"Erik!" Rufus yelled angrily, throwing open the door to Erik’s room. It was empty. "He’ll hang for this! Eh?" Rufus stopped his exclamation upon seeing a note under his foot.

Upon reading it he found it to be in Erik’s handwriting; the man had slipped into French and Italian, scribbling out the words and continuing in English.

In it’s hastily written entirety, it was mentioned that Erik knew of who was, but he felt he was in far too much danger to leave the name directly. He had left for the Spanish territory of Florida to seek refuge, promising to be back in three months if Rufus was not interested in rescuing him.

"That bloody bastard!" Rufus yelled. "Oh ‘rescue?’ Is that what you were hoping for Erik. Oh, once we ‘rescue’ you, you shall pray for your murderer that makes you so afraid as to not give me the name."

………………………………………………………………………………………….

After proving itself to be no compass, the pendant was left in Shera’s hands for three days, but no magic came of it. If anything, she grew thinner, despite Tifa taking it upon herself to feed her broth three times a day. She had lain for too long with lice, food tossed from Tifa’s hands by the waves, and growing tangles. Her hair had to be shorn, changing her long tresses into short unruly locks, making her look like a dying beggar.

The pendant was taken from her and changed hands. Tifa found no luck, no matter how many times she opened it.

Barret saw a twinkling, faint and over the horizon, and knew it was a beacon for his stepdaughter Marlene, and that she was safe. It gave him hope and the crew their bearings, after that, he felt safer inside and stayed to watch Shera, giving Tifa some rest.

Cid had found his own dream and it held no more magic for him. Yuffie had already tried. Her dreams were gold and piles of it; she had already found the trinket gave none.

Nanaki had neither use nor way of opening it.

Cid insisted someone keep trying. Neither Cloud nor Vincent wished to touch it, though.

Cloud complained of illness to his stomach and claimed he wished nothing to do with the dead and ran to the other side of the ship. Cid knew the boy was faking it, but gave him no trouble.

Vincent threatened Cid at his insistence, though he would say nothing of why he wished not to touch it save for he claimed it was black magic.

Cid’s argument was that Vincent was already dead, so nothing could worsen the situation.

Vincent walked away and told Cloud he was bleeding.

Cid kept arguing, trying to shove the pendant into Vincent’s hands.

Vincent threatened numerous times to throw the pendant overboard and in turn Cid threatened to throw him overboard. It wasn’t until Cid threatened to kill and sell Vincent to a doctor that Vincent changed his mind. He went pale and more livid than usual, stiff and silent. Cid almost though Vincent was dead, in a much truer sense than the man claimed so often.

Finally, Vincent blinked, and then silently held out his hand to accept it.

Cid smiled proudly, then his expression changed when he saw Vincent pocket it and turn to the sea.

"Well?"

"I shall use it on my own time," Vincent said, not looking at Cid. "In the meanwhile I am still a man on this ship. If you have an actual duty for me I shall not hesitate, but for this, I will."

Cid make and angry noise and walked off and climbed the rigging to ask if Yuffie sighted anything.

Vincent did not open it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Cloud was beginning to wonder about Vincent. The man was nearly silent save for arguing and asking for others not to ask, but he had pulled Cloud out of Cid’s hands as Cid was delirious about the metamorphosis of his ship. There were also the looks Vincent cast him. When he dared look at anyone, it was at him. His look held no particular interest, but seemed to show that Vincent knew something about him, and that something was something Cloud did not know.

Cloud had gathered enough courage to approach the pirate now, but his newfound bravery was suddenly waning.

Cloud swallowed and reached towards Vincent, the man’s red cape billowing almost in Cloud’s face. Vincent was far too lost in thought, contemplating tossing the pendant over the side while he thought no one was looking.

Cloud was about to touch his cape, speak up, stop him somehow when he mind saw the cape bend and fold and recognized the dark red color and suddenly an image flashed in his mind.

