Chapter 3: The Renewed Search \ Witness to a Blessing
The rising sun shines down from the northeast horizon, lifting its light towards Hojo's laboratory like someone was pointing a lamplight at an object. Inside Containment Room X-4, Vincent slumbered inside his coffin. Like the living dead, he slept quietly without making any noise. As soon as the sun's light shined even brighter through the windows of the entire lab, every bio-engineer, scientist, and guard were now active; preparing some of the items for the experiment's search. Hojo was up and alert as well, heading down the stairs to the containment room to wake Vincent. He presses three buttons in a particular order, immediately opening the shutters in front of the containment glass.
Hojo then heads to the com device and activates it, speaking into it to the slumbering Valentine, "Its time to wake up, Vincent." Upon hearing his creator's voice, Valentine wakes up in a groggy daze. He shuffles a bit inside his coffin to try to return to sleep, but unfortunately someone opens the coffin lid, shining sunlight onto the pale skinned former Turk. The one who opened the coffin lid was Hojo himself.
"Graahh...Stupid sun," groaned Vincent, guarding his eyes from the sunlight. "This isn't the time to over sleep. Today is the day to begin your task. We talked about this yesterday, remember?" said Hojo. Valentine grumbles, but cooperates in fear of getting shocked by the electric collar still around his neck.
"First of all...We need to make you alittle more presentable. For so long, I bet you deserve a good bath," said Hojo, wanting to clean up the experiment to make him 'presentable' for the search, "One more thing. This is the only time that the collar will be removed, but if you do anything foolish; sedation will take you down at its best. Don't do this to yourself if your wise." Valentine nodded in agreement, knowing that the wisest choice was to behave for the time being. A female and a male scientist guides Valentine into one of the shower chambers with sedatives in hand.
As the three entered, the male scientist removes the collar from Valentine's neck. "Don't do anything foolish. We'll clean up your outfit while you take a well deserved shower," the male scientist said to Valentine as he began to remove his clothing. The two scientists gave the experiment some privacy during this and took his cloak and clothing to clean up. During the process of his clothes getting washed, Vincent took his time in the shower; making sure to wash everything, especially his long, black hair. In the mids of the shower, a strange feeling overcomes Vincent, This feeling was familiar to him, it was an urge from an awakening mating drive.
The hormone sedatives were wearing off and his mating instincts were waking up once more. Valentine breathed through each wave, fighting it off by his own will. Without the sedatives, no matter if he disagreed, his will power wasn't enough to fight the effects of a ticking biological clock. Vincent prayed that these urges would lessen and disappear for awhile. After his shower, Vincent was handed with his clean outfit, along with the electric collar around his neck once more. Vincent was ready to go on the search, but there was one thing left before he embarked on his trek. Hojo, carrying a vial of hormone sedatives and a syringe, walks to Vincent.
"Hold on..Before you take off, lets make sure you get your dose of sedatives for your hormones. Hold still," said Hojo, preparing the syringe. This actted like a relief for Vincent, due to what happened in the shower. The former Turk remained still for his creator, allowing Hojo to inject the sedative at the back of his neck like many times before. With the sedatives coursing through him, Vincent relaxed.
"There ya go. Now your ready. The other Turks are waiting for you in helicopters, so you better change into Chaos to get to them," said Hojo. Without the experiment noticing, Hojo placed a tracking chip into the inner part of the collar. Hojo was determined to not lose Valentine and control of the situation. "Don't fail me and the others," said Hojo. Vincent nodded in response. Vincent becomes enveloped in a black aura and his eyes change from crimson red to lunar gold. Vincent changes form into the bat winged demon that bore a metallic red crown and a really pale, metallic colored face. This was Chaos, the most deadliest form that Vincent can turn into.
The demon flaps his wing up and down, raising him higher into the air and through the open door to meet up with the Turks. Flying around in their helicopters, the group of Turks waited til Vincent\Chaos arrived by air. "When will he show up?" asked Rude. "Don't know...We'll just have to wait...Hold on a sec," Reno replied, soon interrupted by a flying object heading towards them.
"Is that him?" asked another Turk. Reno squinted his eyes to make out the details on the flying object. The object flew closer, revealing all its details. "Oh, yeah. That's him," answered Reno. Flying closer to the two, Vincent\Chaos glided his way to the Turk group like the king of the skies. He stops in the middle of the group, hovering in front of them as he continues to flap his wings.
