In the dark, Forgotten City, a man sat, staring at the mako crystals. Tears were brimming in his crimson eyes as he stared at the young woman imprisoned in the crystals. He had pale skin (with dramatic black shadows around his eyes) and long, unkempt, black hair. He was enshrouded in a ragged scarlet cloak, which covered his black clothes. His cloak covered the lower half of his face and was held closed by a series of buckles. His left arm below the elbow was covered by a golden, metal gauntlet that ended in large claws. A pink ribbon was tied around the wrist of his gauntlet. He was already in his sixties, but physically he would remain 27.

He said quietly, "Lucrecia, what am I supposed to do to end the torture that I must go through?"

The woman named Lucrecia didn't move, but her whispering voice was carried through the wind, bouncing off the crystals so the man could hear her. "Repent, Vincent; that is what you must do. Help the people of Edge."

Vincent Valentine nodded, and Lucrecia seemed to smile, but it vanished quickly. "Vincent, what has happened to my son?" Vincent didn't say anything. He just looked down and started to scratch a pattern into the ground with one of his metal fingers. "Ah, I see. He is dead, yes?"

Vincent whispered, "Yes. He was killed for the first time nine years ago by my friend, Cloud. I helped to kill him for the second time, along with my partners. That was three years ago. But he came back a year ago, and we killed him again. We knew that he was planning to destroy the planet. I'm sorry, Lucrecia."

"I understand. Jenova was no good. Neither was Hojo. I only went to him because I was upset. If I had been with you, I wouldn't have ever forgiven myself for being the cause of your father's death. Sephiroth was the son of Hojo and Jenova. He was just like them."

Out of nowhere, a phone rang loudly. Vincent pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered it. After a brief conversation, Vincent hung up and started to leave. "I need to go. Cloud needs me."

"Vincent." Vincent turned to Lucrecia. "Be strong. I'm with you. Remember to repent." Vincent nodded and lifted his gauntlet up to his forehead and saluted Lucrecia slightly. He hoisted his tri-barreled gun, Cerberus, up onto his right shoulder and left the Forgotten City.

In Edge, Vincent finally reached his friend Tifa's bar, Seventh Heaven. When he opened the door, a little girl ran to him and hugged him around his waist. He looked down and saw his friend Barret's previously adopted daughter, Marlene (Cloud and Tifa had adopted her when Barret couldn't provide for her), staring up at him. He snickered quietly. Marlene used to be afraid of him. Vincent could see why. He was an ageless monster who was very stern and deadly with no emotions. He absentmindedly patted Marlene's head and asked, "Marlene, is Cloud here?"

Marlene let go of his leg and said, "Yes. Follow me! I'll show you where he is." She put her little hand in his and walked up the stairs. She stopped outside a door and whispered to Vincent, "Denzel has a little cold today. Tifa and Cloud are taking care of him. Do you remember who Denzel is?"

Vincent remembered who Denzel was. Both Marlene and Denzel lived with Cloud and Tifa. Cloud and Tifa were engaged, and had adopted the two orphans as their own children. Denzel had been a victim of the Geostigma last year, and so had Cloud. Apparently, anyone with Jenova cells got the stigma. But when Cloud defeated Sephiroth (yet again), a spring had grown in the church where Vincent's dead friend Aerith used to spend her time. The water in the spring cured the stigma.

Vincent kneeled down to Marlene and said quietly, "Go watch the bar." Marlene nodded and skipped down the stairs, but not before waving goodbye to Vincent. She was an adorable little girl, about seven, with dark-brown hair and big hazel eyes with long eyelashes. She had a white sleeveless sweater and a long white skirt with pink high tops. Her hair was styled like Aerith's and tied back with a large pink ribbon. Anyone would've fallen in love with her innocence, except for Vincent. Past experiments on him had probably washed the emotion of love out of his body. Besides, innocent people would never last an hour in the real world.

He opened the door and quietly stepped inside. Tifa and Cloud were sitting face to face, whispering to each other as Denzel slept fitfully.

Tifa Lockhart was a very pretty 23 year old, with waist length black hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a black top that zipped up like a sweater, and black knee length shorts with a multi-length (it was above her knees in the front and to her ankles in the back) skirt over it. Her left arm had a pink ribbon tied on it. She was very serious, but caring, especially toward her fiancé, Cloud.

