Coalescence

A Final Fantasy VII Fanfic by ChronicLegCramp-Since'99

Pairing: Vincent/Lucrecia

*Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to SquareEnix, respectively*

Chapter I; Day 1

Vincent Valentine stared, unflinching, along the length of his triple-barrel revolver, at his target; Cerberus was hard and scorching under his fingertips. It had proved to be an easy assignment for the Turk- track down and dispose of the traitor. The ex-Shinra analyst that had hacked into the company's confidential data files and attempted to use what was found there as leverage, scowled at him with a rare kind of bravado that Vincent had only seen once before. She was a woman; a twenty-something, with mousy brown hair that was coiled into a chignon, a thick fringe covering her forehead. She hadn't been fast enough; they were in her apartment within the only Shinra residence that was directly, adjacent to the company's main building. Her slanted, yellowy-green eyes were narrowed and it was impossible to tell whether she feared her, now inevitable, death or not. The Turk with his messy crow-black hair that hung just below his ears, and fell across his forehead and eyes, hadn't even been given the targets name. Even as he regarded her with a cool expression, he felt his resolve quake. She was a traitor, she was dangerous. And yet, with her kneeling at his feet, defiant to the very end, Vincent couldn't help but feel uneasy. She was unarmed. Sure, she had fought back at first- and had gained a split lip as a result. However, although she was a master of computers, whoever she was working for or with, had clearly, not bothered to train this girl, prepare her. Vincent wondered whether this was because they were amateurs or the girl before him was simply, dispensable. He felt growing sympathy for her either way.

"What are you going to do, pretty boy?" the woman taunted him and spat on his boot. "I can see the doubt in your eyes- have you ever killed a woman before? Could you?" the hair on the back of Vincent's neck prickled, but he held her gaze, steadily.

"I hope you understand that I have no choice," Vincent told her evenly, lowering his eyelids so that the expression within his reddish-brown orbs was obscured by his dark lashes.

"Fuck you!" the Turks face became steely, as he readied Cerberus.

"Save it for the afterlife," he returned, catching the spark of terror that ignited behind her cat-like eyes; she stayed deathly, silent. "Farewell." Vincent inhaled sharply, through his nose and pulled the trigger. The discarded target slumped to the floor, blood immediately pooling on the cold linoleum, around her head and dirtying her fair hair. Vincent's gun arm dropped to his side as he released the breath he'd been holding. Putting his weapon of choice back into the holster, beneath his navy, suit jacket, he paced his way out of the achingly, vacant apartment. He pressed a finger to his earpiece to report in.

"The targets been dealt with." Now all the low-rank Turk had to do was find a bar, where he could drown out the image of the twenty-something girl, who had been scared. Fortunately, he was in central Midgar and he briskly headed down the street to his local. Actually it was the local for most Turks, when they were stationed here. Vincent preferred this bar to the downstairs den in Junon- Wayward had plenty more dark corners, relieving him of compulsory socialising. He passed a young, blond woman as he entered the establishment, who winked at him- all hot pink lips and black eyeliner. Vincent gave her a nod, but didn't pause as he began weaving his way to his usual booth, in the back left.

"Ain't seen you in a while, Vincent," a brown haired man with three day old stubble along his jaw, stopped by the Turks table, notepad and pen poised. "You eatin' tonight?"

"Hey, Luther. Er, no- just the usual, thanks," Vincent sunk down in his seat, loosening his tie.

"Comin' up," Luther flashed a grin before disappearing back off to the bar, quietly whistling, off-tune to himself. Vincent leant his head back on the stiff leather, cushioning his spine and neck. He allowed his shadowed eyes to fall shut, as he waited for his drinks.

'What a night…'

"Here ya go, Vince," the person in question expertly hid his start at the man's voice, thanking him again as Luther placed three shot glasses down in front of him. He threw down the first vodka shot as Luther left him to it. In five seconds, he had finished off the two remaining ones and sighed, heavily. He let his thoughts wander, absently toying with one of the empty shot glasses. Since when had he felt like this after an assignment? It was true that he had only joined Shinra to stay close to his father, Doctor Grimoire Valentine, to protect him. But it had been three months now, since his fathers premature death- a heart attack- and perhaps it was time to admit there was nothing left for him here. He often dreamed of leaving Midgar, moving away to the isolated Nibelheim, or maybe the blissfully ignorant, town of Kalm. No; that wasn't far enough away from the toxic, polluted city. Vincent stapled his fingers at the bridge of his nose, closing his weary, eyes.

'Like it would be that simple,'

There was an unspoken knowledge among all Shinra employees, especially within old man Shinra's 'investigative bureau', that once you signed your soul away to President Shinra, there was no going back. Vincent Valentine's options were clear; live life forever on the run from the very Turks he associated himself with, or drown in the sinister depths of an empty existence, of reconnaissance and espionage- not to mention murder. The tall, slender man had a couple more drinks before continuing his usual routine, as every night; shower, stare at his pale, drawn, reflection in the mirror, brush his teeth, crawl into bed, stare at the ceiling all night, gripped by never-ending insomnia. That was his life. And it was about to change.

Thanks for reading!

Vincent valentine was the first FFVII character I fell in love with, so I thought I'd pay homage to that. This isnt exactly a re-write, its basically just Vincents story, partly according to me and partly what we've seen in-game. This is how I think Dirge of Cerberus should have been- an actual telling of Vincents story, rather than a plot set in the present with flashbacks from his life.

Although I kinda think Vincent deserves better than Lucrecia, theres no doubting his encompassing love for her, so I hope I portray that well throughout the story...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and continue to enjoy this fic :)

P.S. I DO have Dirge and I DID enjoy playing it- its just I'm more in love with the idea of it, than what was actually produced from that idea. :P