Jaffa: Galenchia has dragged me from the awful slump I have been in –Huggles.- and offered to take pity on my soul and co-write this with me.
Galenchia: ;3 We started writing our AU story together! Yippee! This is the first chapter, which we worked on for….approximately a week, right, Jaffers? xD
Jaffa: Yup-yup, cause Galenchia dragged me by the hair to sit at this computer until I had wriggled out of my slump.
Galenchia: -Pats Jaffa's bald spot.- She speaks the truth! So, now, by the combined power of Jaffa and I, we present…..
Jaffa: -Squeals with excitement.- CUCUMBER ICE CREAM!
Galenchia: …Ew. No, Jaffa, the OTHER thing! Enjoy.
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Fanfiction basis: Final Fantasy VII
Rating: T (for teen) ------------------------- Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairing(s): Vincent/Cloud ------------------- Type: AU
Warning(s): AU, possible language and yaoi content…..Jaffa wrote part of this, what the hell do you expect? –Snickers.-
Disclaimer: Galenchia: Jaffa, did you buy the rights to FFVII yet?
Jaffa: …Er…um…yeah. Of course, I didn't forget!
Galenchia: Aw. We don't own it, do we?
Jaffa: -Puppy dog eyes.-
Neither Galenchia nor Jaffa own or claim to own any logos, characters, or plots of Final Fantasy VII. We suppose we own the plot of this story, though. Consolation prize. Whoo.
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Chapter One: Accidents and Abominations
Vincent Valentine wasn't sure why, in the end, he had taken this job. The rumors and controversies surrounding the Shinra Labs were enough to scare off anyone from accepting a career at the establishment, even if it was the best paying security job around. The halls he now patrolled were the same halls where people claimed chimeras and other abominations were created. These rumors seemed to be nothing but myths, though; in his third week at the job, the raven-haired man had yet to see anything abnormal...Aside from one abnormally beautiful woman perhaps, though she was more than likely a visiting angel. He'd seen only overly rich patients looking for cures for diseases, and he'd seen people with nothing but hope that this place could heal them.
That sparked at his memory; the woman was indeed the fact he had taken the job after hesitation. He still wasn't sure who she was, or whether she worked here, but the way her beautiful honey brown eyes met his and the shock he'd felt as her smooth hand had shaken his own...He'd fallen so fast that by the time he'd surfaced she was gone and he had the job.
With a sigh, Vincent returned to his patrolling. The corridor was silent, like always. The operating areas were all closed off to unauthorized personnel or open only for emergencies. Realistically, he didn't see what he was supposed to be protecting the labs against. So far he'd escorted all of two or three people off the premises, and that was due to protesting. No one had made any real threats against the workers, and there had not been any attacks.
Just as that thought brushed across his mind he heard a door swing open roughly, slamming back against the nearest wall. Vincent heard a bark of an implied order from the head doctor, Professor Hojo, in the adjacent room: "Security!" There was a ruckus of noise, as the sound of shattering glass echoed into the hallway while Vincent darted in without a blink of crimson eyes. One hand moved to the gun at his belt instinctively.
He was met with the sight of an enraged professor, and what appeared to be a young girl, likely still in her teens. Movement in his peripheral vision caused him to turn his head, catching sight of...that woman. That was not the primary concern, however; he quickly looked back over to the girl, who was knocking test tubes from the stainless steel counters while hopping up and down.
Hm...well, Vincent reasoned to himself, this wasn't the usual type of disturbance he'd dealt with. He took a tentative step forward. The girl suddenly noticed him and with a look somewhere between determination and pride, shoved over an entire rack of test tubes. She leapt back, thrashing at more tubes along the shelves while either ignoring or not noticing that they shattered very near to her own two feet.
"Shoot her, dammit! She's breaking months' worth of experiments!" Hojo barked angrily. The girl laughed at his words.
Vincent frowned. This girl seemed far too young to be dealing with something so hazardous to her criminal record, not to mention her life. Sighing under his breath, he approached her as she laughed maniacally while destroying whatever was in sight, bouncing out of the irrationally angry doctor's reach. The security guard silently noted that there was no need for real force against this girl. With a flash, he had a grip on her wrist, glancing at her surprised expression through the one eye that hadn't been covered by dark strands of his hair at the sudden movement.
"Hey, hey!" she shouted, shaking his arm with less than malicious intent.
Hojo seemed upset somewhat at the lack of death but Vincent's movements were unarguably within reason and probably easier in the long run. The girl was still making sounds of protest at his firm but practically painless grip. She twisted and squirmed in an attempt to get free, finally resorting to kicking his ankles with a small frustrated noise.
"Please come this way," Vincent requested of the girl in a calmer manner than one would expect in such a position. In all honesty, though he fit the physical requirements, the man appeared more on the side of silent opposition rather than brute force.
With a scowl, Professor Hojo beckoned to Lucrecia as they began to clean the mess spread throughout the primary lab. The brunette woman had been standing quietly by, as of yet, but now proceeded forward with a smile and donned a pair of plastic gloves as they swept the rather conspicuous disarray of reports, broken glass, and swirling liquids.
