Codenames: Shadow of Chaos

by Great-Xscape

FF7 x-over. Vincent Valentine wakes to a world that has changed...dramatically

Codenames: Shadow of Chaos

By Great-Xscape

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I make no money from the ideas I write.

---

"Hey Professor."

Charles smiled and he turned in his wheelchair to catch a view of the stream of children running down the stairs. "Good morning Kitty. Kurt, Scott, Jean, Evan. Good morning children. How was your sleep?" A few moans, good-natured groans, and then some morning smiles.

Jean lifted her bag. "Professor, could you tell Rogue that she can ride with us in the morning?"

"Of course, Jean. Where is Rogue now?"

"Ach, she is still in her room," Kurt complained. "For a girl who vears de same outfit everyday, you'd think it wouldn't take so long to get dressed."

"Later, professor," Evan said before sliding out the door. The other students said goodbye and followed. Scott's car started up and drove off, full of students ready and prepared for their daily mission. Surviving school.

After a minute, Logan sauntered out and sniffed the air lightly. "All the kids gone?"

"Yes, Logan. Except for one."

"Rogue," Ororo sighed, leaning in on the stairway and looking up to the dorms. "She still won't ride with the others?"

"It's not so much as won't," Charles reminded the pair, "It's more that she can't. At least not to her. The prospect of touching has traumatized her, no matter how hard she tries to hide it. Just, give her time to overcome the mental barriers she's created to protect herself from the world."

"Whatever you say, Charles," Logan snorted and walked outside. "I'll go check that security's still up and running."

Ororo smiled. "That man acts like security is his life."

Charles wheeled his chair down a slanted hallway and Ororo followed. "Let's go and check on Cerebro. Something tells me it's found something."

After their voices died down, Rogue slipped down the stairs noiselessly. She paused to make sure no one was around before sneaking out he door. In the garage, she eased out her favorite bike, revving up the engine and shot out of the mansion's driveway like a bullet. Logan shook his head as she zoomed by, closing the gates with her departure. Rogue leaned forward on her accelerating vehicle, smiling at the wind that touched her the way no one could. Behind her was a cloud of dust and dirt, raising havoc with her passing as people stopped to cough and cuss with the inhalation of the powder. Rogue smiled and passed on. She was soon caught up with Scott's car and slowed greatly- not because she wanted to drive near them but the last time she'd rode by, they'd been covered in the cloud that followed her and been angry. More then angry, Jean was furious and complained the entire day about the smell in her hair, eventually getting on the professor's nerves enough to make him go and lecture Rogue. It hadn't been a good day.

She slowed down and drove beside them a while, ignoring Kitty's smiles and waves as well as Kurt's accented words getting thrown at her. At least she tried to.

Bamf.

Rough wrinkled her nose as Kurt landed beside her with a goofy grin on his face. "Hey, I always vanted to do that!"

"Do it wit som'un else, blueboy," Rogue muttered, "Ah'm busy tryin ta drive here."

"Rouge, Scott says tomorrow you're gonna be riding vit us," Kurt whispered confidentially in Rogue's ear, careful to keep hands-off of her. Rogue gritted her teeth. "He can try an' make meh but Ah ain't goin' ta. Now get off!"

"Hey!" Rogue shoved Kurt off her bike with a shoulder and bamf! he was back in the car with a disgruntled look on his face. Rogue passed them by and then sped off, leaving them to wonder at her back.

---

"So, did you find anything?" Ororo leaned lazily against a wall as Charles wheeled from the room that, a moment before, had been locked shut. He had spent the last fifteen minutes, scanning the earth or at least certain hot spots in it.

Charles smiled thinly. "I believe I have."

:: Logan, come quick:: Charles called out. Logan grunted and jogged into the mansion. Charles sat in his wheelchair, holding a piece of paper. A map. Ororo stood beside him, face expressionless.

"What is it?"

Charles held out the map. "Cerebro has just detected another mutant. The mutant is in Europe. Italy. From what I've detected, the Brotherhood has just received a message from Mystique and are heading there as well."

"Mystique? She's back?" Ororo allowed her mouth to tilt slightly in a frown.

Charles nodded. "That means that Magneto may also be back. We need to be careful."

"Alone?" Logan asked.

"Yes. The children should stay in school. If anything happens, we'll be able to handle this."

Logan stopped dead in his tracks, hearing the words for the first time. "We?"

Charles smiled. "Yes. You didn't think I'd send you alone against all of the Brotherhood?"

"Well-"

"Someone needs to be there to make sure you play fair," Ororo remarked as the three made their way to the lower garage.

The Blackbird whirled its machinery and took off.

---

"Look harder, Logan!"

"I am! If you think you can work any quicker-"

"Logan, Ororo, please calm down."

"I don't see why I'm the one doing most of the work."

"That's because you're the strongest, Logan."

"Only if you don't count your psychic powers, Charles. Even Ororo can do this quicker if she wanted to."

"Quiet, Logan. We don't want to be attracting any unnecessary attention."

Logan gritted his teeth and stretched his burning muscles again, throwing another block of stone to the growing pile some distance away. Each block must have weighed a ton. At least he felt it did. Sweat beaded its way down his neck and forehead, stinging his eyes and heating his skin. Luckily, Ororo agreed to bring some clouds in for shade and a cool breeze kept him from exploding. He grunted and then leaned back, wiping the sweat away with the back of his hand.

They were there, in the ruined remains of what Charles believed to be a collapsed cave or tunnel. A few years back, there had been some speculation that some important event in earth's history had occurred near this region, that it was somehow connected to the giant crater discovered decades ago near the North Pole. However, after finding nothing, the area was deserted. Charles was granted permission to explore the region as long as no wildlife was hurt.

The Blackbird was parked a hundred or so meters away.

"Careful with that Logan."

Logan looked up from where he had been resting. "Careful with what? There ain't nothing here, bub."

"Charles?" Ororo walked up to the meditating man and placed a slender hand on his arm. "What is it?"

"He's here."

"He?" Logan looked around defensively. "Magneto? Where?"

"Not Magneto," Charles smiled. "The mutant."

"It's a man?" Ororo looked disappointed. "I really wanted someone my age to talk with. Jean is all right and you boys are just fine but-"

Logan laughed and Charles smiled at her teasing tone. "He's behind you Logan."

Logan leaped back, face surprised.

"Not literally!" Ororo laughed. Charles willed his chair forward and pressed the wall of rock Logan had been leaning on carefully. The wall churned and gave way easily. "A passage?" Ororo wondered.

Logan grunted and tried to go through the passageway but was stopped it was completely blocked.

Charles scanned the rocks mentally but found nothing other then faint traces of someone's prescence. He frowned lightly and halted the others. "We've done all we can for today. Tomorrow, we'll explore some more. That way, the children will be able to join us and get some training along with some experience."

The public school was giving its students a week off, a traditional fall holiday. The X-Men would surely appreciate spending the time in Europe.

The other two agreed and as one, they headed home.

---

"Professor, what's wrong?"

Professor Xavier turned as far as he could from his window view of the passing landscape and smiled. "Nothing Jean. Why do you ask?"

Jean Grey smiled and held the steering wheel with experienced fingertips. "It's nothing but you felt kind of worried."

"Vow! Look at all the pretty birdies!" Kurt sighed merrily. "Dey look so beautiful."

"That they do, Kurt," Xavier murmured, losing focus once more. He could have sworn- had he been a swearing man- that the presence he was looking for was out there, in the countryside. The Blackbird was temporarily out of commission so he was driving around landscape of Canada with the children, far away from where the tunnel or cave was. They were disappointed at not being able to go to Europe for awhile but this sightseeing was enough.

:: Do you got anything?:: Logan's harsh, growling voice asked the professor. Xavier looked outside to his motor bike escorting them through the country. The perfect bodyguard.

:: Not yet, Logan, though I did feel something odd a while back.::

:: I'll check it out:: and his bike swerved away down a dirt trail to the side.

"Hey, vere's Logan going?" Kurt asked, the first to notice the teacher/guardian's disappearance. He crowded to the window for a better position.

"I dunno but you betta back off," Rogue warned, pushing him away from her window. "This is mah spot an' you betta keep offa meah."

"Chill out, Rogue," Evan called out from his spot in the back of the van. "At least you get a window." Evan claimed to be squished between the furry blue mutant and the anti-social Goth. This van was the last available rental vehicle and desperate times call for desperate measures. Evan wasn't particularly happy about being in such close proximity to the Rogue and with Kurt bouncing all around the place looking out the windows, this ride wasn't as comfy as he'd hoped. "Man, I wish I got to go with Scott."

"But if you vent vith them, you would have missed the sights!" Kurt pointed out. "They got stuck vith cleaning the Blackbird."

"Yea, but they didn't have no blue thang crawlin' all ova them," Rogue muttered beneath her breath. Evan's sentiments exactly.

"Scott will be joining us shortly," Charles announced. "He and the rest of the X-Men have finished cleaning."

Evan snickered. "Yea man, that's what they get for trashing the plane." Rogue glanced at him. "Didn't you know? Scott that it'd be a good joke for Halloween to decorate the Blackbird. A big no-no. Logan nearly sliced off his head when he saw it. They did it last night."

"Yea, it vas like, a moment in history," Kurt joined in. "Scott getting in trouble, I thought it'd never happen."

Rogue rolled her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool window.

:: Hey professor, you might want to take a look at this::

:: We're on our way:: Xavier looked to Jean. "Logan's found something."

---

"Vow, dis is like, one of dos pyramid-things," Kurt whispered, awed.

Rogue shivered and clutched her glove-bound arms around herself tightly. "More lika graveyard."

Xavier wheeled his chair around the ruins, taking in the sights and age of the destroyed bricks and rotted wood. "It's very old," he confirmed, "and I can sense some presence nearby."

Logan sniffed and narrowed his eyes. "That presence wouldn't be the Brotherhood, would it?"

"Aw, man. You like ruined our entrance!" Todd, known as Toad, complained as he leaped from his hiding place high in the trees.

"We got here first!" Fred (The Blob) complained, heaving one of the enormous stones at the group of X-Men, "so why don't jya just leave."

"Yea, or else we'll have ta make ya," Lance a.k.a. Avalanche sent a spike of earth rolling their way.

"Ha, you think you cancatchusyouonlygothalfyourpeople," Pietro laughed, running circles around them. His other name, Quicksilver, described just how fast he was.

Logan growled and dodged the Avalanche's attack, claws coming out with a swoosh. Avalanche had no time to stop the flying attacker as he sliced through attack after attack of heaving earth, finally getting close enough to send the teen spiraling. "Don't ya ever learn?" Logan grumbled, dusting himself off. "You don't mess with the Wolverine."

"Fred stop!" Jean yelled, the huge concrete stone barely missing her. "You're going to hit somebody!"

"Well, that's the point isn't it?"