Cloud Strife was very serious and somewhat mysterious, as well. The 24 year old had bright blue mako eyes (when he had worked for Shinra, he had been exposed to mako energy, the life force of the planet, which gave his eyes a weird glow) and spiky blond hair, which Barret constantly made fun of. Vincent thought that Cloud's hair made him look like a chocobo, but Cloud could defeat Sephiroth, so Vincent didn't say anything. He wore a sleeveless sweater and shoulder armor on his right arm. He wore black cargo pants and half of a long, sleeveless overcoat (on the left side) held in place by a belt. On his left arm, he also wore a pink ribbon. He used to be very enigmatic when Vincent first met him, then he began to assume a leader position and softened a bit. Still, the SOLDIER strength never left him, even if he had only been a lowly grunt in Shinra's army.

Vincent closed the door and said, "You wanted to see me?" Tifa jumped and stifled a quick shriek, and Cloud inhaled sharply in surprise.

Cloud quickly recovered and said, "Oh good, Vincent, you're here. Well, there's a village being bothered by Sephiroth remnants, again. Barret is there, trying to load them into Cid's airship. We've got pilots, we just need someone to patrol the borders of the city and make sure that no one gets in or out. So…"

Vincent interrupted him. "So you want me to go to the village and be a security guard." Cloud nodded, and Vincent started for the door. "I have other things to do."

"Please, Vincent!" Tifa begged. "We need someone to do it. We're bringing them back here. It's the village where all of the past Shinra experiments live. You may even find someone there that's just…just like… I mean…ummm."

"Just like me," Vincent returned coldly, and Tifa frowned. "I don't need a support group or club or anything. I work better solo."

They were interrupted by a weak coughing. Vincent, Cloud, and Tifa turned to look at Denzel, who had propped himself up on the bed. He was a small eleven year old, with downy brownish-blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes. Denzel had been a Geostigma victim, and he had been the last person to be cured of the stigma.

"Vincent," Denzel rasped, "My brothers have been killing them. Not just the men, but the women, and the children too."

Cloud and Denzel were "brothers", because they were both infested with Jenova cells. Jenova was their "mother", and Sephiroth and his remnants were their "brothers". The Sephiroth remnants were always looking for their "mother". They would do anything to find Jenova, even kill the people that stood in their way.

Vincent didn't love children like Tifa did. He didn't even love them like Cloud did. But children were the future heroes and villains of Edge. Vincent knew what he had to do.

He nodded and held out Cerberus. Cloud pulled First Sword out of its sheath and carefully tapped the top barrel of Cerberus. Tifa smiled, shook her head, and said "Boys."

Denzel looked up at Vincent, his big eyes locked on Vincent's crimson ones. "We'll be waiting for you," he said solemnly. Vincent held up his metal hand like he was part of an oath. Denzel smiled slightly, and Vincent lowered his arm. He went to the door and left the room.

Downstairs, Vincent was just about to leave through the bar entrance when Marlene stopped him. "Vincent," she said as he turned the handle on the door, "Are you leaving again?"

Vincent said, "Yes, Marlene."

Marlene's eyes got wide, and her bottom lip started to quiver. "But you just got here!" she complained.

Vincent didn't panic or try to calm her down. He just said, "I'll be back soon. Maybe I'll have some new playmates for you and Denzel."

Marlene got out from behind the bar and ran over to Vincent. "Be safe," she said, and hugged him tightly. Vincent didn't know what to do, so he started to crouch down and hug her back. She backed away and went behind the bar again. "Take care!" she shouted as Vincent walked out the door.

Halfway across Edge, Vincent reached his old partners; Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, and Yuffie Kisaragi standing by the Shera, Cid's airship. Reeve Tuesti, Nanaki, and Cait Sith were there as well, along with a young man that Vincent didn't know.

Yuffie started to jump up and down and wave hysterically. Yuffie had medium black hair that reached her shoulders and brown eyes. She was a 19 year old ninja from Wutai. She had on a black and white top that revealed her midriff and a black vest, along with a headband that matched her shirt. She had on black shorts and long black knee socks and long khaki high tops. Her large shuriken was tied to her back, and the handle of her shuriken and her left arm had pink ribbons on them.

