Vincent stared at the building that was at once the source of both his ascension to the Turks and his damnation as an experiment.
Shinra Headquarters.
Vincent shook his head. Nothing had changed, at least from outward appearances. Admittedly the soldiers were better equipped, and there were more patrols. But, Vincent was a Turk at one point, seconded only by his rival Tseng.
Vincent smirked as he remembered their last conversation. Tseng had been infuriated that Vincent had received the job to protect the scientists. It was ironic that Tseng had wanted the job. Had he actually been given it, Vincent might still be...normal.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Vincent began walking toward the building. He was taking a risk, one that he was well prepared for, but still a risk nonetheless. Given the fact that he was illegally experimented on, Hojo might have been foolish and not cancelled his clearance.
As he approached, the guards drew on him. "Hold and present your clearance, please." The other eyed Vincent warily, taking his appearance, and especially the clawed left arm, in as sign of trouble.
"Well?" Vincent handed them his card. He could kill them with ease, but this was a subtle job. So he found himself hoping that the card worked.
"Valentine, Vincent...Turk..." The computer bleeped. "Access granted."
The first guard handed Vincent's key card back to him. "Hey, I thought all you Turks wore blue suits?"
Vincent turned his gaze to the guards. "I'm a special case. It signifies the blood of my enemies. All dead."
As he strode through the doors, both guards sighed in relief. For some reason or another, neither felt they would live if he didn't want them to.
Vincent shook his head as he went to the elevator. Hojo had never reported his 'death'. They hadn't cancelled his access even after so long of an absence. "Sloppy..." He slipped the card into the elevator slot. Being a former Turk, Vincent had access to all the floors save the Presidents living quarters.
As the elevator was nearing it's destination, Vincent attached the suppressor to his weapon. No need for the entire tower to know of his presence. Killing off the entirety of Hojo's staff would be a pleasure. Almost as much a pleasure as killing Hojo himself.
*
The cold, glowing green eyes stared right back at him. No answers were there. One would think that all the answers about someone would lie in their eyes. Unfortunately for Sephiroth, such was not the case.
He broke the staring contest he had with the mirror and went back to lying on the bunk. His chest stung from where they had beaten him earlier in the week.
Sephiroth was in the general area of the lab for his daily exercise when he had saw them come in. Professor Gast's wife and their little baby.
He was no fool. He knew that if they were here, where Gast had tried to escape, and Gast wasn't, that he was dead. That enraged Sephiroth so terribly that he attacked the guard. And was subsequently beaten for it.
Now, the daughter of Gast would suffer as Sephiroth had suffered. She was an Ancient, from what he had heard. As was her mother. When Hojo arrived, he would subject them to the same tortures.
As it was, Sephiroth knew there was no stopping Hojo. He had tried for years. What could some weak Ancient and her child do?
Sephiroth jumped as he heard a thud against his door. He saw a slow pool of blood flow underneath the crack of the door. As it opened, he saw a man holding a gun, clothed in red. His red eyes bored straight into Sephiroth's. "You are Sephiroth, yes?"
Sephiroth stood up on the floor. He saw the body of the guard. "Yes I am. Are you here to kill me?"
Vincent allowed himself a smirk. "If I was, you would be dead. Where is Hojo?"
"Who are you?"
"I have the gun, I'm asking the questions."
Sephiroth mirrored the gunman's smirk. "If you were here to kill me, I'd be dead."
"Brave boy. I am Vincent, a...friend of your mother."
"You know my mother?" Sephiroth was shocked, "You know Jenova?"
Vincent shook his head, "You are not born from someone named Jenova. Your real mother's name is Lucrecia. There is much to explain, Sephiroth, and we haven't the time for twenty questions. So come with me and tell me where Hojo is."
Sephiroth padded toward Vincent and carefully walked over the blood. "I'm not sure where Hojo is. He hasn't examined me in a while. Perhaps Anderson might know."
"Anderson?"
Sephiroth nodded, "Anderson is second to Hojo. He hates him. And he hates me. But he should know where Hojo is," Sephiroth looked up at Vincent, "You aren't going to leave me here are you?"
"Your mother told me to watch over you. I suppose I have to take you with me. But I'm here to kill Hojo. I am not here for you. Do you understand?"
Sephiroth lowered his head, "A means to an end."
Vincent blinked at the echoing of his own words. "Yes. Move along."
Sephiroth moved quietly behind Vincent. As they moved through the halls of the lab, Sephiroth noted that everyone was dead. Quietly and efficiently, Vincent had killed everyone in his path.
"You are not afraid?" Vincent asked, somewhat puzzled at the strange child's behaviour.
"Any place is better than here. And any person, be they a murderer or a demon, is better than the lot of these people. They torture in the name of science."
Vincent stopped and looked at the boy again. "You speak very well for a child."
In a cold voice, reminiscent of one of the scientists, "My brain activity is at thirteen percent. It is beyond the majority of adults."
"I see." Vincent continued walking. "It will serve you well. You will be a quick learner."
"And what will I be learning?"
"How to fight, how to survive, and how to kill, if necessary."
Sephiroth absorbed all of this. "You are taking me from Midgar?"
"Far from Midgar. As far as we can. They will hunt you, even after I kill Hojo."