"Hey, vatch vere you are shooting that thing," Kurt bamfed away, leaving the smell of sulfur and brimstone behind his teleportation. Toad retracted his tongue in annoyance. "Hey man, just stand still." The tongue was out again and Toad leaped to knock the teleporting mutant out of the game.

"Hehe. Hey Evan are you fastenoughtocatchme?"

"You know it," Evan replied decidedly, sending a barrage of pikes in Quicksilver's way, stopping the speed demon in his tracks. "Man, I've done this like so many times, it ain't even a trial."

"Dude, pull your spikes out of myway," Quicksilver ran to the side, dodging the trail of pointy ended sticks and out once again to attack his counter-part X-Men.

:: Stop:: Xavier commanded and the Brotherhood froze. :: Now, why are you here?::

They didn't answer physically but their minds gave enough answers. :: Mystique sent us here:: ::New mutant. Suppose ta be kinda powerful:: :: Need to find the new guy if we want to keep living in a home:: ::Magneto behind this? Naw...well maybe. Don't know what the new guy's suppose to be like-::

:: Hmm, Jean, how far away is Scott?::

Jean closed her eyes in concentrated, ignoring the ton of concrete that had stopped mid-way to hitting her. :: He'll be here in a minute::

:: With this battle tearing up the ruins, we'll never find out who it is we're looking for:: Xavier looked at the struggling Brotherhood and made a decision. "Logan, tie them up. We can't have them escaping to make a bigger problem and we have important matters to find here."

Logan nodded and grabbed some heavy rope, pulling it tight around each of the enemy teens. He made sure to keep Toad's mouth shut and bound Quicksilver tighter then the others. When he reached the Blob, he looked to the professor uneasily. "I don't think we got enough rope."

Xavier closed his eyes and Blob fell to the floor unconscious. "He should stay that way long enough for us to get back to the mansion."

"Man." Evan turned to whisper into Kurt's ear. "Remind me never to get the profess' angry."

"You said it," Kurt agreed, sending crazy glances to the stupefied Brotherhood who apparently didn't put enough thought into their attack on the, arguably, most powerful mutant in the world.

The three conscious Brotherhood mutants were sent to the van, glaring all the way nothing in particular, and the X-Men continued searching.

"Wow, you guys, like, made a total mess," Kitty teased, announcing their arrival. Kurt grinned widely.

Scott walked behind her and paused, surprised as well. "Did something happen?" he demanded.

"Scott!" Jean let out a heart felt sound of relief and ran to throw her arms around the teen. Scott stiffened instinctively before a tell-tell blush spread across his cheeks. Logan snorted in amusement and Evan, Kitty and Kurt made sounds of disgust and teasing. Ororo appeared from behind the now flushed teens and smoothly made her way to the other adults. She gave the environment a quick look-over, noticing the battle signs, and then let it go, assuming that if there was something she absolutely needed to know, she would be told.

"I'm glad you've arrived," Charles announced, drawing everyone's attention. He looked through the wreckage and then gave his students a weary look. "We have some work to do."

-

"Man, this is like, totally out of whack!" Todd complained once more, wriggling madly at his constraints. "Yo, I didn't plan on getting' my eve'ning lying with those geeks."

Fred snoozed on oblivious to everything going on around him. Quicksilver could only glare, as talking would stop the only flow of air coming into his body. Apparently, the geeks didn't think letting him even talk was a good idea.

Lance, on the other hand, sat and bided his time, ignoring his team mates.

Todd fell back, still struggled to get free. His head slapped against the side of a metal chair and he stiffened before relaxing completely. Peitro snorted as Todd fell unconscious. The cabin fell silent and stayed that way a long while.

-

"This is taking too long."

"Vat are we doing here? Vat's down here?"

"Touch meh one more time, spike, and Ah'll-"

"Rogue, Evan! Calm down!"

"Stay out of this, Scott. What'll you do, Rogue?"

"You kids better clam down. You didn't come down here to fight."

"Listen to Logan. If you don't stop, you'll be sent back to the mansion."

"Like, that's harsh."

Charles groaned and then said, "I think it's time for a break. Scott, please take the Brotherhood back to Bayville. Ororo, can you see if there is a nearby hotel? I think we'll be staying the night. Children, go with her. You are getting cranky from lack of sleep. Now, everyone calm down."

Logan rubbed his neck with a frown. "I guess that means I gotta keep workin." Charles shook his head. "No, you should rest as well."

Ororo nodded and everyone went about to their own tasks. After an hour, she was back and the three adults went back to work. This time, Xavier agreed to help Logan out. The collapsed mansion, unlike the tunnel they had been excavating the day before, was too far out in the countryside. There was no one nearby to be worried about.

The ruins were hollowed out quickly. The mutant was nearby.

---

Black, black hair streamed from his forehead, most of its gathered into a single pony at the back of his head but long bangs sneaked out like black spider legs. The hair that refused to stay tucked in neatly was held at bay by a large red bandanna. His hair color was a shocking contrast against his too pale skin, a bloodless color like the paint on a porcelain doll. Half of his face was covered by the top of the crimson cape he wore around his body, tied together by dozens of metal clasps. Beneath the stainless cape, a loose black shirt and similar black pants were worn. Nearly knee- high black boots were on his feet and at the bottom of each boot was pointed protectors made of a strange metal. Almost copper-like in color but it couldn't be decided whether the metal was that color naturally, from rust, or from something else. The most surprising thing in this man's appearance was the metal claw that hung at his side. His left hand was clenched together, a black, finger-less glove worn on it. His right hand was instead that monstrous claw. It was made of the same metal from his boots, both colored similarly, and looked twice as lethal as Logan's retractable claws. Huge and obscene, it clung to the man like a demon, destroying whatever image he might have had.

Xavier shook his head. Had he been born with it? Was that claw the reason he now slept? "I'm going to try to wake him up," he announced at length, the silence troubling all three.

Logan made a move to protest but Ororo said nothing. The flash of concern, however, told him of her disagreement. Seeing the look Xavier sent his way, Logan gave up with a slight growl.

::Don't worry:: Xavier comforted them before wheeling up to the front of the coffin, ignoring the bones that tried to block his way.

He reached out his hands to place on either side of the sleeping man's head and bowed his own slightly to focus his powers completely. He was so intent that he didn't notice the red glow beneath his eyes until it was too late.

"Professor!" Ororo shouted as the sleeping man- the one they considered no threat- sprang into action. The man was like a demon, flipping out of his coffin in a single movement and grabbing the professor by the throat at the same time. Logan was moving. A familiar swish and his deadly claws slid out.

"Stop," the man stated, "unless you no longer care for this man's life." He shook the professor's unconscious body to emphasize his point.

Logan growled. "What do you want?"

"That question should be asked of yourselves," the man shot back, his tongue giving the words an articulate sound, making the words slid out of his mouth smoothly.

"We were looking for you," Ororo replied calmly, her mind working as fast as the wind. The man had made no move to hurt them or the professor, but that meant nothing. Enemies often waited for a moment to express their complete control. He would be treated as no differently.

"Why?" His red irises narrowed, frightening Ororo with their intensity. "Has Cloud sent you?"

"C-cloud?" Ororo asked, puzzled.

He looked at them like they were aliens. "How…long have I slept?" he asked quietly.

"Why's it matter?" Logan challenged. He was clenching his fists in irritation, annoyed that he was able to do nothing. Not with the professor in that claw.

"You don't know of Sephiroth? ShinRa? Jenova?" At each name, they stared back at him blankly. He paused, eyes wide in disbelief. "Not even Meteor?" He closed his eyes. "Have I slept too long?"

Logan took the opportunity as it took form. The instant the man's eyes closed, he was on him. With a growl, his claws stretched forward for an attack that would impale anyone through the chest. The man stiffened and dropped the professor, leaping into the air seconds before Logan's claws would've killed him. "Wait," he cried. "I mean no-"

"Save it for later," Logan growled, doubly irritated that he missed. No problem. He sent another fist towards the man. It hit him square in the face, a satisfying sound of metal slamming against soft skin echoing through the small room.

"Logan, wait," Ororo grabbed his arm before he skewered the man. "I don't think he's trying to attack us.

To confirm her words, the man stood shakily, turning his head to spit out blood. He fingered his cheek with a gloved hand, wincing slightly. Logan shook his head. "Hey, he attacked first-"

"After he woke up with three strangers all around him, one of them inches away from his face. What would you do?" Ororo challenged. Logan blanched at the truth in those words

"She's right, Logan," Xavier stated from the side. Logan turned to see the professor sitting back on his wheelchair, looking slightly abused but altogether all right. Logan frowned. "You trust him?"

"I do."

They all turned to look at the man standing stiffly at the other side of the room.

"Who are you?" Xavier asked.

"Not an enemy," he replied, evading the question. "I…would like to know where I am. I went to sleep in the ShinRa Mansion, in Nibelheim. And what is the date?" he looked at them with no emotion in his face but confusion was evident in his eyes.

"ShinRa Mansion?" Logan looked around casually. "I guess you're talking about this place. The professor said it could've been a house. I guess he's right."

Xavier smiled but the expression disappeared as he saw how shocked the man looked, seeing the ruin the mansion was in. "It must have been difficult to sleep in such an old place," he said softly.

The man shook his head in mute disbelief. "It was barely four decades old when I lay down," he whispered sadly. The X-Men's mouths dropped open in shock. He looked into their stunned expressions. "I suppose it has been sometime since…"

"Since what?" Ororo pressed gently but he shook his head, not willing to tell whatever the story was behind his past.

"This mansion, the ShinRa mansion as you call it, is nothing more then ancient ruins," the professor said with as much sympathy as he could mutter. The man's expression at once became guarded, cold and aloof but Xavier felt his confusion and loss pouring into the room. He extended a hand in offer. "Perhaps you would like to come with us. We might be able to help you, or at least we will be able to fill you in on what's happened in the past few years." He shook his bald head. "It would be a wonder." The man made no move and Xavier retracted his hand in disappointment.

Logan grunted at the expression on the man's face, knowing all too well what that look meant. Distrust, pure and simple. He shrugged, not really blaming the man. He didn't believe the story he was dishing out either; what kind of person was this guy? How old would this guy have to be if he was as old as he claimed? "Let's go professor," he grunted, breaking the silence. "The kids are bound to be getting worried and I don't trust Scott to handle them all on his own."

Ororo smiled at the comment and Xavier cracked a grin, dissolving the tension that had been building up in the room. Xavier shook his head. "I suppose you're right, Logan." He looked back to the spot the man had been standing but saw him nowhere. Logan growled and he saw the man standing much closer then before. The red eyes glowed but brighter, now that he was close, and Xavier forced himself not to delve the man's mind in self-protection. The claw still hung limply at his side but the other hand, the normal hand, had reached into the coffin to withdraw several different guns, all of them fitting into his hands perfectly as he touched them briefly before shoving them into his belt. Logan was definitely not happy with the latest development. "What do you think you're doing?"

