Greetings to you all! College has kept me busy, but here we go on steadily and surely. I hope you like it and once again thank you for reading it.
The Price of Freedom
†
Aftermath
Grimoire Valentine sighed discreetly, frowning; his worried gaze was fixed on his son's face, pale and serene, lying on a bed and immersed in an apparent deep sleep. The modest room on the top floor of the Shinra manor lay immersed in shadows that danced unformed by the light of a lamp placed on a nearby table, and from the window it was possible to see the lights of the small town of Nibelheim begin to fade slowly before the arrival of the night for the rest of its inhabitants, and the almost absolute silence prevailed on the deserted dependences of the old building.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the black-haired scientist reached out and gripped the Turk's left hand, and in his heart he weighed the long years of research he had done on Chaos mingled with the love he felt for the other man, both presented on a difficult and even heartless reality of which he only became completely aware when his deep knowledge about the Ultimate Weapon finally collided with Vincent in an undeniable and convincing manner.
And never before had he felt such great fear seize him, for hours had passed and his son hadn't shown any reaction.
Gently he stroked the younger man's hand, feeling his own trembling and cold against the other's skin, and closing his eyes Grimoire held the tears that insisted on wanting to slide down his face, and it was at this very moment that Lucrecia timidly entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
She looked at her former teacher; the scientist was extremely dejected while her friend still remained inert on the bed, and her countenance filled with pity and equal concern. Approaching them with silent steps, she set down a glass of water on the table and laid a hand on the man's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Grimoire lifted his face and nodded at the woman's veiled question.
The scientist stood, drank the water and cast one last glance at the younger man, caressing his face tenderly; Lucrecia waited, without daring to break the silence.
The black-haired man stepped away from the bed and approached the door and Lucrecia followed him; together they left the room and walked silently down the hall to the library, where the scientist finally collapsed into an armchair and let the fire in the fireplace warm his body that had become completely cold with the weight of worry on his shoulders. Lucrecia sat down on a nearby couch and watched her former teacher as she searched for the right words to say to break the uncomfortable silence.
Grimoire sighed discreetly, watching his own hands. He could feel the wave of curiosity emanating from the other scientist, and he could imagine the innumerable questions that ran through her mind from which now he inevitably would have to answer, and although he had the subject as something extra personal to himself, as a precious thing in his heart, he was aware that now he would have to reveal the truth to Lucrecia and hope that she kept the secret.
"I found him in the snow twelve years ago..." The man whispered after a few minutes in a low, tired voice. "I was conducting a field research in the north of the frozen mountains of Icicle when I saw him. He was alone, unconscious and almost completely buried by the sudden storm that had arisen over the region."
The scientist closed his eyes and could relive the memories clearly, as if they had just recently happened.
"I never imagined that I would find a boy in that situation; he was in a deplorable condition, torn clothes and extremely debilitated health, I brought him immediately to my research center and took care of him until he was able to recover consciousness. When I finally managed to talk to him I found that the boy didn't have any recollections of who he was, where was his family or what had happened so that he had come to rest unconscious in the midst of a snowstorm."
Grimoire looked up and met Lucrecia's gentle gaze.
"I was lost in what to do." He told her in a whisper. "I tried to look for any signs or clues that could lead me to his family, but there was no sign of people or tracks within a mile of where my base was located, and the boy stayed with me at the research center all the days that followed while I remained in Icicle."
"This place..." Lucrecia spoke for the first time since they'd entered the library. "By the studies that we have it is in theory one of the places where the Cetra had lived centuries ago in the past."
The woman inquired curiously.
"Were you researching the Cetra?" Grimoire nodded in agreement and Lucrecia proceeded. "How did you find out he was one of them?"
The man smiled slightly.
"He was different from how you know him now, Lucrecia… His appearance was remarkably distinct. I did detailed examinations of his blood and compared them to the few and poor fragments of genetic data we had in our database. The result was a perfect match, a complete combination like science has never seen before..."
Grimoire passed his hands on his face and stared at her.
"You glimpsed a small part of it today in the lab... When you saw the real DNA hidden in his blood react to the stimulus provoked by the essence of Chaos."
Lucrecia leaned back against the couch, her gaze gleamed with admiration.
"That... was just incredible..." she whispered and for a moment her scientist side lit up at that unexpected discovery. "For so many years we have been searching for miserable remnants of anything that could tell us more about our origins, about the creation of the universe and about the Cetra, and here now... there is a living being who is a Cetra!"
A broad smile spread across the woman's face and she stood to walk through the library.
