Chapter 25 – The Final Piece

Shelke nursed a cup of tea while she organized in her mind what she'd learned at the reactor. She and the others were gathered at a table in the mess hall and her friends waited patiently for her to fill them in. With a gentle sigh, she began.

"Melios is stronger than we thought. I learned that Professor Hojo failed seventeen times to create a viable clone before finally perfecting his technique. The result is a perfect synthesis of human and Chaos genetic material where the human genetics are dominant and can manipulate the Chaos genetics on a molecular level with simple mental functions. In essence, the clone can change his physical structure the same way you or I would lift our arms."

"However, Melios can only do this partially. He does not have the ability to become Chaos completely without the power of the protomateria that Vincent once possessed." She sipped her tea and watched the liquid swirl when she set it down. "Hojo discovered that his clones were acting strangely at night. They spoke of things they hadn't been taught about that only Vincent would know. By studying their behavior he learned that they were linked to their parent genetic donor through the subconscious via his dreams. It seems to have been a byproduct of Vincent's already enhanced genetics due to the experimentation that was performed on him by Doctor Lucrecia."

"Hojo theorized that by using this link, a clone could communicate with you, locate you, obtain knowledge, and possibly even travel to your location in a matter of minutes. I am not entirely sure how he came to such a ridiculous conclusion but he seemed to think it would be possible using the Lifestream. If he was correct, this explains how Melios has been able to find Vincent so easily and so quickly."

"It also explains what he intends to use the protomateria for. As to his purpose, he was originally meant to take Vincent's place as the host of Chaos and serve Hojo in whatever future plans he may have had. However, that task is no longer possible since Hojo was killed. In the event of his death, Hojo left a final command that the clone obtain the protomateria by any means necessary and destroy everyone involved in his murder as a last act of revenge. The order states that the clone must fulfill this wish … or die trying."

Everyone at the table was grim with foreboding. Vincent finally spoke up a moment later.

"You're saying that if Melios manages to reactivate the protomateria, he will be able to turn himself into Chaos at will?"

Shelke nodded. "There is more to it than that, though. The clone will be able to take on the form of Chaos but he will still have to awaken the real demon in order to control it and use its power. Hojo never mentions how the clone will be able to do that. I believe he assumed that the secret to doing so would be included in the clone's own genetic material as it comes from you."

"The only time I was ever able to call forth Chaos was when I was grievously injured or enraged. Melios would have to do it the same way."

"Then we will have to find a way to trap him or kill him before he can do so."

Tifa broke in. "Vincent, didn't you say that Chaos returned to the planet after you destroyed Omega?"

"Yes, but he was linked to the protomateria. If Melios really can reactivate it, I'm sure he'll be able to draw Chaos out again."

"So what can we do to stop him?"

Shelke spoke up, "I came up with an idea on the way back to the ship that may work, if we are careful." She looked to Vincent. "Melios does not know where we are right now and I'm certain he has managed to reach the Northern Cave crater by now, for whatever reason. He will be searching for us. I think we should send out an invitation."

Vincent caught on right away but the rest of the group looked confused. He smiled behind his collar. "You want to set a trap." When Shelke nodded, he continued. "You think we can beat him?"

"He may be strong but he does not yet have Chaos' power and now that we know about your bond with him, we can use it to our advantage."

"How?"

"Since you know that your dreams are actually a link, you should be able to take control of that link and thus take control of your dream. You can give Melios whatever information you wish and even forcefully draw him to you. Also keep in mind that there are six of us to his one and he only believes he is up against three."

Vincent wasn't sure he wanted to risk it but the hope in the eyes of everyone around him made his mind up for him. With his friends depending on him, he would fight. "Alright, I'll try." Shelke touched his arm and drew his attention.

"One more thing. Melios knows you intimately, Vincent, but that knowledge goes both ways. Regardless of what he is capable of, he is still essentially a copy of you. Remember that."

"I will. When and where do you suggest we set our trap?"

"The Shinra mansion, tonight."

--

There was something different about the connection in his mind. It was muddier than usual. It couldn't have been due to distance; his prey could flee to the other side of the planet and he would still be able to find him. This was something else entirely. Could Vincent have figured out that they were linked?

Melios discarded that thought. Even if he had figured out that his dreams were more than just fleeting subconscious imagery, there was no way the man could have felt the bond from the other end or even been able to recognize what it was. Perhaps it was fatigue. That seemed to make sense if what he'd felt last night really had been an attack on Vincent. The man certainly hadn't slept since Melios had come to him that night in Edge.

Melios let his arms take Chaos form and curled his clawed fingers, feeling the strength in them. He ran those claws along the bare rock of the crater ledge beneath his feet where he crouched, enjoying the way they carved deep grooves in the stone with hardly any pressure. There had barely been enough Jenova material left to achieve his goal but the cells, when taken into his body, kindled a tiny spark inside the protomateria. The sphere pulsed dimly near his heart. If he wanted to, he could take Chaos' full form, but it would only be a shell without the demon's true power.

He knew what he had to do to gain that power, though. Vincent and his allies would hand it to him on a silver platter and never even know it. All he had to do now was wait for Vincent to sleep. It was a shame their link wasn't strong enough to permit coercion.

"You have to sleep some time. When you do, I will come."

--

It felt like a tender hand brushing his cheek. Vincent turned his face into the breeze and closed his eyes. He thought he could hear a woman laughing but it sounded miles away and every time he tried to catch it, it darted away from his hearing like a playful butterfly. Between the hum of the Shera's engines in the distance, the warm afternoon sun, and the silken breeze, he could forget about what was coming and pretend for a while that things weren't quite so bad. Even the boulder he sat on somehow felt soft.

