'...Note to self: keeps tabs on everyone.' he added, making a mental note.

Shaking Valentine's hand, he could sense a number of creatures flowing within him, their dark energy seemingly familiar, reminding him of his very own creations: The Shadow Cats. But much to his dismay, he felt only one truly react to his own darkness. Was he not worthy of Chaos...or was it...! 'No Chaos? Hm, there must be something I am missing in this puzzle.'

He took his seat, his right leg over his left, arms crossed over his chest. "Do not mind my...imbecile for a companion; I had assumed he would be preoccupied with cleaning my basement. But I do favor subtlety..." His signature scythe appeared in his hand, while the other appeared in front of Vincent. "That's why I am not stabbing you at the moment with this. So there's no need to for any trouble." The scythe vanished and Lynx raised his hands in mock defeat, smirking. "You and I wish for no trouble, so let us talk like civilized demons. And hopefully..." He turned to Kefka, glaring at the clown, his eyes filled with malice as he calmly said, "My jester will become silent as we do so!"

His attention was back to Vincent, his eyes no longer holding the same hatred he had for Kefka. "I am here to present you with a simple job: get rid of a certain Dragoon." He reached into his cloak, several files with the word Glenn in capitols spread across it. "I'm not sure if you are familiar with him, but all I need is for you to take him out of the picture...temporarily of course. Your objective is to simply distract him, with your own methods if preferred, and allow me to meet with his two friends while he isn't there. Naturally I don't expect you to kill him since he and his friends are associates of Ms. Lockheart. But if your trigger finger becomes loose, I certainly won't tell anyone. In exchange..." A large pyramid of green energy appeared before the feline and his company, hovering above the table in between the two dealers, showing the visions of Vincent's dark past; Lynx had to admit that he enjoyed watching them. Thankfully he could still summon his Record of Fate easily. "While you have been dealt with rotten cards in a vile deck, I can promise you a new hand with benefits that would make us both happy. Any questions?"

Now all he could hope was that the clown could remain on his best behavior. Speaking of which, why the hell was here in the first place!?

Kefka nodded as Lynx told him to be silent, though the feline's eyes didn't mean anything to him. He grinned as he tapped the table, humming to himself as Lynxh pulled out some files, each with the name Glenn on them. Kefka started laughing, clapping his hands as he pointed at the name. "I know someone with that name, he did this hunt!" Kekfa laughed as he did a little dance when Lynx started playing visions of Vincent's past. He stared at them greedily as he rubbed his chin. "Hey who's this girl?" he said, pointing out the girl in a lab coat who seeemed to appear alot

Vincent had settled back, making himself more comfortable as “Wazuki” had begun speaking. When the scythe had appeared, accompanied by the idle threat, he grinned ferally from the position of concealment behind his high collar. “Strangely, I think I like you. You know what you want and you don’t sugarcoat it. I respect that.” He murmured. And yet it always it comes down to posturing, he thought, amused. He refrained from speaking further though as he didn’t wish to begin a chest-thumping match, and an argument of who was the more powerful. It would have been a waste of both time and energy, not mention ridiculously useless. Lynx was powerful, Vincent had felt as much when he had shaken the creature’s hand, but what the felid had failed to realize was that his head would have been a pulped mess from one tri-shot round from Cerberus before Lynx could’ve gotten close enough to give him a scratch from that impressive little toy the cat called a weapon.

Ah well, no matter, he thought as Lynx continued to speak. A part of his mind wondered why exactly the cat had come to him, and he had a fairly confident hunch that it had something to do with a certain demon that no longer claimed him as a residence. But surely he must realize that Chaos has returned to Gaia, Vincent thought in a pause during Lynx’s presentation. The debacle between Chaos and Omega was hardly secret. It was true, he retained some of Chaos’s power, but that was a little known fact by anyone, Vincent had seen to it personally, just for this very reason. When that knowledge got out, everyone and everything would come crawling to him asking, demanding, bribing or attempting to coerce something from him. So he had continued to meticulously guard that little secret, even from his “friends”.

Finally Lynx finished his proposition, and Vincent’s hand drifted away from Cerberus as he leaned forward to pick up the files that now lay on the table. Idly flipping through them, he asked casually, “Tell me, Wazuki,” he glanced up at the massive felid, making a point to ignore the glowing pyramid, “Just what is this “Glenn” to you? Surely you can dispose of him yourself. Why come to me, when you might find an associate more willing and…eager, to accept a simple job like this.” He glanced pointedly at Kefka before returning his lava-colored stare to Lynx and finishing, “and if I am to subject myself to this idiot’s horrendous attitude, I am going to need something a little more concrete than a slide-show of a past that I am more that familiar with, and a collection of pretty metaphors for something you are in no position to deliver on.”