"How many things could we find out with Vincent's help?! How many advances science could have with studies carried out from now, not based on assumptions but on real, tangible samples? How many lies could be undone and how many scientists would stop belittling our researches and our efforts of years, to finally show society the collaboration that the Cetra gave us! That the Cetra still exist!"
"I don't care about Shinra's Science Department." Grimoire's voice sounded gentle, but firm and resolute and Lucrecia stared at him with confusion and astonishment.
The black haired man's gaze softened then; Lucrecia was still too young for science and there were many things to be learned, though she was an extremely intelligent and skilled professional, worthy of the academic title she had earned. She wasn't to blame for wanting to delve deeper into the knowledge that the unexpected discovery offered her now, and she wasn't to blame for the flaws in character of most of the scientists with whom she divided the space in the labs at Midgar. He couldn't condemn her awe at knowing that Vincent is a Cetra, but he couldn't allow this knowledge to be revealed to others, just as he too would conveniently keep the second part of the secret related to Chaos's reincarnation only for himself, for her own sake.
Watching his former student with an intense gaze, the scientist spoke.
"Lucrecia... Few professionals really have passion and respect for science… From the esteem you have for Vincent, I know that you would treat him well, but as for our colleagues at Shinra... Could you affirm with 100% certainty that they would do the same, knowing how they are? Would you put your hands in the fire for them? While a few studies to really contribute to the increase of knowledge, most wouldn't hesitate in occur to grotesque and illegal means to self-promote regardless of whether the price to be paid is someone's life."
The woman remained silent; in her mind she remembered the work environment in Shinra's Science Department and some of her colleagues, especially those who laughed and ridiculed the presentation of her thesis and she frowned, unable to contradict her mentor words.
"My dear..." Grimoire said then gently. "When I realized after three months that that boy wouldn't recover his memories and nobody came looking for him, I also realized that I wouldn't be able to just leave him in any city by himself to have his Cetra lineage discovered by someone who could come to use him as an experiment object. So… I found a way to hide his true genetic signature by merging it with my own DNA to protect his true identity and bring him to Midgar with me without attracting unwanted attention and managing to give him a normal life."
The black-haired man stood from his chair and without diverging his crimson eyes from Lucrecia, he proceeded.
"He is unique and he is the last of his race... But first and foremost, Vincent is my son. No matter the circumstances of life that brought him to me, he is my son and I love him above any kind of science that may exist in this world." Grimoire took a deep breath. "If I ever have to choose between my son and everything I have built in my career in the Science Department, I won't hesitate for a second to protect Vincent."
Lucrecia watched her former teacher feeling moved by the man's words and reflecting on science and about Shinra the brown-haired scientist nodded slowly in understanding and touched Grimoire's hands. She pondered and questioned in a low voice.
"Vincent... knows? ... Does he remember anything?"
"He doesn't remember anything that happened before I found him in the snow..."
Grimoire replied slowly, for his recent memories brought him to the earlier laboratory incident to his realization that his son knew about Chaos, though he wasn't sure of his son's knowledge of his involvement with the Cetra, and that was something he needed to talk to Vincent alone afterwards. Looking back at the woman he decided to follow the safe route and complemented.
"No... He also doesn't know anything about his Cetra lineage... I ask you to not reveal this to him yet, Lucrecia; there are things I need to consider before I speak to him."
The woman nodded in agreement.
"I understand... I swear I'll keep your secret."
Grimoire nodded; in his eyes there was only gratitude.
...
He was back in the stone city; the smoke-clouded sky was totally gray and the ashes plummeted like snowflakes, covering the full extent of the wreckage and what had been left after the inevitable attack. There were no people, only the emptiness and silence of a completely abandoned place.
Vincent walked down the main street, past vaguely recognizable locations until he reached the large main square. The warm breeze touched his face with the stench of burning and he automatically proceeded to where he had been with Guildark for the last time. He watched the ground for a long moment. Suddenly the seeming tranquility on the scenery broke and the Turk felt a disturbance in the Lifestream's fluids. Raising his face the black-haired man caught sight of a distant figure emerging amid the ashes and rising from the ground with perverse blue eyes that glared at him with relentless hatred.
Vincent awoke extremely confused, but willing. It was rare the days when he woke up with the sensation of a well night of rest despite the clear memory of the strange dream he just had. He found herself in an unfamiliar room and lingered for a while until he remembered the Shinra manor in Nibelheim.
Sitting up in bed he noticed Lucrecia partially asleep in a nearby chair with her head resting above her arms on the table; as soon as he put his foot down on the ground she noticed the movement and awoke, her brown eyes widening as she perceived him awake.