The man didn't look up once. The last gun, a particularly nasty looking thing, he clipped to the main fastener. "I plan on going with you," he announced shortly," but not without protection." The gun clipped on with an ominous snap. "For my own safety."

Logan laughed dryly. "It'll take a lot more then a single gun to get me," he bragged, beginning to walk away. His sensitive ears barely picked up the dark comment. "You'd be surprised." He chose to ignore it, suddenly uncomfortable in being in such a confined space with a man holding more then three different guns.

Xavier smiled when he heard the man announce he was coming. "We better get going. I'll contact Jean and tell her to pick us up." His wheelchair floated up the stairway, following the suddenly uneasy Logan. Ororo smiled at the man and extended her hand the same way the professor had, not exactly surprised when the man made no move to shake. "I'm sorry about the rush," she began, voice accented with its own tone. "I'm Ororo, also known as Storm."

He nodded his head and then, as if remembering some forgotten gesture, bowed deeply, startling Ororo. She'd heard the Japanese bowed in greeting-

"I am known as Vincent Valentine."

"The man we are with is Professor Charles Xavier, our boss, educator, and protector." He said nothing and her smile brightened. "The other man was Logan, also known as the Wolverine. I apologize if he's upset you in any way-"

"It is nothing," Vincent stated.

They were working themselves up the stairs, which wasn't too hard for either of them. Ororo found herself trying to slow down, to get this strange, silent man to speak. So far, he tried very hard to keep his mouth shut- mostly to hide the grievous feeling from his voice. She shook her head in wonder. If he was as old as he claimed…"Would you like to know about the school?" He gave a brisk nod and she smiled. "The professor has started a school that is mainly for the "gifted students" of the world." She paused. "But really, you'll get the introduction, he tells everyone. I'm part of the group who protect the school." She walked a bit further before asking her next question. "So, what are your powers?"

He stopped short, his body tense and alarmed. "Ex-excuse me?" he stammered.

Ororo looked at in questioningly. "You are a mutant, aren't you? The professor said you were-"

"I don't wish to talk about it," he cut in at once, cold and angry.

Ororo went silent. It wasn't very surprising, really. Not many mutants wished to speak of their powers, at least not at first, scared of both the powers themselves of what others would do because of those powers. But, he claimed to have been around during the construction of this building. Did mutants exist that far back in history? Did something happen that forced him into that dreadful sleep? Was it because of his powers? Or did he still not trust them? She decided to change the subject.

"I suppose you are wondering why they call me Storm." She felt his eyes on her head, wondering if walking in front of him was the correct choice. "It's because of my powers." She didn't see his eyes narrow. "You see, I have the ability to manipulate the weather. I usually use my powers to create storms to help my teammates or protect myself, hence the name."He had stopped walking. "Is something wrong?"

::Ororo, please hurry. Jean and Scott are already here and I fear they left the students under Rogue, Kurt and Kitty's supervision.:: the professor's laugh could be heard through her head.

Ororo motioned for Vincent to hurry. "They are waiting for us. Do you mind if I used my powers to get to the top faster?" He shook his head and she smiled at the chance to show off to a new mutant.

Her eyes went completely white as she summoned the element of wind. It started off as a gentle breeze but soon became strong enough to lift both persons off the ground. Some effort went into keeping them both relatively steady and they were at the top in no time.

Vincent held back the urge to gasp as the power wrapped around him, rendering him helpless. It was all he could do not to give into the urge to transform and get away but he knew she meant no harm. She had asked him before. It would be rude- he shook the thought. Old habits die hard.

It was dark outside, Ororo noticed. Already night. Professor Xavier, Logan and Ororo had been at the site all day.

They landed roughly and his eyes widened at the site. Where the hidden stairway began, nothing else remained. The entire building had collapsed. He had noticed that the stairs were shorter then he remembered and realized that before, they went all the way to the top of the second level. Now, there was no second level. The stairs began at an opening in the first level. He was rooted to the spot, taking in the damage done to his last retreat, the only place on the planet he had dared think of as safe after Sephiroth's round of destruction. The bed where he had stood guard over Lucrecia as a Turk, the piano hall he had watched her play through the days, the back rooms they had sneaked into to talk of nothing and everything…all gone into this desolate nothingness. Just as he thought that nothing in his life could get worse, just as he thought he would finally be free of the endless nightmares, he had awakened to the worst of them and was now forced to live through it.

Vincent didn't know when the tears had fallen from his glowing eyes, silently wetting his cheeks. All he knew was staring at the dark area of ruin that had become the center of his life, the place where it had all begun. He heard the one man, Logan, grunt warily at the sight of such emotion but ignored everything.

This was where he met Lucrecia. He couldn't bear to look at it anymore so he closed his eyes but the image haunted him. His hand clenched into a tight fist, sending all the blood from it and his nails drew blood.

"Damn you, Hojo," he muttered, voice filled with desperate rage and unswayable pain. "Damn you for this hell you've thrown me in."

But I haven't thrown you in it, the mad scientist seemed to rave in his head. You did it all on your own. After all, if it wasn't for you, Lucrecia would've been alive- but no, she would still be dead. But you would be dead with her, no? he he. I wonder what she'd say, if she saw you now-

"Vincent?"

Ororo touched his shaking shoulders cautiously, concerned for the silent man but concerned for herself as well.

"Vincent, Ororo, let's go."

Vincent didn't wonder how they knew his name, he stumbled to the buggy the 'professor' called him to and collapsed against the back seat, old wounds reopened. He was blind to the world, so much so that it passed him by and soon they had stopped again. Vincent vaguely noticed how comfortable the ride had been, unlike the bumpy and uncomfortable ride in the buggy he'd ridden before. He stepped from the buggy. The professor began to speak but Vincent sighed. "Please, I would like to be alone."

"Of course, Vincent," the professor agreed quickly, about to suggest the same thing to the pain-ridden man. Ororo had arranged it so that the X-Men and the new students, those still training and not officially X-Men yet, spent the night in a hotel out in the country. Charles suddenly felt a wave of gratitude toward the woman. The arrangement had made it so that the modern world could temporarily be placed aside until a time that the newest mutant was ready to deal with it.

Vincent paused a moment and walked away, toward nearby trees.

Xavier met Ororo's eyes and she nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him."

::Thank you, Ororo.::

Vincent- and a trailing Ororo- wandered off into the night and Xavier- followed by a definitely tense Logan- wheeled into the part of the hotel set apart for the official X-Men. The hotel wasn't too large but it was enough. The area set aside for the X-Men was really nothing more then the hotel sign-in and each of the team sat on the comfy couches, obviously waiting their arrival. Once they saw the professor and Logan, both were immediately bombarded by questions.

"Whose that guy?"

"Like, he sure has that, you know, 'vampire-y' feel to him."

"Is he safe? Where did he come from?"

"He's a mutant, right?" Jean's question silenced everyone for a second and then redoubled their intensities.

"Vow, a vampire mutant! And I thought this vas going to be a boring trip!"

"Shut up, Kurt! This ain't borin'"

"Not for you. For me, it's like trying keep my eyes open during one of Logan's speeches."

"Watch it, kid."

"What's his powers? Where did you find him?"

"Is he really a vampire? Like, awesome!"

"Let the professor speak," Logan growled, silencing them all effectively with a death glare. Xavier smiled his gratitude. "I'll be happy to answer one question at a time you may have, as long as its reasonable, fair, and as long as I know the answer to it." He gave them a look. "No matter what I tell you, even if you don't believe me at first, I expect you to behave properly when he comes back."

It was silent barely a moment before they all started shouting out questions. "One at a time," Logan reminded them harshly. "And raise your hands!"

It was quiet and the younger generation of X-Men all leaned forward from their couch, their fingertips raised high and waving impatiently in the air. Xavier smiled. "Jean, you have a question?"

The others sighed and put their hands down. Jean brushed the hair from her face. "What's his name?"

"His name is Vincent Valentine."

"Like, in the holiday?" Kitty asked.

"Correct."

"Would you mind telling us his history?" Scott asked.

"There isn't much to tell, really," Xavier began. "Not because there isn't a story, but because he hasn't told us it-yet."

"Vy don't you just zap into his brain?" Kurt asked innocently. "Ve'd know his story then." Rogue sent a pillow into his face. "Vat?"

"I prefer to use that as a last resort, Kurt," the professor explained. "I know that most people don't wish for anyone to know what they're thinking or know their memories. Besides, it is better for him to tell us when he's ready instead of us forcing him or even stealing that knowledge away without permission." He closed his eyes briefly. "You would like to hear his story?" he was met with several enthusiastic nods.

"From what I can tell, he's very old-"

"Older then you, Professor?" Kitty exclaimed. He nodded. "But, that's like, impossible!"

"Why's that?"

"I saw him," she testified. "and he looks younger than Logan does."

"Do you know how old I am?" Logan tested her. She shook her head. "Then don't pretend to."

"As I was saying, he's much older then me-"

"If he's telling the truth," Logan snorted. The kids sent him nasty looks for interrupting the story.

"Do you remember that building, about a few miles east?"

"Where we were at earlier? The one that's fallen apart?" Scott replied helpfully.

Xavier nodded. "To give you an example of how old he is, Vincent says the building was only forty years old the last time he saw it." Gasps filled the room and the professor nodded. "I know it's not easy to accept but…I believe him," Charles added. "His reaction to our arrival was just that- a reaction."

"How'd he live so long?" Rogue asked. "I mean, come on. That buildin's almost gone. What'd he do?"

"He didn't say much but when we found him, he was about fifty meters under the ground and lying in a coffin, asleep."

"I told you!" Kurt announced triumphantly. "Vampire!"

"Shut up, silly," Kitty puffed. "Vampires aren't that puny looking."

"I have a feeling that he's not all that weak," Logan contributed. Even the professor looked at him in interest. "When he first woke up and knocked you out-"

"He knocked out the professor?" Scott exploded.

"-he went on about something like Meteor, Sephiroth, Jenova, ShinRa. He talked like they were some pretty big events in history and looked pretty set off that no one remembered them. And I don't like the way he handles those guns." Logan frowned at the enraged Scott. "Hey, you gonna blow a bulb? Stop glaring at me."

"You're suppose to protect the Professor, not let some punk knock him out," Scott shot back. "Why'd you let him come here? To give him a second chance? Why'd you let him hold some guns, for crying out loud!"

"Now Scott, it was my fault and besides, we have no reason to fear Vincent whatsoever," Xavier replied gently but in that no-nonsense voice of his, settling the matter. "As for-"

Ororo bust into the room. "Come quickly!" she smiled. "There's something you should see."

-----

Vincent walked softly, well aware of the person trailing him as well as her purpose. He didn't truly care. All that mattered was finding a decent spot to put his old body, preferably in the ground. Lucrecia, forgive me for being such a coward.