Crimson… no, not fabric, not a flowing, billowing cape… he remembered the blood… he could feel the kiss, somehow burning his lips in memory… black… black hair… black hair and crimson… not a cape, blood…Who? Who? It could not be Vincent; the man had been gone almost since Cloud was born. Why was he seeing such things now? Why Vincent?

Cloud wanted answers, he wanted to know. He wanted to warn Vincent that he was watching Vincent about to toss the pendant over.

Cloud found himself answering a different desire: he wanted to scream.

Vincent turned around at the sound, his hand closing over the hated pendant.

"What are you?" Cloud yelled. "Why am I tormented? Why cannot I remember and what is it that I cannot?"

"We be the same," Vincent said, touching Cloud’s head. "We be brothers in accursed blood. You merely believe yourself alive for you still have blood to bleed. I lack what there is to bleed and a heart to feel. You still have those. You be cursed, but by far you hold more luck than I."

"What… What do you speak of?" Cloud asked. "Curse?"

"Tighten those bandages, Cloud. You bleed far too often in the same place not to have me notice. Add layers as well. If you indeed took a blow to the head, than I wonder why you cannot remember one who has touched lips to yours or why your head does not bleed like your wound."

"Leave me be!" Cloud yelled. "I know not what nonsense you tell me! I be not dead! I be not cursed, but blessed, to survive such a blow! I wished to ask what you knew of me, and I find you know nothing. We are brothers not in blood for you claim to have none and indeed you have no heart to torture me so! We are brothers in nothing but knowing, that we share such a lack of it. I grant you wisdom for wishing nothing to do with the pendant, but to cast away a treasure, I warn you! I too have no heart, because I gave it to Aeris and she was buried in the sea with it. You have not lost yours but never had one to own."

"Shared curse be damned, boy!" Vincent yelled. "I’ll beat you blue!"

Cloud ran. He did not stop running until he was in the cabin next to Cid’s, where the man would hear him screaming when Vincent kept his promise.

But Vincent did no such thing. He screamed as the pendant began to glow and he felt an unnerving tingling sensation crawl through his arm, making his drop it on the deck.

"Blast, you should have met with the sea!" Vincent yelled. "Both of you."

"You toss one o’er board and I’ll tell Cid!" He heard as he was about to pitch the offending bauble into the black ocean.

"You would not dare, you honorless rapscallion!" he yelled.

"I dare. Honor I gots, but to Cid, not you. You ain’t no pirate. Ne’er were, ne’er will be. An’ I is Sharkbait."

"You know nothing! You be far too innocent to understand even if told and though I walk, dead men tell no tales. I have seen this before! You one who wore it before your Aeris died beneath the waves and it belongs to rest with both of them."

"I is tellin’" Yuffie yelled. "You be such a coward. No true pirate be afraid of a little tattle, that what legends is! You is afraid of a tiny thing like that when a true pirate know it be loot!"

"It is not! It is cursed! It is cursed to come back and force its way to me!" Vincent said.

"Ain’t," Yuffie retorted. "I bin goofin’ wit’ it fer days and none done came to me. Yer yello’"

"I only know of its origin… perhaps…" Vincent stopped in his verbal defense and looked at the pendant. "…Perhaps it will take me to her… Perhaps such a thing can grant wishes… Perhaps…" He stopped in his whispering and opened the pendant.

………………………………………………………………………………..

"What be gotten inta ya?" Cid exclaimed, opening the door Cloud had just slammed. "Ya act like there be a damned shark on deck after ya!"

"Aye. Yer zombie intends a fight," Cloud said.

"Bein’ dead can anger the piss outta ya," Cid said. "Do not take it to heart."

"For a man who has none, even admits such, he takes too much to heart," Cloud said.

"Cloud, be he zombie or none, it takes much of a man to walk ‘round and call himself still dead. Leave him be. He ain’t touched that pendant and he be afeared o’ it fer a while. ‘Haps it’ll knock somethin’ into him," Cid said, lighting his pipe which he only had when not needing to yell or worry. He had missed it in his time spent worrying about Shera.

Then he heard a thump and Yuffie yelling for him.

Back