"Vincent, I'm so glad you finally woke! How are you?" The scientist asked him worriedly.
"I am fine." The Turk frowned; the memory of the recent events returning to him. "We were in the laboratory..."
"Yes, yesterday; there was an accident with the essence we were working on..." Lucrecia paused briefly, remembering her mentor's request, and chose to say only. "You were caught unaware by the explosion."
"My father!" Vincent inquired suddenly, sitting up straight and staring at the woman intensely. "Where's my father?!"
"He's fine, don't worry!" Lucrecia reassured him. "He's been with you all night and now is resting in the next room. We're all fine."
Vincent leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, the tension built on his shoulders broke and the man sighed at length. He had succeeded; he had altered the past and saved his father. Lucrecia's subtle touch was present on his shoulder as she watched him sympathetically, feeling the same sense of relief that her desire to advance the stages of the experiment hadn't resulted in a terrible tragedy.
"Hey, Vincent... It's okay. Everything is fine."
...
There was something different about him; wasn't visible or tangible, but he could perceive it clearly within himself, though he couldn't explain exactly what had changed.
Vincent closed his eyes.
The essence of Chaos that had burst into his body was there and exuded a sense of power and completeness as strong as he had never felt before while transforming or using his dark power during an emergency.
It was as if he had finally found a part of himself that long since had been lost.
He could feel the Lifestream fluids with even greater clarity, and around him the black-haired man felt the life of the planet pulsate as strong and steady as the beating of a healthy heart. He let himself be led by that sensation for long, silent and peaceful minutes until he was able to perceive the exact moment when a slight disturbance manifested itself in the energies that filled the old manor, recognizing the essence of his father down the hall approaching his room; two minutes later the scientist opened the door and entered.
Their gazes met and Vincent let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding; he watched Grimoire as if it was the first time he was seeing him after so many years of separation and longing. His father was standing there, looking tired and clearly relieved. His crimson eyes, always gentle and fatherly, looked back at him with the same intensity he had always grown accustomed to, and as soon as the scientist made sure the younger man was well, he cut the distance between them and crushed him into a strong embrace.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, son." The elder Valentine scolded in a whisper and Vincent felt him tremble in his arms.
"Forgive me, Father..." He replied in a low voice, embracing back the other man without feeling any real regret in his heart.
He was alive; his father's presence was the only thing that really mattered to him that moment.
Grimoire pulled away partially and touched the Turk's face with both hands, gazing at him intently with grave concern on his countenance.
"What you did in the lab yesterday was extremely dangerous, it could have cost you your life!" The scientist went on so quietly that only Vincent could hear him due to their distance from each other. "We don't know the real power of these essences, they are extremely unstable and Chaos..."
Grimoire paused, slowly shaking his head. He stared again into his son's eyes in disbelief and apprehension.
"You..." he whispered. "You know about Chaos!"
Vincent turned his head away to look at the floor, but nodded in resigned agreement.
"I know who I am, Father." The younger man replied.
"Since when did you find out? How…?" Grimoire inquired, then, widening his eyes with understanding falling on his countenance, he answered his own questions. "You remembered your past... Didn't you?"
The Turk showed no reaction.
"Vincent..."
Grimoire called out softly and the younger Valentine raised his face to look at him; his crimson eyes showed the undeniable truth.
"Why didn't you tell me?" The scientist asked then; in his voice there was a slight hurt for he had been kept in the dark.
Vincent smiled though it did not reach his eyes, filled with the shadows of many years past that his father would never be able to comprehend, for it involved not only the injuries of the present time, but also of another dark and cruel reality.
"Because in my past there is nothing but emptiness." The Turk told him. "My life just started after you saved me, Father... For me it doesn't matter the Cetra, Chaos or anything that might have existed before as a reason for me receiving this life... The only thing that matters to me is the present, right now, where I can have the attitudes and choices for the good of the people who are important to me."
Vincent laid his hands on the scientist's shoulders and whispered.
"You are my father... and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Grimoire felt moved and the tears fell back down his face once more; he smiled and embracing Vincent again, he told him.
"Oh, Vincent... How could I be even more grateful to the universe for having you as my son?" He inquired, and sighing, he proceeded with concern in his voice. "About Chaos... I'll still somehow help you figure out the answers to the questions you have."
"It's okay, Father." The younger man said softly, giving him a small smile. "I believe that everything has a meaning... When the right time is come we will find out together."
Grimoire ran his hand over his face to wipe away his tears, still thrilled, but returned the smile; his crimson eyes filled with the brightness of life.