He went over the adventures of his friends, his only friends, and mentally smiled. Stopping Jenova, their goal, had been accomplished though it had taken over a year. He remembered clearly the few days after Meteor's glare had left the sky. Barret's smiling face, holding his daughter tightly- trying to cover the tears. Cid, grinning like the youthful man he was, throwing his cigarettes down at the destroyed town of Midgar as if taunting the depleted Meteor in his own way. Cloud had stood, ever ready as leader, but his face was cracked open in a smile and he was laughing, hugging and twirling Tifa in a scene of such joy. Cait Sith was so "happy," he offered to tell everyone's fortune- for half-price, of course. Yuffie had screamed and squealed so loudly everyone threatened to lock her in the Choco stall but no one was really serious. But not everything had been so happy. He remembered meeting a solemn Reeve for the first time, just outside of Kalm, and seeing the pitiful Midgar survivors. Seeing Nanaki as he howled for nights, honoring his dead grandpa and slowly moving into the position as Guardian of Cosmos Canyon. He even remembered passing by the Turks one day, as everyone gathered to say goodbye in Nibelheim. They looked completely torn up, not even Barret had wanted to fight them. Reno was drunk out of his mind and Elena's mascara ran down her cheeks, turning her tears black. Rude explained in his quiet way that they'd found Tsang's body not too long ago and that each of the Turks, ex-Turks, really, had dealt with it in their own way. Vincent understood like none of the others exactly how tightly bonded each Turk was, knowing how close the leader was. Almost like a father. Those days had passed quickly and he remembered the others protesting as he moved all too quickly back into his state of self-torture and eventually going straight back into his coffin.

A twig snapped and he was on guard. On the outside, he looked exactly the same but his body was taunt and he had discreetly moved his hand so that it could easily reach the Death Penalty. When he had awakened, he had found all the materia AVALANCHE had collected on their journey still gathered in the small brown bag and now thanked Yuffie for keeping her promise about letting him keep them safe. He walked the same pace, sensitive ears searching for the intruder. The dry grass rustled behind him, in the way amateur sneaks would so often mistake for being sneaky, and he was moving.

The fact that his attacker was nearly eight feet tall, fuzzy with what looked like blonde fur, with very sharp teeth didn't waver his concentration at all. A single bullet, well aimed and shot out faster then the would-be ambusher could sense, implanted itself into the big man's shoulder. He screamed like wounded lion and clutched at his arm. Unfortunately, the bullet wasn't even finished yet. For each death the gun inflicted, it grew stronger and Vincent had certainly used his gun well. The bullet exploded in the man's shoulder, leaving a pretty nasty wound and the Elemental materia linked with the mastered Fire magic attached a powerful fire attack in the same move.

Ororo, the woman who'd been following him in what she must have thought a discreet way was at his side, face bewildered. The big man howled again and charged. Vincent didn't flinch as he loaded another bullet and did the same, this time aiming towards the man's leg. The man howled and collapsed, convulsing on the ground feet in front of them.

"How did you-"

"If you want this man to live," Vincent put his smoking gun away, "tell me who his is and why he attacked me."

"He attacked you to see what your powers are." The ground before them began to rumble and suddenly rushed towards them, like a burrowing worm. "But, I guess that was a bad way to do it."

"Avalanche," Ororo acknowledged, dodging out of the way of the intended blow.

Vincent froze. "AVALANCHE?" he asked.

A boy with black hair, dressed in a tight fitting uniform stepped into the moonlight. "Yea, that's me. Heard something you like?"

Vincent shook his head. What a fool I am.

"Hey, what's that X-geek doing here?" a high and fast voice shouted out of the night. Vincent looked and saw three more boys, about the same age, waiting impatiently for Avalanche, their leader, to make a move. The first, the one that had spoken, was jumping from one foot to another, in a similar uniform. His hair was white as snow, looking like he'd bleached it. Beside him, a boy slouched, skin an unseemly shade of green. The last boy- if it could be called that- towered over all of them. Vincent took in the enormous size of the kid, noticing he was the only one not dressed up in some way. Most likely because noting would fit him.

Ororo frowned. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

The hunched boy chuckled. "That's for you to know and us to find out."

"Toad, you idiot, you said it wrong," Avalanche groaned. He looked at the pacing boy. "And stop doing that Pietro."

"It's Quicksilver here, man," 'Quicksilver' grumbled.

"Whatever."

"Hey, check out the vampire," the last boy said, noticing Vincent for the first time. Vincent's eyebrow twitched at the name, remembering that it was Yuffie's favorite nickname for him.

"Shut up, Blob," Avalanche sighed. "Man, we'll never get anything done at this rate."

What is it that you've come to do?" Ororo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Surely Vincent is too old to join your 'Brotherhood of Mutants'?"

"Naw, we were just bored," Avalanche waved the question away. "Ever since Mystique came back, we've been sort of…bored."

"Not anymore!" Blob announced excitedly, rubbing his fists. "Now, we've got a new play toy." He rushed Vincent who nimbly leaped out of the way, still confused. Obviously, this children had "powers" like the one Ororo had showed him. Had the entire world became as such? He doubted it. Just a feeling.

Pulled from his thoughts by a gust of wind, Vincent bent over to cough as he was assaulted from all sides by some blurred figure.

"Haha, can't catch me!" Quicksilver taunted.

Vincent reached into his pocket, pulling out his gun of the same name. The boy was too fast. "Shiva!" he yelled, hoping the beautiful goddess of ice would be able to slow the boy down. He was swept away in the wake of her coming, to be protected by the destruction she'd cause. Almost as an after-thought, Ororo was also brought with him to the timeless void between, able to do nothing but watch the ice demoness work.

She came with an icy breeze. Pietro shivered and paused, working to warm himself up. "Guys, is it just me or is it cold?"

Fred shrugged, his layer of fat protecting him from the element. Lance and Todd, on the other hand, felt the chill as accurately as Pietro. "W-where'd that guy go?" Lance shivered. None knew.

From nowhere, a divine being seemed to step from the clouds. Her skin, covered by a bare minimal of clothing, was a light blue and her hair pulled back in a pony. With a smooth motion, she stretched forth one hand and from it released a ball of ice so powerful it froze the Brotherhood, even Fred, for a few seconds before the ice broke and she was gone.

Vincent and Ororo were recalled from the void. Vincent felt Shiva place an icy kiss on his cheek, a sign of her thanks. His thoughts went wild. Shiva must have been held back much time, to be grateful to battle. He shook his head in despair. Attempting to redeem myself from my sins has created much more to haunt my sleep.

"What did you just do?" Ororo asked with wide eyes. She stared. "Are-is that your power? Calling upon the gods to aid you?"

Vincent walked over to the children with no concern. They had attacked first, leaving him spotless in this conflict. Either way, they were children. Aries floated to the top of his mind and he felt her telling him it would be wrong to attack these misguided children who had no idea what they were getting into. He smiled as Cid's face appeared, smoking as usual and telling Aries to f*ck the kids, saying they deserved it for starting sh*t in the first place. Even after all this time, his only friends still comforted him.

The big man had collapsed and Vincent kicked him roughly with his pointed boot. Blood covered the metal, adding to the many bloodstains on the once-silver colored alloy.

He pulled out two materias and placed them on his Death Penalty.

"Cure3," he whispered at the same time as "Sleepel."

The children's wounds healed instantly as they were bathed in a glowing green light. The big man also grunted and was healed. A tiny faerie looking thing came down from nowhere and touched each with its "wand," making all twitch once before slumping over. Loud snores came from the five, the loudest coming from the Blob. Vincent's sensitive ears twitched but, as accustomed as they were from sleeping in the same room as Barret, he ignored the sound.

"What do you want to do with them?" he asked, acknowledging Ororo for the first time. She couldn't speak for a minute, mouth working soundlessly. Finally, she threw back her head and laughed. Vincent shrugged and leaned over, trying to work out a way to carry all five of the enemies back to the hotel, where he assumed they'd be questioned for information.

Vincent realized that his self-mourning period was over. He glanced at the skies. Lucrecia, forgive me once more for the manner I set you aside…

"I'll carry them," Ororo exhaled loudly and then summoned enough wind to lift the five unconscious bodies from the ground. Vincent ran fairly fast to keep up with her and her powerful winds and they reached the hotel in short order. About ten students had been outside, talking and enjoying the cool air, when the two walked onto the grounds. The entire body of students fell silent. Ororo dropped her powers, exhausted from the usage, but keeping her calm attitude up for appearance sake.

She gave the students a collected glance, metally telling them that nothing happened, and walked into the hotel. The students quietly returned to their conversations and soon the incident was forgotten.

Less then a minute later, Professor Xavier, followed by Ororo, Logan, and a few others Vincent never knew. The blue one in particular caught his eyes but he didn't stare.

Not that it stopped them.

Vincent ignored the dozen of eyes gawking at him and the five unconscious bodies beside him. The one with glasses stood like a leader, at least over this special group of children. None of them looked over twenty, an interesting fact since he assumed that they must be the fighters of this school. Age didn't matter much, not in his experience anyway. Yuffie proved that theory.

"Vow, man. You must be like, der super man of mutants," the blue creature stated admirably, his accent thick.

The girl with dark brown, tinted with crimson, hair, save the twin white streaks on either side of her head, whistled. The other girl, hair pulled up in a pony, scrunched her face. "Like, what are these geeks doing here? Shouldn't they be back in Bayville?"

The leader, the one wearing the red glasses, took a long look at Vincent and stepped back. "Woah, what's with your eyes?" he asked, then immediately blushed. "I mean-"

Vincent glared.

The red head girl beside him looked back from the unconscious on the ground to Vincent until she saw his claw and gasped, drawing the attention back to Vincent. Vincent kept his face emotionless, use to such reactions. At least-

"Oh wow! What's dat? How did you get that? So cool!" the blue one went one, face excited.

"Kurt, don't scare him away! Geez," the two-tone girl snorted, but she was grinning at the sight and looking Vincent over for some unknown secret.
"Man, I heard you were old but what's with your hand? Did they like, run out of real hands back then so they gave you a metal one?"

Vincent blinked under the attention. Ororo, Logan, Xavier and the older two watched with obvious amusement. Vincent was, to say the least, not sharing the hilarity.

He was almost grateful as their questions were cut short by the faint groaning of the children. Vincent noticed that the other children from outside had already been shepherded in by Logan. The hotel's front lawn was now empty and it was open country, good in case a battle broke out.

::What power did you use on them?:: Professor Xavier asked.

"It's called Sleepel," Vincent replied. When he realized that the children were looking at him in wonder, he also realized that no one had spoken aloud. His whirled to face the old man, face a mask of alarm.

::Don't worry. It's my power. Telepathy- communicating through the mind as well as some other mental abilities:: The professor was giving him a faint, knowing smile.

How do I know-

::That I won't search your mind? I give you my word that I will only take such steps if its necessary::

Vincent frowned at the last part and the children had caught on. "Talking vit de professor? Vat about?"

"Kurt, stay out of their bus'ness. It ain't your part to be gettin' your nose in ev'ryone else's stuff."

"Whatever Rogue, you know you want to know too."