Barret was very tough. He was 38 and had been the leader of AVALANCHE, the group that had risen up against Shinra. His right arm had been replaced by a gun. On his left arm, he had a pink ribbon. He had on a sleeveless mesh shirt and a white, denim jacket. He had black pants tucked into black boots. His black hair had been braided into cornrows, and his dark skin was almost as dark as his hair and his brown eyes.

Cid was probably the one of the nicest of his former partners. He was a 35 year old pilot with a western accent. He wore a blue tee-shirt, a red jacket tied around his waist, and khaki pants tucked into black boots. His spiky blond hair had been pulled out of his blue eyes by a pair of brownish red goggles, and he had a toothpick in his mouth (his wife Shera had made him stop smoking). To top it all off, he had a pink ribbon on his left arm as well.

Reeve had slicked back hair and he wore a blue floor length robe. He had worked for Shinra, but he had been concerned about the welfare of the planet. He held a robotic black and white cat named Cait Sith in his arms. Cait Sith was an eccentric robot with a Scottish accent. He wore a little golden crown and a pink ribbon tied around his neck.

Nanaki, or Red XIII, as Hojo had called him, was a bright red firelion. He had a large headdress on and black tattoo-like markings on his fur. He had a pink ribbon tied onto his front, left paw.

The young man had spiky silvery-black hair that fell to his shoulders. He had his head down, and his bright teal eyes were just visible under his eyebrows. He wore a white, sleeveless shirt and baggy, green pants. He also had on a long black overcoat, covered with many belts around his waist. He had two identical swords, one on his back, the other at his waist. It was the swords that caught Vincent's attention. They were long, black swords with silver handles. The handles were fashioned to look like a man that greatly resembled Lucrecia's son, Sephiroth. He had very pale skin, and he looked as if he was about 21.

Vincent walked forward and said, "Okay, I'm checking in. What do I need to do?"

Yuffie said quickly, "You and Jay are going to patrol the borders of the town to make sure no one gets in or out unless they have an ID. You can only let someone in if they have a villager's ID. If they have a mercenary's ID, you can only let them out."

Vincent nodded and answered, "Okay. I understand everything except for the part about me and, ummm…., Jay?"

Barret pointed to the young man and said, "This is Jayden. Decided to help us a lil' while back. Most people are callin' 'im Jay." At this, Jayden held up his right hand in a small salute.

Vincent nodded sternly and said, "I'm on the job. Just make sure that he doesn't get in my way."

Jayden walked over to Vincent and they started patrolling, with Yuffie calling, "Be careful!"

It was mostly quiet until Jayden asked, "What happened to you?"

Vincent didn't look at him as he coldly asked, "What do you mean?"

Jayden said uneasily, "Well, I'm a villager here because Shinra chose me to carry on Sephiroth's legacy. Sephiroth's blood was mixed with mine 10 years ago, when I was 11, so I carry part of Sephiroth in me. A year later, when Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim, Shinra moved me here, so I wouldn't betray them. What type of experiments did Hojo do on you?"

Vincent said quietly, "Hojo and I got into an argument about whether performing experiments with Jenova cells on Hojo and Lucrecia's unborn child was right. Hojo killed me, and then he performed experiments on me that brought me back to life and immortalized me. That happened 33 years ago, when I was 27. Hojo kept experimenting on me, and it was slowly killing me again, but then Lucrecia, my love interest and Hojo's lover, put the G substance in me. I can turn into Chaos and other forms now."

Jayden asked, "Hey, isn't Lucrecia the name of…"

Vincent answered quickly, "Yes, Jayden, that's the name of Sephiroth's mother. That's the Lucrecia I'm talking about. I actually was with her for a few years afterwards, but no Sephiroths were the result of that. She actually imprisoned herself in some mako crystals about 18 years ago because she wasn't allowed to see Sephiroth. But just out of curiosity, how did you know?"

Jayden looked down at his feet and said, "Well, I saw your eyes. People who have Jenova, Sephiroth, or mako experiments performed on them have bright blue, blue-green, or teal eyes that have that weird glow, like me. Anyone who had another type of "Hojo" experiment performed on them has crimson eyes, like you. Oh, and, call me Jay."