"Hey, you made it! Ready to go?" asked Reno. "Yes, I'm here now. Lets get started on this search and find those SOLDIERs," replied Vincent\Chaos. The Turks nodded and split into teams; while the demonized former Turk flew around solo to search for the remnants and the two SOLDIERs, but would this include Zack as well, or Angel? Farther away from the groups' location near the Forgotten City of Black Water, Zack and Angel arrive at the hideout of Sephiroth, Cloud, and the remnants.
"So this is where you and your parents live?" asked Zack. "It is. Its our hideout away from the Turks and the company. They're still searching for my mom and dad," answered Angel. As the two walked towards the door a few feet away, they spot Cloud walking out.
"Dad! I'm home!" cheered Angel. "Angel. Your okay! I'm so happy that neither ShinRa nor the Turks captured you," said Cloud, hugging his son. Angel hugs back.
"I was at a Mako Reactor last night. It was abandoned, but I found a remade SOLDIER. He knows you very well. He's right here," said Angel, pointing Cloud to look towards the black haired SOLDIER with him. Almost immediately, Cloud recognized him. His memories suddenly reawakened of this SOLDIER, deep within his soul.
"Zack? Oh, my god. Your...Alive?" asked Cloud. "They remade me, but I'm not their SOLDIER anymore. At long last, we can be free once again. Of course its me, Cloud. Who else could I be?" answered Zack. The blonde approaches Fair as if he was an illusion. Upon further examination, Cloud realized that Zack was real and alive. The two embraced in a brotherly hug.
"Zack. Your alive. Your really alive," said Cloud. They hugged for a few more seconds; then broke the embrace short. "So..Is Sephiroth here? Angel told me he's here with you," asked Zack.
"He's resting right now. Right now after last night, he's expecting once more," said Cloud. "Expecting? He must've been in heat last night. Since they remade him to be a hermaphrodite, how long is the pregnancy? Is it a full nine months?" asked Zack.
"The pregnancy is accelerated. Its three months long," answered Cloud. "Three months! Damn!" exclaimed Zack. The two finish their conversation and head inside the hideout. The trio heads to the living room area and settled for a bit til Zack went to visit Sephiroth. The black haired ex-SOLDIER sets down the laptop on top of the table, giving him enough time to stretch his arms.
"Well. I better go see what old Seph is up to; other than being a second time mom," said Zack. "Be easy. Sephiroth's resting right now," replied Cloud. Zack gave a nod and went to look for Sephiroth. He looks into each room to see if he can spot the former hero, but to no avail; Sephiroth wasn't in those rooms. He heads to the last room on the right and peers into it, spotting the former hero laying down asleep; wrapped by his single wing. As the black haired ex-SOLDIER approaches Sephiroth, the former hero begins to stir by Zack's presence.
"Cloud?" asked Sephiroth in a groggy daze. He slowly opens his eyes and looks to see who was in the room. With his eyes fully open, he spots Zack standing right next to the bed. This made Sephiroth's eyes widen. "What? Zack...Your alive. Did Mother bring you back from the Lifestream?" asked Sephiroth.
"They remade me, but I'm not their SOLDIER anymore. I'm here to help you guys through this," answered Zack, "I see you have a single wing. I can understand why Angel inherited this, but on the left side." Sephiroth sits up in surprise; then gave his traditional smirk.
"You're really alive. Come here," said Sephiroth. Zack did what he was told and approached Sephiroth. As he approaches the edge of the bed, the former hero lifts himself up and embraces the ex-SOLDIER; wrapping him up with his single wing. Cloud walks into the room and spots the scene unfolding, instantly giving a silent smile.
"This brings back so many memories of the three of us back when we used to been with ShinRa's SOLDIER forces. You, me, and Cloud. Now Mother brought us all together again," said Sephiroth. "It does. Its good to finally see you again, Sephiroth," replied Zack. Cloud walks into the room quietly and joins in.
"We're finally together again," said Cloud. The other two turn to Cloud and hugged him as well, embraced under the One Winged Angel's single wing. The setting sun lowers down into the horizon with its fiery glow of red orange and red. Zack is introduced to the three remnants: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, who are now starting to call Zack 'Bigger Brother'.