"What's that supp'se ta mean?"

"Chill it, you guys. This is nothing to be fighting about," a new student walked out into the grounds. He smelled of fresh soap. Vincent noticed Logan's nose twitching at the smell and put the new fact in his memory. Logan had superior senses as well.

"Evan! You finally got out of the shower!"

"Ya took long eno'gh," Rogue complained. "Now all Ah's got is tha cold wata."

Evan shrugged. "That's what you get for letting Kitty push me in the mud. You know how hard it is to clean all these spikes?"

"Ah didn't tell her ta push ya in the mud! And anyway, it's yur own fault ya let yur spikes out an' got'em all dirty. Twan't nothin' but mud."

Kitty and Kurt were giggling like crazy at this mock argument, the time Vincent took to quietly cast another "Sleepel" again. Unfortunately, just as he opened his mouth to whisper the words, everyone went quiet to watch him. Especially the professor.

"Sleepel," his whispered, though it seemed like the words echoed through the empty lawn. As before, the tiny faerie appeared, happy to be free once more of its confinement and in the work of its master. It floated a little longer then necessary, touching its magic on the ones on the floor before disappearing again. Vincent shivered as Shiva's kiss chilled, reminded of how much these creatures wanted to be free of their confinement. No one noticed the small green stone glowing from its spot on his armor.

"Amazing," Xavier murmured as the Brotherhood dropped once more, deeply asleep. Vincent didn't comment at the words, staring at some far off space.

Chaos growled.

"Vincent, that's your name?" Evan asked. Everyone sat inside now. Logan and Ororo gone off to check on the other students. Vincent nodded once sharply. "And Valentine, like the holiday?"

Vincent didn't answer but Kitty giggled. "I already asked that one," she complained good-naturedly.

"And?"

"Yup, February 14th it is."

Kurt zapped into the room, startling Vincent. No one noticed him quietly putting the Quicksilver back into his back pocket. "Do you guys vant someting to eat?" he offered, carrying a bowl of popcorn.

Rogue, Evan and Kitty dug in but Vincent shook his head when offered. "Vy not?" Kurt complained.

"I do not need to eat," Vincent replied shortly, ignoring the wide mouths that remark caused.

"Do you need to sleep either?" Charles asked, rolling into the room from where ever he had gone. On his heels, the two older teens followed. Vincent remembered their names. Scott and Jean. From the other children's talk, they were as close as Cloud and Tifa were when he went to sleep once more.

Vincent shook his head to the question.

"Weird. So, what do ya do? Are ya really a vamp?" Rogue asked, popping a handful of popcorn in her mouth. Vincent recalled Yuffie asking that same question when he'd told them of his needs- well, the things he didn't need. Again, he shook his head.

Logan and Ororo walked in at the same time. "They're all asleep. Least, they will be if they know what's good for them," Logan stated, his last statement directly for the pair of girls trying to sneak around in the room next door. Vincent heard them pause and then sneak back up to their rooms, trying not to attract Logan's attention. Ororo smiled at the antic.

"Good. It is time for introduction," Charles announced as he wheeled to an open spot between the two couches, enough room for his wheelchair. He tilted his head at Vincent. "Would you prefer us to start?"

Vincent shook his head. "It does not matter."

"Very well. As you probably know, I am Professor Xavier. I am also a mutant, meaning I was born with special abilities. I have telekinetic powers- I can enter people's minds, making them do or fell whatever I want them to." Vincent narrowed his eyes. "However, I prefer not to do so."

"Actually, he's one of the most powerful mutants around," Ororo stated and the others murmured sounds of agreement. She smiled at him. "You already know me and my abilities."

"Hey, I'm Rogue. I…borrow other mutants powers," Rogue said, her voice a little unsure of how to state her powers. "I just touch them and ya know, things happen."

Kurt took her silence as his turn to speak. "I'm Kurt but I'm also called NightCrawler." He smiled widely, white teeth odd against his blue fur. "I can transport anyvere I choose, vithin a certain distance. And I can go invisible!"

"Kitty, and I go through walls." She shook her head. "Not a good thing, sometimes, cause people tend to think you'll do anything for them."

"I'm Evan and I can create spikes. It helps stop the really fast people." Evan smiled at the reference.

Vincent looked to Scott who fidgeted under his cold gaze. "Scott Summers and I got…you can call it laser vision," he pointed to his red glasses.
"I'm Jean Grey and I'm also telekinetic but not very strong." She smiled sheepishly. "I can move things with my mind."

Logan shook his head. "None of your business."

Charles gave Logan a hard look but let it pass. He then turned to look at Vincent. "There are many questions we have," he told the silent man, "but we can wait if you wish to."

Vincent watched the scene unfold a bit, noticing the eager expressions on everyone's face, with the exception of Logan who watched him with mild distrust and a little confusion, as though he sniffed something he couldn't name.

"I can tell whatever I can," he announced. "But it is a long story."

"We have all night and all tomorrow if there's need," Charles prodded. Vincent nodded. "Shall I start with my story, or the planets?"

"Which ever is fine," the professor replied.

Vincent sighed. "I shall start with mine, it will help you understand."

He took a deep breath and began.

"I do not know how long ago this was. It is too long for me, that is all I know.

"On this planet, there were only several large towns and the rest of the world was undeveloped. The largest city, with many million inhabitants, was called Midgar. It once was several small town but the towns banded together to form the single city. Before long, a man stepped forward to claim the city as his own. His name was ShinRa. An evil man to say the least, he built large plates over the city, each of the plates supported by pillars that could be detonated by the push of a button. For a time, Midgar prospered. After that, ShinRa prospered while the rest of the city began to rot. ShinRa, fearing that others would try to kill him to take his power, created a special group of bodyguards to protect him as all times. I am, or at least I was, someone called a Turk. Perhaps it should be something instead, because a Turk is not really a person. "To become a Turk, you have to die and come alive, living only for the missions. As a Turk, I destroyed countless hundreds because it is what ShinRa wanted.

"Eventually, Midgar became nothing more then a piece of dying planet. The poor lived beneath the plates, called the slums, while the rich lived on top of them. In the slums, there is no sunlight-only artificial light. The air is dirty and anything wept. By that time, ShinRa had enough power he didn't have to worry about public relations. The entire city was corrupted, the blackest spot on the planet.

"I progressed very far in my career, namely because of my skill with guns. Any type of gun, I could work with skill. At first, I was a hired assassin, killing off those who worked for a better Midgar as well as those who dared to speak against ShinRa. They noticed my talent and I became a Turk.

"I felt nothing when I worked for ShinRa. He would tell me to kill a child because he thought it was ugly and I would kill it because he thought it was ugly. The Turks were feared, becoming the demons of the city. We were everywhere, we heard everything. No one was safe." Vincent paused a moment, staring at some far off point.

"ShinRa, however, wanted more power."

"He decided that the way to do that was to suck the planet dry of its blood, called the Lifestream. In seven sectors of Midgar, he planted deep Mako Reactors. Mako is essentially Lifestream, some to the surface. Mako is also very dangerous- it causes mutation. It also, when added in the right amount, can increase a person's speed, strength, senses, and power. When ShinRa discovered this, he enrolled scientists from around the globe to research a way to safely inject a person with Mako. They did and ShinRa created a while new breed of human. SOLIDERs.

"They were the best. Anyone of them carried enough pure destructive power to destroy half of the world. To control them, ShinRa drilled them insanely with measures to insure their complete loyalty to him. At the same time, a single scientist discovered a living life form which he theorized to be a Cetra, an ancient race that supposedly came to the planet long ago and never left. The Cetra were rumored to have extraordinary powers like communicating with the planet and there was even a 'Promised Land' that all Cetra go to after death. The descriptions of the Promised Land made ShinRa greedy one more and he endorsed a project that would combine the cells of the living specimen with that of SOLIDER. They code-named that specimen JENOVA.

"They did not know that Jenova was actually an alien life form that came to the planet, nearly annihilating the Cetra 2,000 years before.

"The project, called the Jenova Project, stated that by combining the two different cells, a superior race would be introduced."

"You mean they actually experimented on humans?" Kitty asked, face drawn up in disgust. She shook her head. "Any nobody tried to stop them…" Logan looked into his hands, face expressionless.

"They did, many times. But, the Turks were always there to silence the stray voices. The brave died and soon no one spoke out." Vincent stated this with such calm, like he was reading it from a book but his right hand was clenched so hard it drew blood. He stared at it a moment, surprised to see his anger manifest itself as such.

"With my talent, I was in a way upgraded to the Jenova Project. There, I was supposed to protect all of the scientists with my life. There…I met Lucrecia."

Vincent stood suddenly. "I'm sorry, I cannot speak," he apologized and neatly ran from the room.

-----

Jean sat at her room's window. Outside, a shadow dared to defy the sun. She blinked. It was the new mutant, though she had yet to see his powers.

Did he even have any?
Her eyes narrowed. What if her was an enemy, trying to get through the X-Men's defenses. If that was what he had meant to do, he was succeeding. Well, she wasn't about to let him get away with it.

Convinced that she wasn't invading another's privacy any more then she was protecting the X-Men, Jean stood and braced herself. She still wasn't anywhere near the professor's power level but she considered herself able enough.

Vincent hadn't paused in his activity, what looked like a flurry of action too fast for the eyes. Jean gathered her nerve, not knowing what to expect, and closed her eyes, spiraling her hands towards the black shadow down at the ground. She focused completely on the person down there, loosing herself from the real world and entering what she had been looking for.

Everything was black. That was what she first noted. Not surprising- the professor had once told her that most people used little of their brains, leaving the rest as empty space. She shivered even knowing that it was all mental, literally.

The black mist, if that what she could call it, didn't seem as empty as the professor had described it. Instead, it was like a shroud hanging over a library. She felt out with her hands. Shelves and walls covered in scrolls and books. Jean winced and intensified her powers, breaching the shadows for a moment. Each book looked used, beaten up to say it lightly. Off to the side was an area her powers couldn't touch, dark, stormy, and coming closer. Jean brushed the feeling of danger away and tried to look through the many books. Each only crumbled in her hands only to reappear in its original position. The shadows were coming closer. Jean narrowed her eyes, determined not to leave his brain without something to show for it. A single piece of paper, as if in conjunction with her thoughts, appeared in her hands and she scanned it before the shadows came closer and there was a loud roar…

-----

::Vincent::

Vincent fairly ignored the voice in his head, focusing everything into the motions his body performed. His muscles begged to be stretched and his aim was a little off. He had meant to shot the man- Sabertooth- in the chest. The shoulder was unacceptable. He had discovered a little machine that shot mini hoops, about an inch in diameter, across the sky. The center of each ring was marked by a tiny red dot. He had been shooting for the last ten minutes, thirty feet from the machine. He hadn't missed once.