Vincent nodded and said, "Okay, Jay."

Just then a girl of about nineteen rushed to the barrier and fell at Vincent's feet. She panted, "They're after me! Help me!"

Vincent pulled her up and thrust her at Jay. "Does she have an ID?"

Jay quickly pulled an ID card off the chain on her neck and said, "Yep, she's a villager."

Vincent pulled out Cerberus and got it into a ready position. He turned back to look at Jay and the girl. "Jay," he ordered, "Take her to the Shera and keep her safe until you get there."

Jay shook his head and took out his swords. "I'm helping you," he announced. He pressed the sword into the girl's hands a little too roughly, cutting her hands and making her gasp. She hoisted the sword into a ready position and stood next to Jay.

For five quiet minutes, nothing happened, and then the remnants came running up. There were four of them, all with silver hair and teal eyes. The girl swung Jay's sword, but the first remnant grabbed the girl's wrist without much difficulty and wrenched the sword out of her hand. Vincent fired Cerberus 3 times, hitting the second remnant and killing him. The three remnants swiftly dodged their fallen comrade's body and walked up to Jay.

The first remnant handed Jay's sword back to him, and all three remnants kneeled before him. "Brother," the first remnant said, "We need you now. We found the last person with Cetra blood in her. Now we can control the planet and place Mother on the throne. We just need the Cetra." He glanced at the girl, who trembled in fear and stepped back, knocking into Vincent.

Jay's face contorted in anger as he screamed, "You liars!" His arms, firmly grasping his swords, flew quickly to the chests of the remnants to his right and left. As they fell forward, dead, the remaining remnant came forward, his hand reaching for his gun. Suddenly there was the sound of cracking bones and a gunshot, and the last remnant fell face-down to the ground, with a bullet hole in his back. Jay looked up in astonishment to see Vincent, with his gun pointed at the remnant's back, and the girl, with her bloody hands held up in fists.

Jay put his swords in their sheaths and said, "Thanks, Vincent. Thanks, miss." Vincent turned and got a good look at the girl for the first time.

She had glossy black hair that trailed on the floor, but it was braided so tightly that it ended up just brushing the floor. It was clasped with a iron ring, which she probably swung around to hit people. Her crimson eyes glinted in the sunlight. Her pale skin made her deep rose lips stand out. She had a navy blue pleated skirt on over white, skintight, knee length shorts. She wore small, golden slip on shoes that matched the simple golden chain on her neck. She was wearing a pale blue corset top with ribbon straps and white bell sleeves that were not connected to the shirt and began at her elbows and ended at her wrists. She lowered her fists and held them clutched behind her back.

She looked down and whispered, "Thank you, for helping me. I'm Asha." She shook Jay's hand and extended her hand toward Vincent, who stared at it coldly. She pulled her hand back and murmured, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Vincent turned away and holstered Cerberus. "Did your parents ever teach you anything?" he asked.

Asha put her hands on her hips in a very Tifa-like manner and said, "I didn't have any parents. Did your parents ever teach you not to talk about private things like that?"

Jay snickered and Vincent gave him a look. Jay shrugged and said, "Well, Asha, thank you for helping us." Asha smiled and suddenly winced as she moved her hands around. Vincent quickly walked over to her and pulled her hands open. There were two long gashes on each hand, from Jay's sword.

Asha bit her lips and fought back tears as Vincent pulled a potion out of his pocket. He poured it on her hands and wrapped her hands in pieces of his cloak. She smiled and thanked him quickly, then she started walking back to the Shera, with Jay and Vincent behind her.

It was a quiet walk. Jay had sped up to walk next to Asha, and they were talking quietly in a dialect that only they could understand. Vincent walked behind, thinking about how stupid Asha must've been to stay there. But, he thought, she was a lot like Tifa, and Tifa would never flee from a battle.

Asha turned around and said, "Vincent, I'm sorry. I should've been more careful, and I should've listened to you." Vincent nodded to indicate that he accepted her apology, and they finally reached the Shera.