Vincent knew Tifa was looking for him but he had to get away from her and from everyone else. Spending so much time in the company of his friends wore on him over time. The last few days stretched out behind him so that it seemed more like months. Months spent in close proximity to people who knew him well enough to see behind his mask of indifference, months spent with people he could no longer hide from. Months spent coming to terms with his feelings about all of them … and about Tifa.

He drew up his memories of their night together and inhaled deeply. The smell of the white and yellow lilies growing around his perch lent the images frightening realism. Had it all been a dream? He had never felt so alive, not even with Lucrecia. Beautiful Lucrecia had always been a distant dream, someone fleeting and delicate like a wild animal, and someone who had always been just out of reach even when he could simply extend his hand to touch her.

But Tifa wasn't anything like Lucrecia. She was a typhoon of feminine strength and fluid beauty. When she struck, it was silent and final, and the ground beneath his feet was swept away before he ever saw it coming. It disturbed Vincent that she had crushed his walls so swiftly and so thoroughly. He wondered if she was aware that she had stirred up the part of him that was no longer human, the part of him that was once filled with demons and had become demonic as a result. He smirked.

You are what eats you.

He half expected Chaos to retort but was met only with his inner void. No, not completely a void now. There was a tiny flame that burned in that black pit, a flame Tifa had lit. It didn't fill him but it was enough to make him believe that some day it might, if he allowed it to grow. But that wasn't possible. He was immortal so long as he stayed out of harm's way, and that meant that some day he would lose Tifa. If he let that flame grow, he would have to watch it die.

Is it better to love and lose?

He knew the answer to that question. Hojo had given it to him without mercy; it nearly killed him. And yet, he was alive and there were people in this different world that actually seemed to give a shit about him. It was amusing to think that if he hadn't been given the 'gift' of eternal life, he would never have met any of them. They would all die some day and leave him behind to carry on their memories. It was an honor he believed he wasn't entitled to.

I don't deserve any of them, especially her.

But she acted like she thought he did. She had wormed her way into his soul and given him her heart against her better judgment and all he could do in return was promise never to forget. That twisted inhuman part of him stepped in and filled his head with quaint images of what their future would have been if he wasn't a monster. A house, children, and Tifa in his arms every night. Happiness, comfort, and none of it would ever happen.

I can't give her what she needs. I can only watch her die.

But she had promised to die by his side. He wondered if she knew the implications of a promise like that. Did she intend it to sound like a pledge to spend the rest of her mortal life with him? She knew he would never age, just as most of his few friends did, and it hadn't stopped her from giving her body to him. But that wasn't love, it was lust. Did she know what it had done to him? Did she know that one night was all it took to destroy Vincent Valentine?

Vincent heaved a sigh deep enough to almost extinguish that tiny flame in his soul. Maybe when this was over he could afford to stop denying his own feelings. The sun was getting low and they still had work to do. Regardless of whether she loved him or not, he could never ask her to die for him. He knew what he had to do.

One night of heaven is more than I deserve, and all I can take.

--

"Why can't I stay with you?" Tifa asked, confused.

"It's too dangerous. If something goes wrong, I don't want you here to fight our enemy alone before the others can get to you." Vincent had his back to her and was studying the stairs leading to the second floor of the Shinra mansion. The rest of the group had split up to find a suitable room in which to set their trap.

Tifa had assumed that they would be near him while he attempted to draw their enemy to them but he had argued that they should stay hidden until he called on them, if only to keep their real numbers withheld as long as possible. Secretly, he didn't want them to be there if he failed and Melios managed to kill him before he ever woke up.

I'm not worth dying for, Tifa. Can't you see that?

Tifa wasn't buying his verbal excuse. "If you're worried about not coming out of it in time to save yourself, it would be a good idea to have someone there to wake you up."

"We don't know that Melios has to physically hurt me to kill me. I can't take that risk."

"I don't remember you being this cold when I told you I would stick with you last night." She was clearly hurt by his refusal to let her stay by his side. He knew she was trying to draw him out from behind his stolid exterior. He shut his eyes to hide what he really felt even though she couldn't see it. What he was about to say was a blatant lie but if it would save her life in the end, it was worth doing. He hoped she would forgive him some day.

"Tifa, last night was only a dream. This is the reality of what we're facing. Just forget about what happened between us and worry about your own life. I died a long time ago and if this is the night that finally takes me to my grave, I can go there knowing that I've settled everything in my life that kept me alive."

His soft words hung in the air between them and cut into Tifa like tiny razors. He could feel her eyes drilling into his back. He imagined her thinking of a hundred things to say to try to change his mind. Would she fight his words with denial? Would she accept them and hate him for the rest of her life? Would she see right through them as the lies they were?

"So there really is nothing you want to live for anymore." She'd said it so softly that it was obviously meant for herself. He made himself turn around to face her and the look she wore gutted him. She had known this was coming but she had dared to hope that she had given him a reason to live. She wasn't angry or bitter; in fact she stood there with such an apologetic posture that it became clear to him exactly how much of a mistake he'd made.

She was sorry that she'd failed him.

You haven't failed me, Tifa. If only I could show you. I want to live … for you, but I can't give you that. Please don't blame yourself. Don't live with regret as I did.

But he couldn't say that. Not when her life was at stake. If he survived this night, he would never be able to look at her again. He could never take back what he'd said. He promised that he would kill himself before he ever hurt her. Tonight would end his life whether at the hands of their enemy or beneath the crushing weight of his guilt.

"I understand, Vincent. I'm sorry." There was no resentment in her voice. She looked up at him and smiled her gentle smile and when she left him alone in the desolate entry hall of the mansion, he knew he had destroyed what they had between them. The brittle flame inside his soul died and he understood then that he had loved her since the moment they'd met. He loved her and now he would never be able to touch her again. He had just signed his death warrant.