"I never knew Sephiroth had any followers. Nice to meet you guys," said Zack, shaking hands with the remnants. Sephiroth sat on a sofa with Angel as he fixed up his son's hair with a comb and brush. "Mom...Your embarrassing me," groaned Angel.
"Shhh...You know you need your hair fixed up," said Sephiroth, continuing his task. "After I broke out, I managed to take some people of ShinRa out and stumbled upon something. They're still searching for you and Sephiroth, but now they're using a new project that is just as deadly as Project JENOVA. Its called 'Project Chaos'," said Zack, remembering about the findings he uncovered at the Reactor where he met Angel.
"Project Chaos? What's that one about?" asked Sephiroth. Zack opens up the laptop and turns it on, revealing the files of Project Chaos that were stored into it. "Project Chaos, researched and funded by none other than Hojo himself...Is about creating a bio-weapon as a super soldier using the DNA strands of the Chaos genes. So far, they did this to a Turk that betrayed ShinRa and the others for something about trying to stop Project JENOVA. I'm not sure about that part," said Zack.
"Gezz. They're doing this to Turks now? This Turk must've done something bad," said Kadaj. "Yeah, I agree, too. This Turk was remade to be perfect. Empathic, telepathic, able to shape shift into his entity forms, vampiric in some aspects, possesses regeneration capabilities, superhuman stamina, strength, and speed, and one heck of a sharp shooter. What's worse, they remade him a 'Hermaphrodite' as well, but this time they're sedating his hormones to keep him under control," said Zack.
"No..It can't be. It has to be this Turk named 'Valentine'. Back when I was in SOLDIER then, that was the only time I heard of that name and what happened," gasped Sephiroth. "It is. Their Turk subject is named 'Vincent Valentine'. Here's a picture of what he looks like now," answered Zack. He presses a few keys and a picture of Vincent appeared on the screen. As always, his long black hair was alittle messed up.
"Whoa," the remnants awed. "This picture is of one of his forms, called 'The Galian Beast'. Its like a werewolf with a silver mane," said Zack, revealing a picture of the Galian Beast. Cloud was appalled by the features.
"It gets worse. This is the picture of the most powerful form Valentine can take. Its the leader gene that is like a demon in essence. To this day, I still don't know where they found this gene. Its the form of 'Chaos'," said Zack. He then brings up the picture of Chaos, the very demon that was far worse than Galian and Vincent combined. Sephiroth began to get anxious, "What the hell is that thing?"
"The end result of Project Chaos. With the genetic modifications finished, they made him deadly and perfect. We're in big trouble. If he's searching for us with the Turks; then a first encounter could be our last," said Zack. This made Angel extremely nervous, "Mom..."
"We must stay hidden til the baby arrives and til Sephiroth recovers. Then we have to move to the mountain range hideout to divert their attention," said Cloud. "Cloud. I don't want to burden you guys, but since Vincent is a player in this game; its not going to work. He'll prowl around as Galian, or fly around in the sky as Chaos. This former Turk was made to be relentless," said Zack, trying to get the handle on the situation.
"We have to try. Please. Its the only way we know. We have to try," pleaded Cloud. Zack understood this plea; then begins to think. After a few minutes of thinking, Zack comes up with a strategy. "I got an idea. Kadaj, you and your brothers keep an eye out as our eyes for Valentine. If either of you see either his human form, Galian, or Chaos, wait til he's gone from the area and head back here. If we keep an eye on his locations, that way we can predict to leave sooner than later," Zack instructed.
"Yes sir!" answered Kadaj. The remnants then head to their motorbikes to act as the group's eyes from the outside. "Thank you," said Cloud. Zack nodded in return. During the course of Two months and three weeks, the group remained at their current location without being spotted. The remnants returned from their search by midnight, hoping to spend some time with their 'Lord Sephiroth'. Zack enters the room to check on Sephiroth, now heavily pregnant with a week to go.
"How are you feeling right now?" asked Zack. "Bloated and tired, but its always the same. I'm so nervous with Valentine out there," answered Sephiroth.