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Now leading the girl away from the laboratory, despite yelling protests from the young woman in question, Vincent had to admit that she was nothing if not persistent. And, in a way that only fit her unusual type of character, quite bold.
"You think you can do this to me! Well, you can't, mister! I'm a widely renowned ninja, you know!" she insisted, though was now trotting along in the man's immediate front with an arm held by him cautiously behind her back.
Vincent let her rant, listening vaguely as he prompted her along through the halls. At the very least, this gave him something to do. Easy work was great and all, but oh-so-monotonous. She seemed even younger now than she did before, which made him slightly more concerned about Hojo's premeditated order. Did he really expect the security guard to shoot the girl?
Vincent's mind wandered a little further and he began to ponder what the brunette woman -the one his mind had strayed to since their first meeting- would have expected. It appeared now that she was a scientist, as she'd been clad in a lab coat and had permission to access the private lab of Professor Hojo. Abruptly, he stopped, glancing at the door before them over the girl's shorter head. "There you are," he stated, opening it for her, "Do I have to take you entirely out of the area, or will you go by yourself?" He glanced to her without amusement, merely questioning out of duty.
The self-proclaimed ninja blinked at him, before tugging back her arm and putting it behind her head. "Aw, well I guess I did enough damage for today! Bye!" she exclaimed, briskly running off into the mainstream of the city without another backward glance.
Vincent found himself giving the lightest hint of a smile. That had been quite simple. He turned after closing the door, intending to report back to Professor Hojo.
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His feet carried him forward, letting him have a moment's reprieve before he had to face the obviously angry Professor; although this didn't cause him to hesitate. Surely the irate man was just a bag of steam. The lab was still a mess but Hojo was out of sight, leaving only the woman still there. When she spoke, he lightly startled, and turned to face her quickly.
"We haven't been properly introduced yet," she admitted with a kind smile, "My name is Dr. Lucrecia Hojo. It's nice to meet you."
Vincent took the offered hand it took it firmly, unconsciously admiring the smooth texture before they parted. 'Wait,' his mind started, 'Hojo?' Vincent nodded calmly to her. "You're married to the Professor?" he asked before catching himself.
"Yes," she agreed, still smiling in warmth, "That's right."
Another entrance was made known shortly, with the grudgingly suspicious manner of Hojo, himself. Vincent straightened his spine as the man entered the room with a scowl in place that seemed like a near permanent fixture on his face.
"Is that girl out of my lab now?" Hojo questioned the security guard. Vincent's response was a neat nod. "Good," the professor concluded, shooting the other man an irritated glance after a moment. "That will be all. You can leave now, as we have important work to do." He turned and hunched his shoulders as he studied some of the previously dispersed papers. "Lucrecia?" he called, "Come look over this."
Vincent strode from the lab without reply, ignoring the scornful disposition Hojo was apt to provide in his presence. It was of no concern to him. Shutting the windowless door behind him with a click, he stepped down the hallway. The encased length of the corridor seemed to exonerate a subtle, forewarning aura; this seemed out of place as it was so brightly lit. Doubtlessly it was related to that doctor's presence, as he emitted the same ominous sense of distrust as, generally, did the entire confidentiality of the Shinra corporation…
Some people were simply like that, Vincent acknowledged stiffly. He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind of all thoughts relating to the entire incident. He moved onward, finally attempting to continue his patrol despite the warning tingle that still lingered in the back of his mind.
The crimson-eyed man's attention was abruptly caught as the echoes of a scream reverberated through the building, ricocheting to his very core. He spun around faster than he'd realized he was capable of moving, and launched himself in a return to the lab. The doors to the room were thrown aside as smoke erupted from its previous containment, obscuring Vincent's sight. Lucrecia had retreated to the farthest wall of the room, coughing gases from her lungs as though her sanity depended upon it.
Vincent blinked as the fumes made his eyes begin to water, but proceeded in an attempt to help. He was torn between rushing to Lucrecia to help her escape and stopping the gas where it was leaking; the guard had no idea where the lab's other occupant was at the moment. He was distracted, however, by the woman's hand shakily pointing further into the normally clear lab.
He darted forward, unsure of what he should expect to see when he was close enough to discern things through the dense artificial fog. Finally, Vincent blinked to cause the blurring of his eyes to subside, and distinguished the professor's slumping form against the steel countertop. Spilled chemicals sizzled under his shoes, and he immediately stepped to the side out of reflex.
Alright, Vincent decided, instilling his calm mien into the air about him, I'll simply take Lucrecia and Professor Hojo out of here, and ask some of the adjacent-lab scientists what we can do to remedy the situation. With this new found resolution, Vincent began to approach the older man. But a hissing sound interrupted his course of action, and he jumped back as another burst of color erupted around him from an exploding container of fluid that had been ignited by a reaction from acting as a solute to its surroundings. A louder piercing blast hit him, and Vincent distantly heard himself grunt as he fell to the pitiless tile floor.
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Galenchia: ...There. The first chapter is alive. Oh yes. Since Jaffa and I have already started working on the second chapter (it's about 1/3 of the way completed) it should be up shortly. In it, we'll be meeting Cloud! Hoo-rah.
Jaffa: Yay for Cloud! -Dances.-
Galenchia: Until next time, then. ;D