Yuffie was pacing in front of the gangway of the Shera when the others returned. She jumped up and said, "Oh, thank the Cetra! You're all right! Who's she? Is she a villager? I hope she is, because if she isn't we would have to fire you…" she stopped abruptly and jumped in the air, shrieking, as Vincent pulled out Cerberus and fired it three times in the air.

"Yuffie," Vincent said as he holstered Cerberus, "We're fine. Calm down. This is Asha, she's probably about your age." Yuffie nodded and took a deep breath. She beckoned for the trio to follow her, and she boarded the Shera.

Vincent leaned against a wall as the Shera took off. He could hear Yuffie moaning slightly and the clatter of the glass bottle as Jay tossed her a tranquilizer. Soon, Yuffie and Asha got to talking, and then Jay went over to join them. Vincent closed his eyes to rest for a little while. Suddenly, Jay ran over.

"Vincent," he whispered. Vincent opened his right eye and stared at Jay. "It's about Asha," he continued.

Vincent opened his eyes and quickly turned to Jay, grabbed his shoulders and said, "What about her?"

"Well," Jay stammered, "She was talking about her family with Yuffie. She said that her mother's name was Lucrecia, and that Lucrecia disappeared eighteen years ago, when she was one. She said she didn't know who her father was, and she looks kind of like you. Look at her eyes, and her hair!"

Vincent took a good look at her and was surprised at what he saw. She looked almost like Lucrecia, with Vincent's eyes and hair. He turned back to Jay and said, "When we get back to Edge, I'm going to take her to a hospital and get a paternity test. But, I don't believe that I had any children with Lucrecia."

"But Vincent!" Jay protested. "You only said that you didn't have any Sephiroths with Lucrecia. You never said anything about having any Ashas with Lucrecia."

"You know what I meant!" Vincent replied curtly.

"Did you say my name?" Asha asked, making them both jump. She had walked up to where they were without either of them knowing.

Jay stammered, "Vincent wants me to take you to a hospital in Edge, you know, ummm… to check on your hands and stuff!"

Asha smiled and said, "Well, that's sweet of you." She placed her hand on Jay's wrist and ran her hand slowly up and down his arm. "Of both of you," she added, and walked away. Vincent snickered as he saw Jay staring at her with his mouth open.

Jay turned back to Vincent and sighed, "Well, she certainly knows how to hit on someone."

"Did it work?" Vincent asked, and he stifled a laugh as Jay turned scarlet, buried his head in his hand, and nodded slightly.

Cid turned around from his seat in the cockpit and said, "Put yer asses down in yer seats! We're landing!" Vincent didn't listen to him, but wished that he did as the Shera landed roughly and everyone was jolted across the floor. Yuffie ended up rolling onto Vincent's feet, and Asha ended up falling into Jay's arms.

Vincent quickly pulled Yuffie up, and helped her to the bathroom as she started to vomit, and Jay ended up holding Asha in an awkward embrace. Asha righted herself with Jay holding her waist to make sure she didn't fall down again. "Thanks," she said.

Jay shrugged, "It was nothing." Asha stood up on her toes and kissed Jay lightly on the cheek and went to help Cid round up the children and get them off the airship.

Jay heard a soft humming, and he turned around to see Barret and Yuffie (who still looked sick and frail) humming "Secret Lovers". Jay mock-growled and ran for Barret. Jay succeeded in making him stumble backwards, and then Tifa and Cloud ran into the airship.

Tifa walked over to Barret and Yuffie, and said, "Did everything go as planned?"

Yuffie hugged Tifa and said, "Yep, but we got some extra help." Tifa turned around to look at Jay and Yuffie said, "This is Jay. He was helping Vincent out by patrolling the village."

Cloud walked over to Jay and said, "Vincent told me a little about you. You seem to have a lot of power. You could probably join the crew if you wa…" His bright blue eyes lost focus as he locked onto Jay's teal eyes. He swayed, fell to the ground and started convulsing.

Jay panicked and tried to pull him up, not listening to the instructions that Tifa was screaming. Suddenly, it started to rain outside. Jay lifted up Cloud's convulsing body and dragged him outside. Cloud opened his mouth and the cold raindrops on his tongue seemed to magically stop the convulsions.

