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(I believe in respecting trigger warnings, so) rating for future chapters of abuse and non-con TifaxSeph.
To avoid graphic TxS scenes: read the prologue and skip to chapter four.
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Leda and the Swan
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Vincent trailed the halls of Shinra headquarters like a ghost, making no noise. With stoic eyes and an emotionless face, it was surprising he was alive at all.
Everything the man had seen and done, especially the people he had been powerless to protect, haunted him far worse than the demons he already carried.
When push came to shove he would always fail.
He had failed so many times already.
His fear and regret stained self-deprecation pushed against Vincent's thoughts like a slow knife into flesh.
It had been two days since Sephiroth dominated the world.
The fearless mercenaries had fallen.
Cloud would be the first to die.
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"Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away." Sephiroth's blade tore into the puppets chest sidewise and separated it magnificently.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
Vincent was no more than a foot away from Tifa as they watched their hero fall in two perfect pieces
The air tasted like tears, spit, and blood.
Her face slowly transitioned into twitching screams of absolute horror. And Vincent could only follow Tifa's overflowing rage as she jumped to catch the lifeless body.
Her once upon a time lover.
Their leader.
The future.
Every thing they had fought for.
It ended in one meticulous slice.
Still dazed and not fully comprehending what just happened, Vincent recognized the lack of his comrades.
Surrounding screams were getting louder but Vincent's eyesight started to fade away. All he could remember was a white light that briefly consumed everything. Hints of sleep almost followed, suddenly interrupted with a shatter of louder and more painful noises.
Ash was falling from the sky as he was engulfed by hundreds of confused and profoundly terrified humans; it seemed they were all being forced into groups. Vincent assumed there was a bizarre organization taking place somehow enforced through materia. He managed to push through the crowd, ultimately tracing the energy source to an slightly injured Yazoo. Then the realism of everything suddenly flipped a switch.
The remnant was alive and their hero dead.
Frantic, Vincent shifted his head in every direction, trying to recognize faces like putting together a puzzle. He found Tifa on the ground in a tearful pile, cradling the top half of Clouds dismembered body and softly whispering "I'm sorry."
"I'm so sorry."
Again and again.
"We believed in you."
Cid was standing protectively behind her while carrying an unconscious Yuffie, his spear missing.
Everything went grey and washed out as the one winged Sephiroth descended over them. Eyes only on Tifa, his laughter quickly evolved from a low taunt into a maniacal judgment.
"Give me the pleasure of taking it away" the mockery echoed.
He would soon take everything.
Though obviously not voluntarily, in the end they surrendered. Time reset as Tifa attacked first in a whirlwind of rage, immediately seething ruthless angry punches into Sephiroth. But unaffected, he seemed to be enjoying himself, humoring the woman's attempted revenge with constant successful blocks. Three minutes in and satisfied by her failure, Sephiroth knocked her to the ground and watched the blood spit from her mouth.
Vincent did not think twice before allowing Chaos's takeover as wings punctured his back and his body twisted into a anthropomorphic demon. It protectively rushed in front of Tifa and both monsters clashed attacks; for a split second it even looked like Sephiroth was threatened. As the fight progressed, their equality in strength wavered, now mostly one-sided in the silver mans favor. Chaos was struggling to keep up with Sephiroth's masamune strikes and was suddenly distracted as a girl came running at them, screaming "TIFA!" You could see a hint of Vincent's concern mix into Chaos's judgment as he let his guard down with trying to catch her. Sephiroth took advantage of the exposed weakness and quickly sliced one of his wings off. The creatures eyes widened at his failure, screaming pain and defeat. With that, Sephiroth caught Marlene's throat into a swift grip.
Locked onto Tifa and the wounded demon now reverted back into his original host, Sephiroth offered an ultimatum; forceful and condescending.
"You will be my soldiers," he crookedly smiled. "You've impressed me; I've decided not to kill you. Be thankfull. Obviously you can't win so why waste your death? I'm sure you'd rather not waste the lives of innocents either?" His hand tightened and Marlene's face became red. "I'm reasonable," the mocking continued. "I wonder what you'll give me to save this girls life?" Tifa struggled to her feet immediately; her body ached with broken bones but somehow found the strength to stand. She could only beg in defeated gasps, "Please! Please, anything!"
Once he dropped Marlene their new world began a forced decent into wretchedness.
"Done."
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Vincent still had his life. Many of the heroes still had theirs. It was what's the point of having them that remained uncertain.
The fake God had begun molding his new Gia. People were put in positions of power, killed, or ordered to work based on specific skill-sets. Threats and death were utilized immediately if opposition occurred. But where many would welcome death, the potential torture and violence of loved ones offered a greater motive to stay alive.
This was what kept Vincent moving. And in an alarmingly ironic turn of events, Sephiroth had demanded him to head Edge's military. The reasoning was simply because he "admired Chaos" and "had no fear of the failing man in his shadow."
He was so unthreatened by the remaining heroes that the majority of them were given authoritative rolls. Blackmail would have been the more appropriate term as Marlene and Denzel had been countlessly threatened to ensure everyone's binding compliance.
They were all puppets now, their strings dancing to his orders with disgusted obedience and shame.
Vincent kept telling himself to stay alive for his friends regardless of there being no light at the end of the tunnel. At this point, death felt like that light. But he had to stay for Tifa.
Because Sephiroth had taken the worst kind of interest in her.
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A/N: YES! I have changed the title from Immortal Devastation to 'Leda and the Swan.' I was so hating the previous one, ugh, and if you're familiar with Greek Mythology the name felt very appropriate.
So I have not written a fanfic in over seven years? Ooof. My previous name on here was PaperThinWalls and I had a load of unfinished stories that I don't know if I can ever get back to because of a lost password and forgotten email. I keep messaging the net moderators but I'm not hearing back. My older pieces are looking pretty doomed. Anyway, hello again internet awesome people. I actually just wrote this whole thing after re-watching AC and having some serious TifaxVincent smut party cravings. If you have any fantastic VxT recommendations please hit me up through PM or drop a link in a review.
Hope you enjoyed- please let me know what you think. Though this was a short prologue i'm excited with where I can take the story and characters. More reviews helps in pumping out faster chapters.
Just a heads up- if you're expecting a redemption-y and mildly sweet Sephiroth here then no. Just no. In this AU all his decisions are made solely to benefit himself or torture others. If you're a HunterxHunter fan I feel like I draw a lot of parallels between his and Meruem's character. But minus any redeeming qualities. Mix that in with some psycho bits of Game Of Thrones Ramsay Bolton and there you have it. Absolutely not a SephxTifa romance!
As of 6/28/14 this has been edited.