The professor wasn't the only thing bothering him at the moment. Beside his own mind mentally dismantling him, Chaos roared to allowed time to fly. In a way, Vincent agreed with him. The beast hadn't been let free in how many thousands of years. It wasn't begging to destroy and kill, just a chance to soar across the skies. But nothing that evil could do something as simple as just fly when let loose. Vincent now wished he hadn't knocked out those children again. Had he given Chaos a target, he would feel better.

::Vincent::

Someone had tried to enter his mind. That person lay now, spent and tired but unhurt. Whoever it was got out in time before Chaos attacked. Vincent's eyes tightened. He had been foolish to believe that the telekinetic would honor his promise of psychic silence. To compensate, Vincent would keep his mental and physical guards at maximum.

Death Penalty and its brothers lay discarded a few feet away, each having had time spent on it, being taken apart and cleaned with fanatical diligence. The machine was quiet, put back where it was found. Vincent turned his attention to his claw, tuning it and cleaning it with the same diligence but with a slight touch of hate. How Hojo would laugh at him now, forced to take care of the thing he hated most. Well, not most, Vincent corrected as Chaos roared in the back of his head. He wondered if time had affected the beast. Probably not.

::Vincent::

The voice was hardly heard as he sat high in a tree, mind blank but full in a trance. He felt the breeze, smelled the coming rain, heard the rustling leaves. He felt the land come alive and lived with it, memories of Wutai brought to the surface and the many things the elders had taught coming with them. Patience. Tolerance. Wisdom. Ignorance. The lessons ran through his head like repeating melodies.

"Vincent."

His moves were precise and accurate, most ready to kill while others only to stun, knock out, or make afraid. He paused a moment as he realized this voice was not inside his head. Beside his guns and armor, his discarded cape covered the small brown bag and the many tiny gems inside it. His boots had also been taken off but two long, jagged daggers hung at his belt, showing that he was never completely unarmed.

The professor watched him silently, followed by a suspicious Logan and the half dozen or so of the X-Men.

Vincent bowed his head, paused midway between attacks. He noticed them watching him curiously and stepped back, feet together, to watch them back. "Yes?"

"There is only a day or so left of our vacation," Charles announced, "and I was wondering, do you plan on coming with us back to Bayville?"

Bayville? "If it is acceptable."

The professor smiled. "All right. Everyone is going back to exploring the country. If you wish to go…"
"No thank you," Vincent shook his head. He lifted his claw. "This has frightened people since it has been put on, as well as my other shapes. It is best that I avoid people whenever I can."

"Then perhaps you care to share your story with me while the rest leave?"

Vincent looked at Xavier in the eye. His red ones glowed. "If you wish."

-----

"I met Lucrecia. She was one of the leading scientists. She was also going to be the one giving birth to the child, the experiment, a thing she took great pride in. The night she gave birth, her husband Hojo abandoned her on her deathbed to begin working on his son. I…did not agree. In fact, I went down to argue with the scientist but he shot me."

Vincent pointed to himself. "Physically, I am dead. I have been dead since the moment he shot me point blank. Hojo decided that it was not enough. He gave me this body, this claw, as a reminder of him always. He also gave me…some gifts."

"Gifts?" Charles probed, sipping at his tea. The hotel was silent.

Vincent shook his head a gave a cynical smile. "If you can control me, completely, I will show you."

Charles nodded and they went outside.

-----

"They will be all right. It's the professor I'm worried about," Logan grumbled.

"Still, leaving them alone like that-"

"I told them. Each of them have their own group of students to take care of." Logan twisted in his position to look at the three following him. "If you want, just go back there. I'm not even sure what I'm worried about."

"Logan?" Ororo asked.

He sighed. "That guy…he doesn't smell like a mutant. But he smells like something else. I can't explain it."

"He can smell pretty good, too," Jean whispered. "I got the sense of it accidentally. I was just going to talk to the professor yesterday and felt Vincent and…"

"And?" Scott pressed.

"I got in his brain for like a second and something else was in there." Jean shivered, covering up her lie. "Like a shadow. I swear, it felt like his mind was going to devour me. So I turned tail and ran out of there. But while I was there, it was amazing. You should see the memories this guys has." She looked them all in the eye. "It's all true."

"Why don't you just show us them?" Ororo suggested. Jean smiled. "I'll do that."

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the memory she'd copied from him. There was a little guilt but she pressed it away.

"Vincent!"

Vincent turned away from the setting sun to look at who was calling him. A huge dog, tail burning bright, crossed the distance to seat beside him. "Nanaki," Vincent murmured respectfully. The dog yawned and fell to his feet.

"Why are you the only one that calls me that?" Nanaki asked. "You can just call me Red."

Vincent turned back to the setting sun over the valley. "I know how important it is to be called by your real name."

Nanaki grinned. "Why? Don't you like it when Yuffie calls you-"

"Hey Vinny!"

"Speak of the devil," Nanaki laughed as a teenage girl with her hair cut short, wearing short shorts and carrying a huge, pointed star-like weapon ran up.

"I found you!" Yuffie exclaimed…

They blinked.

"A talking dog?" Scott wondered aloud. Logan shook his head.

Ororo looked down from the tree the four were crouching in. "They are coming outside," she whispered.

All four went still as Vincent and Charles came out. Logan frowned. "There's that scent again."

Vincent began to say something that didn't carry but the professor nodded his head. Vincent kept walking, coming rather close to their tree. "Quiet!" Scott ordered. Logan rolled his eyes and Ororo smiled. Jean went still.

Vincent stopped about ten meters short of their tree and took off all his weapons once more. He discarded his coat, lying it carefully into a little pile. His face went still with concentration. At one point, he looked up into their tree and froze, face wide with fear. Jean was about to ask what was wrong when Vincent's body began to shake. He clutched at his head in pain and fell to one knee. They could see his mouth working but no words came out.

"Shit, we gotta do something," Scott leaped from the tree, followed by the other three. Charles' head snapped back as he saw them.

::No Scott, wait!:: he tried to warn them but it was too late.

Vincent's mouth went slack and then ripped open into a scream.

His arms went around his body and just as Scott, Logan, Jean and Ororo reached him, his head lifted up and he disappeared.

Just like before, Ororo thought. But this time, I got left here. She remembered Shiva and shivered. What god has he called.

To answer her question, a purple beast stepped from the void. Its taloned foot made the grass wither and it hunched slightly, like it carried an unbearably heavy burden on its back. Two long horns snaked its way from its forehead and its long snout snorted, mouth drawing back like an evil grin. Scaly and completely purple, except the bit of orange hair on its head, it let back its head and roared.

The Galien Beast was free again.

"What is that?" Scott demanded.

Logan snarled. "That's the smell," he confirmed. "Something that's not right. Want to complain about my choices again, Summers?"

"Quit arguing," Ororo interrupted. "That thing isn't suppose to be here. We should attack while we have the chance."

"What is it?" Jean asked.

The Galien beast hadn't stopped roaring. In fact, it was laughing. Laughing at its more powerful brothers, mocking them with the opportunity it had received, the opportunity they weren't offered. Freedom once more. It sniffed. It had been some time. Suddenly, it was angry. If it had wings like Chaos, it could fly. But it didn't. It became frustrated. Why didn't it have wings? It stomped the ground. Chaos laughed at it, making it angry. What could it attack? The four humans watching it carefully drew its attention. It snorted, trying to bite the puff of smoke that came out but gave up when the smoke disappeared. Now what was it going to attack?

A shot of red hot laser sent the Galien Beast flying. It wasn't hurt. The energy was in a form fire, its element. Now it knew what to attack. It could hear its master telling it not to, threatening never to let it out again, and it hesitated. It liked the air. It liked the grass. It liked to stomp. Its mouth drew up into another wicked smile and it began to stomp, enjoying the feel of the grass dying beneath its feet. It stomped loudly, harder and harder until another laser beam hit it in the chest. Again. It was beginning to get angry but it liked to be free.

It could hear another human arguing, trying to talk to the others in their minds, but it smiled and scrambled the thought. The four couldn't hear what this other one was trying to say. It thought it was funny so it snorted again and tried to catch the mysterious black smoke that came from its nose but it disappeared. Another energy beam hit it and now it was angry. It yelled at its master, telling him that it was being hurt. The master didn't say anything. It turned to face the four, now very angry. They backed up and the one with the red eyes sent another laser its way. It snapped at the weak energy and stomped at them, telling them to leave it alone. They were confused but another laser hit it in the chest. It grew angrier and this time charged them. One of them came up to attack it. He tried to cut it but its skin was too tough. It hit this one away and looked for the one that kept hitting it with the fire beam. It stomped. It felt something and suddenly its vision went out. Now it was night. Night meant cold. It shivered as everything went black. It didn't like night. It didn't like cold. It turned in circles but everything was black. Suddenly, the Galien Beast screamed and it was day again, not cold night. The one by himself, just sitting, looking stunned. It didn't like the night and it screamed again.

Vincent reappeared, breathing heavily and leaning on his forearms. He was back on his feet momentarily, swaying to where his dropped articles were.

"What was that?"

Scott dropped into his dizzy vision but Vincent ignored him, reaching down to reattach his cloak.

He heard a growl, the only warning he had as Logan sent him flying across the lawn.

"Logan!" Kitty yelled. She stood near the front of the hotel, away from the battle but able to see what was going on. Behind her, students trickled to a stop at the scene.
It seemed like everyone was back early. Or was it the time they were supposed to be back? Vincent shook his head, mind still reeling from the effects transforming had on him. It didn't help when your allies took your weakness to attack you. Vincent stood to his shaking knees, face still emotionless. He had forgotten the first lesson the Turks were taught: allies could never be trusted. Another mistake. His record was not improving since he awoke- first with coming with the strangers, then trusting them to keep their promises and now with lowering his guard to the point that they could attack him freely.

He checked to make sure he had everything when he realized he'd left his guns back by Logan. Vincent leaned his head on his hand a moment, allowing his enhanced healing to clear his head a moment before making his way back to where Logan was.

"You want some more?" Logan growled and brought his iron fist into Vincent's unprotected stomach. The man collapsed on Logan's fist, coughing dark spots of red onto the ground. Logan shook him off and stepped back. Vincent groaned and worked back to his feet. He waved through the black spots on his vision to where his guns were and fell back to the floor. Eyes shut in pain, he began mechanically clipping them apart, checking to make sure they hadn't been tampered, and then clipping them onto his belt.

By now, the entire student crowd had gathered at this display of violence, mouths opened to great O's. Ororo and Jean were frozen to their spots and Scott winced to see the burn marks he'd inflicted on that demon showing up on Vincent. There was a connection but he couldn't figure it out.

Charles cursed his luck. Whatever that Galien Beast had done to stop his mind control, it hadn't worn out. Vincent had moved away quite a distance to protect both the professor and the hotel, telling him that the thing he'd transform into hated the cold. They'd agreed that if anything got out of control, Xavier would make the Beast think it was cold, making it transform back to Vincent. If nothing happened, it would transform back on its own will once it had enough fun. Charles had tried to confuse it but it had deflected the telepathy and even muted his powers temporarily. He feared that he wouldn't reach Logan to stop the violence in time.