Cloud pulled himself up and edged away. Tifa cried out and ran over to Cloud. He stroked the top of her head and they stared coldly at Jay, as did the rest of the crew.

Cloud could only say one thing. "That was your first chance, remnant. Any more problems, and you will be banished like the traitor you are." He turned and walked back to the Seventh Heaven, with the rest of the crew following him.

Jay locked eyes with Asha, who was following the crew with the rest of the villagers in front of her. She smiled sadly and started to walk back to him, but Vincent put his arm around her and started walking briskly, leaving Jay alone.

Jay sat down, propped up against the Shera. Cid came out of the airship and sat down next to him. It was silent for about five minutes, and then Cid said, "You know, what Cloud said, he didn't mean nothin' by it. He's just being a royal pain in the ass, like always. Go on ahead. I'm sure none of them are gonna think badly of you."

"What about Tifa, and Yuffie, and Vincent?" Jay asked.

"If you explain what happened, Tifa ain't gonna hold nothin' against you. Brat and Vince aren't anythin' to worry about," Cid said. "Oh, and in case yer wonderin', Yuffie is Brat."

Jay smiled and said, "Thanks, Captain," as he stood up.

Cid said, "Shucks, don't mention it. Oh, and it's Cid to you. Go on ahead, I've gotta go put this baby in a landing dock."

Jay stood up and started walking towards the Seventh Heaven, feeling oddly happy after the talk he had with Cid.

Cloud held Tifa close to him as he walked back towards the Seventh Heaven. A few words kept flashing through his eyes over and over again. Jenova, remnants, Jayden, traitors, Sephiroth. Cloud shuddered and kept walking. As they reached the bar, Marlene and Denzel ran out. Tifa took her hands off of Cloud's side and ran to Denzel. She wrapped him in a huge bear hug, which he returned. Marlene ran over to Cloud and he picked her up.

He looked into her hazel eyes and thought about how he had failed to kill Sephiroth three times. Now the remnants were after him. They were going to kill everyone that he loved. He stumbled and set Marlene down quickly. Concerned, Marlene took his hand as he fell onto one knee. Cloud winced and smiled slightly.

Marlene stared at him and said, "Cloud, are you all right?" Tifa and Denzel looked up and ran over to him. They stood anxiously by him as he got up. Tifa put her hand on Cloud's cheek and opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again. She took held Cloud's hand with her right hand and put her left hand on Denzel's shoulder. Marlene reached up and held Cloud's right hand, and the four of them led the way to the Seventh Heaven.

As Marlene and Denzel went in, along with the rest of the villagers, Tifa stopped Cloud. She pulled him to the side. "Cloud," she began anxiously, "Are you alright? You haven't had an outbreak that bad for a long time."

Cloud looked away and said quietly, "I'm fine. Just don't try to explain it to Marlene and Denzel. It'll scare them." He turned to walk away, but Tifa stopped him.

"Cloud, cut it out!" Tifa said. "You think that the remnants are going to destroy the planet, don't you? And you think that you're going to fail. Well, snap out of it! I can help you!" She burst into tears and sobbed, "Think about Marlene and Denzel! Think about me! Please!"

Cloud put his arms around her and said, "Tifa. Teef, please." Tifa looked up, shocked that Cloud was using her pet name. As she looked up, Cloud leaned over and kissed her.

They stood there for a few minutes until they heard Yuffie shout, "Hey, get a room!" They looked up and blushed. Cloud growled and grabbed Yuffie around the waist. Tifa laughed as he slung her over his shoulder and Yuffie waved. Then the three of them walked inside, and none of them noticed the dark figure edging up behind them.

Jay stared at the large bar and was about to turn around and walk away when he heard a voice say, "What are you doing, remnant? Are you going to run away, back to your brothers and sisters? I don't think that they'll let a traitor come back to them." Jay drew his sword and turned around, slashing like crazy, but Asha easily sidestepped the clumsy attack.

Jay said, "Asha, don't say that! I thought you were my friend." Asha took Jay's sword and started twirling and flipping it with ease.

Asha started tapping the sword into the air with her foot and said, "I am your friend. But, I'll keep taunting you if you leave and don't ask for forgiveness. Cloud will forgive you if you explain that you couldn't help what happened."