Tossing the files back onto the table and giving Lynx a moment to think about what he had said, Vincent turned a withering stare onto the clown, succeeding in dissolving the maniacal grin, but doing nothing for the madness that continued to glare out of Kefka’s eyes, “She is of no concern of yours, and you would do well to remember that. I’ll indulge you only so far as to say that she is nothing more than a ghost; a remnant of life long since dead, and I would appreciate you leaving her thus.” He cocked his head and regarded the creature a moment, “But I am curious, Kefka Palazzo, what is your story? Why are you aligned with the feline and I have to wonder is there any intelligence buried in that head or yours? Or do you just content yourself with doing what others tell you to do?”

Vincent knew better than to write the clown off. He knew, probably better than most, that madness was far more dangerous that just a cunning mind. In madness lay the capability to commit great acts of atrocity and its own brand of evil genius. Morality, honor, and indeed reality meant little to minds no longer cultivating sanity. And this knowledge led him to hope, irrationally so, that Lynx realized this and just how dangerous and truly unpredictable Kefka could really be. Returning his hand once again to Cerberus, if only for the psychological support it provided him, Vincent waited patiently. *

Lynx closed his eyes, smirking. It had been far too long since he had met someone intelligent enough to hold a decent, and tough, negotiation. "Glenn is nothing more than a nuisance to me, as are the other two. If I could, I'd get rid of all of them myself. But..." He pointed to the pyramid on the table, shattering it into pieces. "While I need the blue-haired child and the annoyance that is the girl, the knight on the other hand is disposable. Not only is he a living reminder of my failures, but...Well, I'm sure I don't have to bore you with such tales."

Lynx was wary of Kefka as well, what with him disobeying orders. But both nearly had the same objectives, even if Lynx's was a tad bit more concealed to only himself. He needn't worry about the former god, just so long as he had FATE back in his possession, he would have little to worry about.

"My associate already has a job I assigned to him. Besides, he proved himself incapable of destroying Glenn the first time, and failure is something I hardly tolerate. Besides, I prefer quiet kills. Were I not here, he'd burn this entire place to the ground before you could even shoot that little toy of yours!"

Continuing to stare at the crimson eyes through the gunslinger, he could sense this conversation of assasination would probably go nowhere at this rate. He should have expected much from the goody-two-shoes. And what he really wanted wasn't Vincent himself, but only Chaos. He wanted the darker, more malevolent Vincent. And as the gunslinger reached for his gun, he could tell he was about to get it even if he moved.

He hadn't intended on giving Vincent the offer for his "other" job, but he always needed a plan B, if his previous attempts at defeating Serge had taught him anything. He mentally cursed being stuck here without FATE's power...for now anyway.

He reclined in the chair. "But if you feel your skills are inadequate to dealing with such vermin, even if all I ask is to simply distract him, then I have yet another job, though it won't deal you that "hand" you desire. Tell me, have you ever heard of Lavos?"

Kefka raised an eyebrow. "That is not true, I would drain the lifeforce from everyone here, make a large pyre, burn the place and roast marshmallows over it" Kefka said as he turned to Vincent, a lot more serious look in his eyes, even if his mouth stayed in a grin. "I'm allied with...Wazuki for my own matters, Vincent, but I wouldn't take me for a pushover, I was watching your life on that little pyramid thingamajig, and noticed a certain swordsman trying to destroy the world." Kefka then leant forward, grinning even bigger, "I did destroy my world"

Now it was Vincent’s turn to smirk, and he let his expression be seen. Really, this was entertaining, if dangerous. He chuckled, “Peace, Wazuki. I am not dismissing your ‘offer’, rather merely stating the obvious. You are intelligent, you know of my past and what I used to do for a living in my other life. Political assassination and brutality was just part of the job and as such things go…easy. You are asking me to go up against a hardened warrior, one who possesses unusual good fortune if not innate intelligence and skill to have survived this long, and as such things go I would be remiss not to acknowledge the potential difficulties inherent in his pursuit.” He paused and regarded his companion. Lynx was scowling, whether the felid realized that he was or not, and that confirmed to Vincent that the cat wasn’t finding what he was looking for here. That in turn told him that Chaos’s absence was being noticed, and the situation just got a little more…volatile. He would have to be infinitely more careful, not that he hadn’t been to begin with.

The dragoon would not be a problem as long as he cooperated; he felt, however his options were considerably limited. “While I personally prefer a clean, quiet kill, you and I both, as well as our friend here,” he gestured idly with his gauntleted hand to Kefka, “Are restricted by the rules of this new world that we find ourselves in, so our…work, as it were, requires a more subtle finesse.” Indeed, Vincent thought, this has become a world of verbal manipulation. So individuals like Sephiroth, and this fellow “Wazuki”, should be right at home. He almost pitied Kefka.

And speaking of the clown, Vincent swiveled his head back around to eye Kefka, who was leaning in toward him. Lifting his lip in distaste, he sat back, but chuckled softly, “Did you now?” Chaos would have like you, poor fool, Vincent thought, you wouldn’t have lasted long, but the demon knew a kindred spirit when it saw one. Pity I don’t share that same feeling. “You take death very lightly, Kefka, and if you did in fact destroy your world then perhaps you should seek out Sephiroth. If he doesn’t kill you for being an annoyance first, you two might actually get along.” He finished with a raised brow and thinking back to Neibelheim, “I hear the General is fond of fire as well.”