The students couldn't believe that Logan, one of their better teachers, was beating up the new guy, for no apparent reason. None of them had the power to stop him separately and they hadn't enough training to combine powers. Besides, Logan knew what was best. Right?

Vincent felt Chaos rising and shuddered, not even feeling Logan kick him to his side. The Galien Beast listened to him a little and wasn't nearly as strong as Chaos. With each attack, Vincent's sense reeled farther away and with them went his control. Vincent struggled to his knees just as Logan sent him flying yet again.

Hojo would be loving this.

Vincent struggled back to his knees much quicker, managing to get to his feet in time to see Logan's fist coming for another stunning blow. Something he had to be glad about. Logan had of yet to take out his claws. When he did, Chaos would be unstoppable. Not only would it be mad about be kept locked inside a human body so long, it'd be determined to kill whatever tried to kill the body that served as a ticket to the human world. He dodged the blow, surprising Logan who gave him enough time to call up the magic he needed.

"Cure3!"

Logan stepped back as Vincent was bathed in green light. When the light went away, Vincent stood there, completely healed.

Not completely. Vincent's head still felt a little disconnected and bruises kissed his entire body, making him since slightly and hiss in pain. Blood trickled down the few wounds the spell didn't heal but he was mostly intact.

Logan stepped uneasily, unnerved by Vincent's quick recovery. Apparently Vincent had the same healing abilities he had, though he could control it. Logan went for a fast and furious end to the battle, claws coming out with a swish. Bending his neck slightly, Logan charged, aiming both claws out and high.
Vincent leaped back out the way, landing on his hands. He shoved his body back again to his feet, feeling Logan moving back in for an attack. He did several flips, each bringing both Logan and him farther away from the rest of the school. Each flip he made was followed by a close whoosh, signaling Logan's ever close claws. Vincent took a moment to swipe with his own claw, knocking Logan from his feet. Logan grunted as the ground disappeared and flipped to his feet. Vincent was moving fast and was reaching forward with his claw. Logan had a bad feeling and tried to get to the man before something happened.

"Kjata!"

Logan reached Vincent just as the man looked straight into his eyes-

And disappeared.

Logan barely caught himself from falling over and leaped around, suspecting some sort of teleportation spell. No one was there. No one at all. Everyone was gone. Logan snarled at the empty air, trying to figure out what had happened.

The sky darkened. Ororoy clouds rolled in and purple lightening raced.

From behind him, a horse neighed. Logan turned again and was dazed to see an eight-legged, purple horse wheeled on its hind two legs, the other six legs kicking at the air. A black bridle was the only restraint on the horse, jutting from its snorting muzzle. A man with a white, skull-like face stared mournfully at the land around him. Two horns looked to jut out of his head and his black eyes took in the scene. Logan's eyebrows raised at the sight so that he jumped back when the man withdrew a huge, purple sword from the Ororoy clouds. The man, Kjata?, leaned back on his mount and took aim. Logan looked for whatever this man was looking for but saw nothing. The man threw the sword like a javelin. It skimmed through the air and dived into the goal- a single spot of blue against the black clouds. Kjata smiled grimly at his accuracy and patted the mutated horse comfortingly, taking this time to glance around the changed planet.

Logan heard a hiss above him and instinctively raised his forearms, yanking his head back. His moves were almost too late- the sword sliced cleanly through both of his arms and embedded itself almost a foot into the ground. Logan stared at the sword, eyes wide and pupils dilated in immense pain. Kjata leaped from his spot on the beast's back and stalked to the gasping Logan, putting a foot against Logan's shoulder and yanking his sword out its landing position. Kjata called his horse and, as he began to fade from the normal dimension, he bowed his head ever-so-slightly to the appearing Vincent.

Without the sword holding him up like a spear, Logan collapsed. His wounds began to heal without any obstacles in the way but even the healing didn't stop the pain. In front of the entire school, Logan faded from consciousness without a sound.

Whatever spell had held everyone back from helping Vincent during the unfair fight was broken as Logan twitched on the ground. The X-Men crowded around the man anxiously. Vincent, his being intact, walked to the professor who's head shook slightly. Vincent bowed his head. "It seems like I bring the curse of my existence wherever I go. Not even the years can dull the shadow. I should go-"

"It wasn't your fault," Charles spoke. He motioned to his still wheelchair. "I don't feel like myself at the moment, would you mind bringing me to Ororo?" Vincent put his hands to the two hand bars and began wheeling the professor across the lawn.

The journey was passed in silence. Everyone moved back as Vincent drew close, becoming silent. Xavier smiled. "Now children, you should have learned a lesson here." He stared at them all with a comforting presence. "Never underestimate your opponent."

A few scattered students laughed uneasily at the joke, most of them waiting for an explanation. "While you were gone, Logan remained behind to test our newest associate, Vincent Valentine. As you can tell, he's passed with flying colors." Everyone's face relaxed and they even smiled.

"Guess not ev'n Logan's invincible," Rogue smirked even as the said person began to groan. The other students began to speak once more while Jean, Scott and Ororo shifted uneasily from foot to foot. The professor gave Ororo a meaningful look and she nodded.

"All right, everyone. Today's the last night we have here but that does not mean you won't be going to bed and waking at the normal times. I expect everyone to be asleep within," she glanced at her watch, "the next forty-five minutes." Groans and moans sounded and the children began shuffling back into the hotel.

::X-Men, we need to speak::

Xavier's voice seemed far away and a little muffled but they understood. As the untrained students talked loudly about the day's events and cried about the impending departure, the small group stayed behind and gathered around the waking Logan.

His arms were still bleeding heavily and Vincent fingered his armor hesitantly. He made up his mind and whispered "Cure."

Like Vincent was before, Logan was covered in a green light and awoke fresh and healed- for the most part. He blinked a few times and his natural healing powers cleared his head of what Vincent's magic could not. "Wh-what happened?"

The junior X-Men giggled at his bewilderment but stopped at the professor's stern expression. "You were misinformed. Luckily, no permanent damage has happened."

Vincent assesed those words. Charles closed his eyes briefly, focusing. :: Vincent, don't blame them. It was not their faults entirely::

Logan looked up and saw his opponent standing ominously beside the professor and tried to leap back. "What are you?"
Vincent glared. Kurt looked between the two of them, sensing the tension crackling beneath the surface."Vat's going on? I thot you said-"

"I'm sorry, Professor." Jean shook her head. "We weren't suppose to stay. We were suppose to go with you guys but…"

"Logan didn't feel right. To be more accurate, he said that something smelled wrong," Ororo finished, looking expectantly at the impassive Vincent.

"Man, you guys should've seen it!" Scott exclaimed enthusiastically, if slightly tense.

"What was that?" Evan asked, looking at Vincent. "That dude on the weird horse?"

"Yea. It had like twenty legs!" Kitty shook her head. "Looked way powerful." Vincent said nothing.

"Logan, you must learn to trust me," Charles chastised off to the side while Ororo, Jean, and Scott occupied the other X-Men.

Logan growled. "I know but, that guy- he ain't human."

"Neither are we, by normal standards," Charles shot back calmly. Logan winced. "You are allowed to come and go as it pleases you with no questions asked by me. I cannot allow you the same privileges that I deny others, especially to those who need it. Vincent has just awoken from a sleep in a world that is vastly different from that he last knew. I can't have you fighting, especially not in front of the children."

Logan hung his head and exhaled loudly. "Alright, but I gotta tell you, I don't trust him." Charles gave hi a look. "But I'll trust you."

"Good." They wheeled back to the others. "Would you like to finish your story?" Charles asked a while later, ignoring the stuffed look on Logan's face. The X-Men now sat outside in the cool air, explanations in order. He noticed Vincent's changed demeanor and quickly added, "You can skip over the painful parts."

Vincent sighed, silently thinking that he had never wanted to relive his story after telling it to Cloud that night in the Mansion.

"I met Lucrecia during my mission in Nibelheim. She was to be the mother of the child they wanted to use as a guinea pig. Even though I was a Turk, the Jenova Project sickened me so much so that the night after the child's birth- an innocent by the name of Sephiroth, I personally went down to argue with the main scientist in the Project, a man by the name of Hojo. As I told the professor earlier, Hojo was upset and shot me, essentially killing me. But Hojo, twisted and perverted from the Project, thought death was too kind a fate for me. During his free time, Hojo would come into the mansion and experiment on my dead body. I no longer know what he did to me, only that he brought me back to life and gave me my expert abilities."

He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small bag, spilling the dozens of small, glowing gems.

"I have an affirmity with Materia, which is concentrated Lifestream." He pointed to the several different types. "The planet's Lifestream sometimes, very rarely, comes together in the form of these jewels, called Materia. Each piece contains special magic. I have learned that it takes great skill and power to effectively use Materia, the reason why not everyone can use them."

"Fascinating," Charles commenting, lifting a yellow Materia to his eyes. "I myself can feel some special energy in this but I admit I have no idea how to use it." The other X-Men had each lifted a sphere and were muttering awed statements. Logan watched Vincent carefully. Vincent had quickly gone over his early life with no real emotion but Logan felt there was much more left out.

"That particular one is called Death Blow," Vincent stated. "It allowes its users to attack enemies with a great amount of damage. However, it usually misses." He pointed to the different colors.

"There are different types of Materia. Green means that it is magic- it can do magical attacks like Fire, Ice, Bolt and Comet. Magic Materia need nothing else to work, simply enough power to open their spells."

He pointed to the yellow orbs. "Yellow mean Command, or magic that will have a direct affect on an opponent or on yourself. Death Blow greatly increases your power for a limited amount of time and Sense," he pointed to a yellow Materia held by Kitty, "allows you to tell how strong your enemy is, what their weakness is and so on."

"Support Materias are the blue ones. Support Materia can do nothing on its own but can greatly add to your offense or defense." Vincent picked up a blue one and snapped open his gun. There were about a dozen little holes, all filled in with Materias, and he eased one out, replacing it with the Support Materia. "This materia is called elemental." He aimed at a far-off tree and took fire.

The bullet hit it dead on and it exploded in half. Both halves were soon nothing more then cackling flames. Logan's mouth dropped open. "I linked the Elemental Materia with a mastered Fire Magic Materia. The bullet itself is very powerful but its fire abilities are because of the Elemental Materia- it creates an added affect to my attacks."

"Violet Materia is independent. It doesn't have to be linked to work and its magic is something that only works for the user, like HP Plus. It raises my vitality, essentially giving me more life. Cover also raises my vitality but for a different reason," he held the purple ball, "If I use Cover, I cover all of my teammates, taking most of the damage out of their attacks. I'll be the one getting hit most of the time."