"We'll make damn sure he doesn't come near you and the baby. I won't allow him near you," Zack assured Sephiroth. "Thank you. I can tell the baby is happy as well, its moving a bit with joy," said Sephiroth. Zack moves towards the former hero and places his right hand on Sephiroth's swollen abdomen; feeling each movement the baby made inside. Cloud comes into the room in time for bed, spotting the sweet moment. Sephiroth turns to Cloud, giving a smile.
"Its time for bed," said Cloud. On cue, Angel and the remnants rushed in to the former hero's side after the tense moment between him and Zack. For the remainder of the night, the group stayed together as a team; protecting Sephiroth at all costs. The last week passes like it was fast forwarded by remote. As they've been doing for three months, the remnants kept a vigil for any signs of Valentine as if this was a life or death mission. "I don't see him. Do you think he flew to another town?" asked Loz.
"I don't know. At least he's not around. Lets make sure he doesn't see us from any angle," answered Kadaj. The remnants keep their eyes open for any signs of Valentine. Hidden inside an abandoned building, the elusive Vincent is drinking away at a bottle of Vodka. He peeks out of the window, immediately spotting the remnants outside on their motorbikes. This was turning into some kind of a pattern to the former Turk. 'Hmmm,' thought Vincent. Responding to his thought, Chaos speaks to him.
'Hey, Vince. Have you ever noticed that everytime we stop somewhere in this area, those three are always around. What's the deal?' asked Chaos. 'I've been noticing that, too,' said Galian.
'Don't know. Are they following us?' Vincent answered. A moment of silence passes, giving the former Turk enough time to back away from the window to the right. 'Hold on..Those three are Sephiroth's remnants. Hojo said this to us a while ago. If those three are here...Then Sephiroth and Cloud are not too far,' said Chaos.
'Oh! That's why I've been catching Sephiroth's scent off of them from a distance. What should we do, Vinnie?' said Galian. 'We can follow them to those SOLDIERs. We'll follow quietly and cautiously, that way they'll take us to our destination,' replied Vincent.
'Thinking like a Turk, eh? Not a bad idea. Galian's a good prowler, he'll take us there,' responded Chaos, 'Hurry and finish your drink. We ain't got all day.' The remnants return to the area of the abandoned building; then out of nowhere, Loz's phone goes off.
"Brother..Your phone's going off," said Yazoo. "Oh. Hang on," replied Loz. He grabs hold of his cellphone and flips it open, instantly answering the call, "Hello?" Vincent peeks out the window with stealth, wondering what the three remnants were doing. After a tense few minutes, Loz finishes the phone call and hangs up.
"We gotta get back. The new baby is on the way. Lord Sephiroth went into labor ten minutes ago," said Loz. "There's no sign of Vincent. Lets go," said Yazoo. Kadaj nods in agreement and the trio hightails it back to their hideout in Black Water. 'Galian...We gotta go,' Vincent said telepathically.
'Lets do this,' replied Galian. Vincent rushes out of the building and quickly metamorphs into the Galian Beast. Like a predator of the jungle, Galian quietly prowls behind the remnants; not drawing any attention to 'himself'. Within three minutes of traveling to Black Water, the remnants arrive at their destination. The trio quickly gets off their bikes and rush inside to Sephiroth. "Lord Sephiroth! We're here!" cheered Loz.
"He's in here," Zack called out. The remnants rush into the bedroom, spotting Sephiroth laying in bed wearing the same knee length night shirt from Angel's birth. The former hero is in hard labor. "My lord. Its time! We didn't see any signs of Valentine," said Kadaj.
"That's good. Now lets worry about the new addition that'll be arriving any moment now," said Cloud. Angel was right next to his mother, making sure that things were going smoothly. Outside, Galian quietly walks out through the bushes. "So...This is where their hideout is," Galian said to himself. He reverts back to Vincent, cautiously walking towards the entrance while retrieving his tri-barreled revolver. He quietly sneaks in, armed in case of an attack. As quiet as the dead, Vincent searches the interior for the occupants; also hearing a commotion of groans and moans filled with agony. During the course of fifteen minutes, Sephiroth began to feel the familiar building pressure in his groin.
"I think he's ready to have this baby. Since he's given birth before, its going to go quickly," said Zack. "I'm ready now...I'm ready," said Sephiroth. Kadaj and Yazoo went to their lord's side, preparing to deliver the baby.
