The Coffin Room
By The Protector of Light (Lala the Heartless)
A Final Fantasy VII Fanfic
A young boy with silver hair sprinted down the long hallway of the basement. He didn't want to do testing today; he was sick of being stuck with needles and forced into endurance tests every day of his life. It wasn't something that Sephiroth believed that anyone would get used to. He just wanted to find somewhere to hide so Dr. Hojo wouldn't be able to find him for a while; he knew that if he ran away from the manor, he would certainly be captured without a problem. Regardless of his abilities, he didn't stand a chance against a team of ten SOLDIER members and their tracking hounds.
He hadn't been in the basement often and he certainly had never had a chance to explore the dingy rooms before; he always was accompanied by an escort of Dr. Hojo and several guards. He knew that they were scared of him; he didn't know why though. He just wanted to be a normal kid. It was his eighth birthday after all. He knew how to fight, for sure, but he didn't really want to hurt anyone. That was why he was going to hide rather than fight his way out. Fighting would just make Dr. Hojo happy. He hated that the scientist was his father… he hated the man so much. He was punished if he even touched the man: not being able to have physical contact with anyone, let alone your own father, was hard on any child.
Sephiroth noticed a door, fairly well hidden in the cave-like wall; this would be as good as anywhere to hide. There was a simple lock on the door; Sephiroth had it removed with one swift motion. He opened the door with caution and slipped in, closing it behind him. He turned around. To his surprise, he saw the room contained several coffins, all but one open. However, one was perfectly centered in the room and tightly closed. Sephiroth stopped breathing for a moment; this room was spooky… but it was still a great hiding place. He moved closer to the center of the room.
He froze in front of the closed coffin; he thought he heard… breathing. Was someone or something alive in there? His heart stopped; could it be one of Dr. Hojo's experiments gone wrong? The young boy knew he could fight off almost any monster that might pop out; and he had to make sure it wasn't someone or something innocent trapped within. He hated Dr. Hojo and knew how evil the man was… he didn't want someone to keep suffering at the man's expense. Sephiroth approached the coffin with confidence, moving to the side. He put his ear to the lid, trying to confirm that he wasn't hallucinating. He did indeed hear soft breathing within. "Hello?" the child asked, listening for a response. "Is someone in there?" He didn't hear an answer, but the rhythm of breaths changed ever so subtly, barely enough to notice. Something was in there and it was responding to his voice.
The child tried to pry off the lid; he could life the heavy object a few inches, but not enough to displace it. He peeked in and saw that there was indeed a man within; his eyes were closed tightly in an attempt to create the illusion of death. "Hello?" Sephiroth asked quietly.
Crimson eyes opened and a man's head slowly turned to face Sephiroth. The child jumped back, dropping the door with a thud. The lid slowly rose and was thrown to the side gently by a raven haired man clad in black leather and a red cape. The man sat up. "You should leave, child. The basement is dangerous."
Sephiroth stood for a moment, mouth agape with shock. He shook his head. "I'm hiding from Dr. Hojo… I don't want to do testing today." He calmed himself, reassured by the stranger's eyes that he meant no harm.
The man's crimson eyes squinted in an attempt to adjust to the little light that was in the room; Sephiroth supposed that it must have been far darker within the coffin. The man covered his eyes for a moment. "Hojo's experimenting of children now?" the stranger asked in outrage.
The silver haired child nodded timidly. "Dr. Hojo's my father."
The stranger looked into the child's eyes with sadness. "Hojo's worse than I thought… experimenting on his own child." His crimson eyes moved to stare into the distance.
"Dr. Hojo's a bad man. I know that," Sephiroth agreed. He felt like talking to this stranger; as though he could trust this man. "He keeps telling me that my mother is Jenova, but one of the SOLDIERs said her name was Lucrecia… she died when I was born."
The pale man's eyes rushed to look at the child once more; confusion was evident. "Lucrecia…" the stranger said quietly. He paused. "Tell me, child, what is your name?"
"I'm Sephiroth," he said. "Who are you?"
"I'm Vincent," the man said quietly. "You may hide here, Sephiroth. I doubt Hojo will think to come to this room for a while." He sighed. "I thought this room was concealed by a spell… I suppose I was mistaken."
"How long have you been in there?" Sephiroth asked.
"I'm not sure…" Vincent began. "How old are you?"
"Eight."
"Then eight years," the crimson eyed man answered drearily.
"How did you know from my age?" the child asked.
"I knew Lucrecia… she was pregnant when I was placed here." Vincent shook his head, seeming to be trying to keep his bearings.
"Were you one of Dr. Hojo's experiments?" Sephiroth asked while moving closer.
The dark haired man nodded. "Yes. But you need not worry about that."
The silver haired child gasped. "Dr. Hojo put you here then? Why?"
Vincent chuckled. "He never was fond of me when I was alive… when I wouldn't listen after his experiments, he put me in this room; he knew I would stay."