Vincent paused to see that everyone was keeping up and smiled faintly. Their eager faces reminded him of new, unblooded Turks or Yuffie on a good day. He preferred the later. "The last type of Materia is summon. It summons creatures from different dimensions or planes of existence to help out, in battle or elsewhere." He held out a red glowing globe for all to see. "Each different summon has its own name and element. This is Phoenix. It's the legendary fire bird. When you summon it, Phoenix will attack with an extremely damaging fire attack. It also heals anyone in your party if they've fainted."

"Fainted?" Ororo prompted.

"If I become too weak to fight and fall unconscious- or even if I have just died, I've Fainted. It's a state of being slightly above having died completely, meaning that your soul is so completely evaporated with the Lifestream that it cannot come back. When ShinRa was in power, the scientists created several formulas, trying to test how long a body can be dead before being revived. They came up with a concentration of Phoenix blood mixed with Mako of the highest quality, calling it Phoenix Down." Vincent fished through his pockets and withdrew a small white package. "I can, with this, revive nearly any of my allies of opponents."

"Wirkich?" Kurt breathed, eyeing the package incredulously.

"Vincent, what is the Lifestream? You mention it several times but I do not understand what you are talking about when you say it's the blood of the planet."

Vincent drew back his head in complete surprise. "You do not know?" He shook his head. "I…The Lifestream is what the planet's energy, what its blood and life is called. The Lifestream is where the souls of all that live, no matter what it is, go after it dies." Vincent recalled his own father telling him the very same information, when he had been a child of Wutai, supposedly the next warrior to guard the heir. Then the war came…" I know no other explanation to tell you. The Cetra, also known as the Ancients, are the caretakers of the Lifestream, even in death. The facts are that the Lifestream is not only the planet's blood, it's its protection as well. Lifestream created, in my time, great monsters to destroy Jenova. And when Meteor nearly hit, the Lifestream joined Holy to protect the planet."

He was met with blank stares from the last few sentences. Vincent blinked. "You understand the concept?"

Charles nodded. "Yes. But…you've told us of Jenova, what of this Meteor?"

"The child Sephiroth was grown to a man, continuously under tests and experiments by his demented father. He was brought up under the belief that his mother was a woman named Jenova. Sephiroth became a SOLDIER of the highest rank, known simply as the General by most. Eventually, he discovered a twisted truth. He was sent on a mission to Nibelheim, the city that once existed around here, and there he discovered in the bottom laboratory of the ShinRa Mansion hundreds of documents talking about him and the experiments he was put through. The documents explained almost every part of the JENOVA Project. However," Vincent's eyes narrowed with the memory, "Hojo tampered with the information, never writing down the truth of Sephiroth's birth. Sephiroth was led to believe that he was the true son of the alien Jenova, that he was above the human race.

"That belief, spurred on by the many years he suffered under Hojo and ShinRa, drove him insane. Jenova took the opportunity to possess him. Sephiroth burned Nibelheim to the ground but was stopped by Cloud Strife, a regular guard in ShinRa's army. It was thought that Sephiroth died but he rose again, five years later, and continued his round of destruction.

"During the entire time, I slept in the basement of the ShinRa Mansion. Cloud and his friends, Tifa Lockheart, Aries Gainsborough, Barret Wallace, and Red XIII- the last of a dog-like warrior race whose real name was Nanaki, eventually took the time to sort through the puzzle Hojo had trapped me with and freed me. I joined their party. From there, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cid Highwind, and Cait Sith- a robot controlled by a man by the name of Reeve, joined us as well. Our mission was to stop Sephiroth while destroying ShinRa in the process.

"Many things happened during that time. ShinRa still had Turks, four members by the name of Tsang, Reno, Rude, and Elena. Sephiroth controlled Cloud in order to gain control of the Black Materia, materia that summoned a meteor from the heavens to destroy the planet. Aries gave her life to initiate Holy, the only materia that could counter Meteor. The Lifestream gave birth to magnificent beasts, known as Weapons, which we fought and defeated. Sephiroth confronted us in a final battle on the northern continent and in the Crater. So many lives were lost but the planet was saved.

"After the crises was over and Jenova was defeated, I returned to my sleep. The planet was left in the protection of Cloud and Tifa. Barret went back to his daughter, Cid resumed his project on space travel, Yuffie took up her position as queen of Wutai, Nanaki guarded his home, Cosmos Canyon, and Reeve shut down Cait Sith, returning to his job under Cloud's leadership.

"After Jenova, the planet stopped producing materia and Mako reactors were torn down. Cloud took the money we had gathered and bought all the materia from store owners, returning most of the materia back to the planet. He kept the materia we used on our travels, all of them mastered. They were given to me for safekeeping." Vincent paused, making sure he didn't forget anything. "I have slept from then until you awakened me. The creatures locked in each materia feels anxious to be used, having missed the smell of the planet."

"You forgot to mention your demons," Logan grunted from his spot.

Vincent didn't move but his eyes locked on to Logan. "That's because they are mine."

"So, you guys, like, saved the world?" Kitty asked. She laughed and laid down. "That's awesome. We did something like that only that it wasn't like that, you know? With Magneto."

Kurt fingered the materia in his hands. "Can I use this?"

Vincent shrugged. "Only those with affirmatives to Mako can use materia. ShinRa used to test the populations, seeking out materia users."

It was very dark now, almost dawn, but no one was tired.

Ororo raised a hand to shove hair from her face. "Your story is almost unbelievable," she murmured. "So staggering."

Charles checked the time. "It's very late. We need to be going in the morning. Logan, Ororo, can you get them to bed? Vincent…I don't know what to say-"

Vincent stood. "I would like to walk around. As I told you, I do not need any sleep. I would prefer to use this time to see how the nearby area has changed." Charles nodded.

"Can Ah go with 'im"? Rouge asked impulsively.

"Ja, me two!" Kurt joined in when Charles gave Rogue a questioning look. "It'll be like how I vas, when I first came to Bahville." Soon, the other X-Men were crowding around the professor, all asking to accompany Vincent.

Charles scratched his baldhead and glanced at Logan (scowling and shaking his head) and Ororo (thoughtfully considering the idea but no decision) and shrugged. "It is late," he reminded them, "and we are leaving in the morning." The children all let out a collective groan. "But, if Vincent agrees, I see no reason why not."

Vincent stepped back as they turned to him. His bright red eyes widened. Before long, he had nodded and stalked off, leaving them to catch up with him.

Rouge looked up at the stars. "That un, we call Orion," she informed, pointing out the collection of stars. "Some legend 'bout a guy who was strong or somthang."

Vincent nodded and pointing out the North Star. "It was called the Cetra's Light, the light they used to land on the planet," he whispered to her ear. "I imagine it's called something else."

"Man, ve are like miles avay from anyvere!" Kurt complained, stretching his arms out. "My knowledge is useless out here."

"Hey, Rogue, where'd you get so smart about nature?" Scott asked.

They were walking through the woods again, a scattered group with no real order. Kitty was walking towards the relative front with Kurt not far away while Jean and Scott hung closer to Evan, Rogue, and Vincent. Everyone else had given up the walk and went back to bed.

Rogue shrugged. It's in mah blood, Ah guess. Or else all the time Ah spent outside." She pointed to the Cetra's Light and whispered back, "We call it the North Stah but Ah like yur name bettah."

Evan absentmindedly sent out a barrage of spikes.

"What?" Vincent froze and stared up at the spikes landing far ahead of them. Evan grinned. "Sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Can you do that again?" Vincent asked, red eyes burning with a purpose. His hand had snaked its way to his belt.

"Uh, sure." Evan took time to aim. The rest had stopped walking to see what was going on. Evan pointed his finger up and swoosh sent a couple tiny spikes up in the air.

Vincent whirled, eyes trailing the spikes. His gun was out and he let out three quick shots. All the spikes fell to the ground as ash.

"Wow, cool!" Kitty squealed, not thinking the walk a waste of time anymore.

Scott brushed his hair back. "You're good," he allowed. Jean was gaping.

"Cool? That's not even close!" Kurt appraised, tail twitching in excitement. "Can you do more?"

"What's that about?" Rogue asked, curiously. Vincent let a moment go by before answering, "I wanted to see if I could hit it."

"Oh."

"More?" Evan asked, an awed smile on his face. Vincent nodded affirmative.

Shot after shot, the spikes came down like burnt twigs. At first, Evan thought it amusing but he grew bored quickly and tried for some aerobatics, wanting to see if the awesome newcomer was up to it. To all of their amazement, every shot brought down its target. Big or small, Vincent didn't miss.

Scott stepped forward. "How do you do that?"

Vincent eyes him a moment. "Practice," he replied quietly. "And a good teacher."

"Show me?" Vincent blinked and everyone waited until he nodded.

"Don't try to hit where it is now!" Vincent ordered in his even voice that, nevertheless, made his new student wince. He pointed with one of his claw's fingers. "It is there, now. But when you shot," the metal finger moved across the sky, "it will be there."

Dawn was kissing the sky as the horizon's edge. The only people up were Scott and Vincent. Evan had held out the longest, gathering his own tips from the teacher before falling asleep on his feet. Vincent had sent him back then, despite protests that the mutant wasn't tired, not really. Scott could feel sleep tugging- more like yanking at his eyelids but adrenaline was still pumping. The lesson had taken to small rocks Vincent threw into the air. Despite his training, hitting such simple targets was proving to be…difficult, to say the least.

Especially when Vincent made it a point to throw over a dozen at the same time, expecting him to blast each before they hit the ground. While he also threw tips he expected Scott to catch. At the same time sleep was crying. Scott shook his head and geared up again for another test.

"You have to see where the target will be when you're bullet- energy hits it. And aim to that place." Vincent drew back his arm. "And you must be ready for much opposition." He released his grip and a dozen tiny, almost invisible rocks went flying.

Scott dived into action. He hit the more obvious ones first, the ones he could see. They fried quickly under his vision. Then came the tiny ones. Five…six…seven, eight…four more…there! He blasted again, knocking the count down to two…one…The smallest pebble slammed against the ground, the sound echoing in Scott's ears.

Vincent strode over to the pebble and gave it a look over before tossing it over his shoulder and walking away.

Panic tore at Scott. "Your-You're giving up?"

"Are you?" Vincent asked, his eyes measuring in the gathering light.

"No!" Scott shook his head and immediately regretted the motion as his senses whirled. Adrenaline was slowing down now…

Vincent went on. "Then I am not."

"Then where are you going?"

"Look at yourself." Vincent stopped and turned, facing Scott completely. "You are tired, worn out and needing nourishment. It would be foolish to train further in these conditions."

"I'm not tired!" Scott denied vehemently.

"Then hit this," Vincent challenged, tossing the small pebble Scott had seen him throw away straight at him.

"Wh-a- ouch!" Scott crumbled to his knees as the rock smacked him in the forehead.

Vincent was next to him and lifted a hand to help Scott back to the hotel. Scott didn't argue. The hotel wasn't far away, only about five or so minutes of countryside walking.

Scott stumbled weakly to his bed, making sure his glasses were stuck firmly on his head, and closed his eyes…

-----