"Go ahead and push, my lord. We're ready as well," said Yazoo. Closer to the door to the bedroom, Vincent overhears Sephiroth bearing down to bring the new baby into the world. The former hero continues to bear down for his baby, bringing it closer to the exit it needs to get to. "That's it, Sephiroth, that's it...Keep going, my Sephiroth," said Cloud, cheering his mate on. Without any warning, the door bursts open; giving the former Turk a suitable entrance. The group reacts almost immediately. Zack brought out his sword, Cloud does the same as Zack; while Angel brings out his Claymore.
"He found us!" cried Loz. Vincent aims his gun at the hostiles in front of him. "Stay away from my mate! You come any closer..I'm going to cut you down," roared Cloud. "Stay away from my mother!" yelled Angel.
"Cloud..Sephiroth. By orders of Hojo, I need you to come with me. Those that I didn't call to will be terminated immediately," said Vincent. "Screw you, you freak!" roared Zack. Sephiroth panted from each push, worried of what was going to happen.
"My lord..Don't worry about that, lets have this baby," said Kadaj. Sephiroth nods and pushes down more. With a single turn of his head, Vincent then witnesses something that would soon change his objectives for an eternity. Immediately, Vincent becomes wide eyed, watching the blessed event with his own crimson eyes. Through Vincent's eyes, Galian and Chaos were doing the exact same thing. Sephiroth screams out in agony as the head began to emerge from the former hero's body.
"Cloud! Help me!" said Sephiroth. Cloud rushes to Sephiroth and holds his hand through the delivery. "That's it my lord, the baby's almost here. One more push, one more push," said Kadaj. Sephiroth gives one final push for the baby. Time soon slowed for Vincent as he watched the newborn slide out of its mother, covered with fluid and maternal blood. This struck a cord inside the former Turk's heart. Witnessing the love between Cloud and Sephiroth; it reminded him of his love for a woman named 'Lucrecia'.
'Vincent...I don't think we can do this. I'm a demon, I'll admit it; but this is something we can't do. What did ShinRa do to us?' said Chaos in remorse. 'We can't kill those people and take away the children from their parents. What kind of a monster are we?' questioned Galian. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Vincent speaks, "What did they turn me into?" Vincent slowly walks towards the group to veiw the baby closer, but Zack, Angel, and Cloud returned on the defensive.
"Don't even think about it!" roared Zack. "No...What he witnessed changed him forever. Let him come closer," said Sephiroth. Cloud was confused, "Sephiroth?"
"Trust me," answered Sephiroth. The group lessened their guard and allowed Vincent to view the baby closely. The newborn cooed in its mother's arms, flinging its little arms around through the air. Vincent wanted to touch the baby, but knew this is as close as he could get. "Its okay. I bet Sephiroth will let you," said Cloud. Even if the others were uneasy about this, but they went along with it. Cautiously, the former Turk reaches down with his non gauntlet hand and touches the baby. In response, the baby grabs hold of his index finger, giving sweet coos. Tears began to stream down Vincent's face.
'Vincent?' asked Chaos. "Vinnie?' asked Galian. With what he witnessed, Vincent has made a fateful decision. "I'm..Not doing what those fools told me to do anymore," said Vincent. Sephiroth looks up and immediately smiles.
"I'm through with ShinRa. I've had enough. I am not going to be their dog and let them order me around. If I live or die, I will make sure they suffer for this. This I promise you, I will leave you in peace and make sure they don't come this way. My lips are sealed of this location," said Vincent. "Thank you. Go, before they start looking for you," said Cloud. Vincent nods and leaves the group in peace, abandoning the objective he was given for the greater good. Taking form as Chaos, he flies away from Black Water to a far away mountain range, away from their second hideaway in the mountains. Reflecting from what he witnessed and observed, Vincent realized that since he too is a hermaphrodite, he could be a mother as well.
'Vincent...They're going to be mad at us. We failed when we told them that we wouldn't. Now what?' asked Chaos. 'I don't care anymore. I am not their dog anymore. I'm going to make sure they pay dearly for this. I am done with them. Now is the time to stand up for ourselves and fight back,' answered Vincent.
'I'm so happy for you, Vinnie. I guess we will be free very soon,' said Galian. Unknown to the former Turk, the harbinger of his punishment was heading towards him.