"You're here because you want to be?" the child asked. "Why?"
The man shook his head. "To repent for my sins."
Sephiroth looked at the man, puzzled. "What's that mean?"
"Do not worry about it, young Sephiroth." Vincent looked at the child with kindness in his crimson eyes. There was no fear; no hatred or malice.
The child sighed. He wanted to pressure, but he didn't want to end the conversation; this was a new experience: a real conversation with no questions on how he was 'feeling' or 'doing'; no studying. "What was Lucrecia like?" Sephiroth asked.
"Wonderful," Vincent said simply. It was obvious to the silver haired boy that the description was all that was necessary in the man's eyes; as if it was the most important trait. "She was beautiful, wise, and kind."
"Oh," Sephiroth said. "I wish she was here."
"I wish she was here for you too."
The child felt at peace in the presence of this strange man. He moved closer. He studied the dark haired man's face… and was surprised to see some of his own features; a similar nose, a familiar frown. Sephiroth tilted his head in confusion. "What… Could you be my… my father?"
"Unlikely," Vincent answered after an uncomfortable silence. "But possible."
Sephiroth was thrilled by the prospect. "Let's get out of here then!" he said excitedly. "We can make it if we work together!"
The dark haired man smiled… but his crimson eyes seemed sad. "I'm sorry, Sephiroth. I'm not safe enough to leave." Vincent sighed. "I am tormented by demons… they threaten to take over if I leave. I don't want to hurt you." He shook his head. "I will try to hold Hojo off if you wish to run away."
"But— I can't just leave you here!" Sephiroth said. "Dr. Hojo will hurt you more!"
The man shook his head. "I'm sorry… I just cannot chance it."
The child hugged the man tightly, thrilled that the gesture was returned. Sephiroth didn't want to let go. "But I want a dad. A real dad; like in the books!" he pleaded as he let go.
The man smiled. "And I would love to be your dad," he replied.
"Please!" Sephiroth begged.
Vincent stood up. "Let's try to get out of here," he finally agreed.
The child grinned ecstatically and ran towards the door… just as it was flung open. The dark haired man jumped in front of him protectively. "What are you doing out?" Dr. Hojo asked angrily. Vincent didn't respond; he seemed to be searching for a possible exit.
Sephiroth screamed as he heard a gunshot; he saw a bullet fly through Vincent's chest. The man fell to his knees, growling. He began to glow; Hojo fired another shot, walked over, and hit him over the head with the rifle; the dark haired man fell to the ground unconscious. "Why did you have to hurt him?" the child asked in anger.
"Now Sephiroth, he was going to hurt you," Dr. Hojo claimed as two SOLDIERs ran in the room, grabbing the child by the arms. "Take him outside and wait for me," the evil man ordered the guards. Sephiroth was tugged from the room as he watched Dr. Hojo pick up Vincent and place I'm back in the coffin, laying a large rock on top on the lid. The scientist came out of the room. "I hope you didn't listen to any of the man's lies, Sephiroth."
Sephiroth started to say something but paused; he heard a voice, or rather, a thought. "I can't do this for long… And likely I won't be able to do it again," he heard Vincent's voice say.
"Vincent?" the child asked silently, noticing that time seemed to have frozen in place.
"Hm," the voice confirmed. "I need you to listen."
"Okay." The silver haired boy waited.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't get you out."
"Are you okay?" Sephiroth asked, worried.
"I'll be fine… He put a new lock on the door though." Vincent sighed.
"I can get through it just as easy as the last!"
"No, Sephiroth, you must not," Vincent said sternly. "You will be in more trouble… and I might not end up alive, as now."
"Oh," the child said in sad understanding.
"Don't tell anyone what I told you; they will try to make you forget that you ever saw me." Vincent paused Sephiroth could tell that the man was in terrible pain. "But don't worry about me. I'm never going to give up on getting out of here and finding you."
"Promise?" the child asked.
"I promise. I will never hurt you… don't listen to what Hojo tells you about that. No matter what, I will never hurt you, Sephiroth." Vincent said with a sigh. "Act as though you never heard any of this; don't let him know."
"Vincent?" Sephiroth began. "I'll never hurt you either."
"I know," the pained voice said. "Goodbye… but I promise; I will see you again."
"No! Don't leave!" the child pleaded… but he could tell that the crimson eyed man was gone. Everything around him began to move again.
"That man only tells lies," Dr. Hojo continued his speech.
"He didn't say anything to me, sir," Sephiroth lied; and if he was anything, he was an excellent liar.
((Author's notes: I am fully aware that this is not canon in any way, shape, or form. I just like to think this. Now I have to change my strategies when I fight Sephiroth in the game… I can't have Vincent in my party in the final battles. Which is frustrating because he is always in my party; he's the best magic user after Aerith dies…
Expect more stories in this universe.))