But it was the mention of Lavos, which kept Vincent’s attention affixed to the great cat. He knew even less of Lavos than he did of Lynx; however, all information he had come across placed the entity in the same category as Jenova. If there was one thing that roused all destructive power within Chaos, it was the threat posed by Jenova to the very planet that had created the demon. Vincent remembered, oh yes, he remembered. “And speaking of playing with fire,” he said quietly to Lynx, “Have you plans for Lavos, Wazuki?” Curling a bladed forefinger deep into the wood of the table he growled, “Because I shall warn you now, I am not a pawn to be used, nor expendable ‘cannon-fodder’.” He kept his ruby stare on Lynx, feeling the curl of residual power surge through his body, and from experience and an ill-fated mirror he knew his eyes now glowed sulfuric yellow. As he waited for Lynx to speak, he continued to carve a deep furrow in the tabletop, the only evidence of his agitation and ire. *

Lynx chuckled at the sight of Vincent. "Now now, Mr. Valentine. I have no intention of sending you to meet your own demise against Lavos; I'm sure I would be hunted down by your friends in AVALANCHE for doing such a thing. All I want you to do is identify the exact location of this being for me, and preferably avoid combat unless you seek death. For if that foul demon is left unchecked for far too long, this world will suffer a slow, painful death, one even my associate over here could not accomplish."

Lynx could remember the carnage well, almost as if it were yesterday. FATE had managed to save the program data of that timeline, and by 1999 of his world, everything nearly ended. He said nearly because of a certain red-haired swordsman, along with his allies, even the loathsome Magus and Lucca, they had somehow defeated Lavos.

As much as he appreciated the destruction Lavos could cause, it was still a very powerful threat, even to him and Kefka combined. He would have to look for more allies to his cause, just to be safe. Perhaps he should seek out the silver-haired swordsman as well, in the event Vincent should decline.

Then again, with the world on the line, only an idiot would pass up an opportunity to end the source before it was too late.

He continued his explanation, his own idea as to what would happen should Lavos be reborn in this world again. "True, Lavos was defeated in another world by mere humans and demons, not even ten, but he only absorbed the magic of Zeal and the very planet's life force. The energy from this very planet contains a multitude of mystical energy, some even I am unfamiliar with at the moment. And if absorbing a single mystical power could bring the world to near destruction, well..." Lynx smirked. "What do you think would happen should every last bit of magic and life be absorbed by it? The result would be..." He lazily pointed at Kefka, awaiting the clown to finish his sentence for him. "Perhaps you would like to take this one..."

Kefka grinned, "I thought you told me to shut up, but fine, basically the whole universe would be fucked, trust me, back home that was MY big plan!" Kefka stopped a bit before frowning, "And since Wazuki here" he said gesturing dramatically at the feline, "had given me some files to read about some possible recruits, I have to say that me and some washed-up mommas boy with a compensation problem would not get along. I don't usually get along with people who work for others" Kefka said as he continued,

So why do you want to know where Lavos is? Vincent thought, rage still swirling in his belly. “Forgive me if I am hesitant to believe that you have this world’s ‘best interest’ in mind.” He said darkly as he forced his gauntleted hand to be still. “I thank you for bringing his presence to my attention, and I will most certainly keep my eye out for him, but I must warn you if I keep his whereabouts to myself.” This world had enough to worry about considering who was currently running around in it, himself included, that the location let alone Lavos’s known presence was information that needed to be withheld…for now.

He looked at Kefka and grinned, “I do hope that I am present when you say to his face. He doesn’t take “compliments” well…or so I am told.” He regarded his companions for a moment more before deciding that this conversation was over. Lynx’s attention was clearly elsewhere, judging by the narrowed eyes and steady stare and Kefka…well, he doubted that Kefka had really been present to begin with, and the clown’s persistent grin was beginning to get irritating.

Vincent leaned forward and focused primarily on Lynx, “All right,” he said softly, “I shall attempt to ‘distract’ your dragoon, but…” he held up his gauntleted hand when Lynx began to grin malevolently, “…I make no promises nor guarantees. You know as well as I that in this particular game of chess, the checkmate depends not only upon the silver tongue, but also upon the gullibility of the ear receiving the story. You also should know that I make no hasty moves, nor rash decisions, as there is no quicker way to kill yourself than to blindly challenge an opponent without knowing them first.” At Lynx’s nod, he stood and the others took his cue and joined him. He removed his hand from Cerberus long enough to shake Lynx’s “hand” and said, “I shall watch, and wait. Should I be successful, I shall contact you and my only payment – for now – is that you do not forget who helped you. My favor shall present itself when it is needed, and we shall part with this warning: do not betray me, or renege on our agreement, or you will learn very quickly how to sleep with your eyes open.” He held out his gauntlet, indicating that the two precede him out of the bar, “Now, gentlemen, I believe I have something with which occupy my time. It has been a…pleasure, speaking to you both.” And with a final nod from Lynx and eerie giggle from Kefka, the felid and clown departed, leaving Vincent with a unique and unusual predicament.

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