Sephiroth stopped. Vincent was about to grab him to move him along. "Wait, this is Anderson's room." Vincent turned and saw the door. "Ah, excellent."
Vincent rang the bell. He smirked as he heard Anderson curse. "This had better be important, I have a lot-" CRACK!
As Anderson opened the door, Vincent smacked him quickly upside the temple. Anderson crumpled to the ground on his knees. "What the hell? Who are you? Gu-" Anderson stopped speaking as he saw the barrel of the gun levelled at his head.
"Tell me where Hojo is and you live." Vincent said, malice dripping from each word.
"H-hh-he's in C-C-Costa del Sol...on vacation..." Anderson squeaked, "Please don't ki-" The shot was barely audible, but the crack as it tore through Anderson's head echoed slightly down the hall.
As the body fell backward, Vincent looked down. A small hand was on his. A small finger was on his trigger finger. Sephiroth had made him pull the trigger.
"He deserved to die." Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly.
Vincent shook his head and took Sephiroth's hand from his. "Whatever he did to make you want to kill at a young age must have been intense."
Sephiroth didn't say a word. He just began walking down the hall toward the exit.
Vincent caught up in two easy strides. As they reached the other end of the lab, Sephiroth tugged on Vincent's cloak. "Are we going after Hojo?"
"Now is not the time. If I tried now, the element of surprise would be lost. And I wouldn't be successful if I had a child with me."
"But you will kill Hojo?"
Vincent clenched his clawed hand, "Indeed I will."
Sephiroth gestured toward a clear cell. "What of them?"
Vincent looked toward the area where Sephiroth had gestured and saw two people. Or rather a woman and her child. Vincent had the strangest feeling as he beheld them. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt they were different. He looked away sharply as the woman screamed at him to help. It was sound proof, but it was obvious what she wanted. "We leave them."
"What?" Sephiroth asked, incredulous.
"I said we leave them. Our ability to travel is already hindered because you are a child. A woman with a baby is far more difficult to move about with."
Sephiroth glared at him angrily, "We can't just leave them!"
"Would you rather I just end it for them now?" Vincent was at a loss. If he helped them, they would surely be captured. But he also understood where Sephiroth was coming from. He also, however, had to show his resolve.
"No. They can't die. Not now." Sephiroth felt his eyes burn. He rubbed at them vigorously and his hands became wet. "What's wrong with my eyes?"
Vincent looked at him, a curious expression on his face. "Have you never cried before?"
"No."
"No matter. We must move." Vincent scooped Sephiroth up in his left arm.
Sephiroth stared at the woman, banging for all her life against the prison. Sephiroth blinked the tears away, the first of his young life. "I'm sorry. But I guess this is the way people leave." Sephiroth's mind went to that day when Gast left him.
"I was abandoned by Gast, and now I abandon his family." Sephiroth glanced at Vincent, his saviour, "Ironic, isn't it?"
"Not really. You don't have the choice to save them. It was my choice, and another sin. Another for me to atone for."
*
After they had left the main Shinra building, Vincent had purchased Sephiroth some clothing and had stolen a vehicle. They were quickly heading for the Junon docks. Vincent wanted to make the next ferry to Wutai.
Sephiroth was so fascinated with the world outside that he stayed in the back of the truck. The sterile lab had none of the vibrant color of the outside world.
As they neared Junon, Sephiroth climbed back into the cab. Vincent said nothing and kept driving.
"Thank you, Vincent."
"For what? I did what was necessary for my atonement. Your mother had asked me to."
Sephiroth smirked, "From what I read, there are many ways to atone. Like going to a church and working there for the rest of your life. You came and took me from the hell of that lab." Vincent said nothing. "As you wish, but I still thank you."
Vincent shook his head. Sephiroth eyed Junon and sighed, "This will be my first new city. I wonder what it will be like."
"We won't be here long. We head for Wutai as quickly as possible."
"What is in Wutai?"
"It is where I was born. It is where I learned how to fight. And it is where you will learn the basics. After that, I believe we will head to Cosmo Canyon, or perhaps back to Nibelheim."
Sephiroth nodded, though he had no notion of where or even what those places were. But the thought of learning how to fight intrigued him. As they were leaving, Sephiroth had noticed a sign. 'Join SOLDIER now! Be a warrior for Shinra!'
Though he had no desire to serve the company that subjected him to such brutal tests, the idea of being a warrior was in his mind.
Such thoughts also lead him back to Gast's family. His hands clenched. He knew what he was to do.
He would become the most powerful fighter in the world. His strength would be legendary. We would never be weak again. Weak like Gast, like his family. Weak as Sephiroth was now.
"I am going to be strong, Vincent. We will be strong. No one will do to us again what Hojo has done to us. Agreed?" They both had their eyes on the road ahead. Sephiroth couldn't read Vincent as well as he could the people in the lab. He felt that they were basically the same.
"Agreed, Sephiroth. We shall be strong. Lucrecia would have wanted that."
Sephiroth turned to Vincent and smiled. The first one in a long time. "Thank you, again, Vincent." Sephiroth was sure that, even though Vincent didn't say anything, that he was happy for the company as well.
"We're like a really weird family," Sephiroth said, gazing toward the road again, "We both had our lives, and they were both altered by Hojo. We are different from others, the same but unique to each other. That makes us family, right?"
Vincent didn't say anything for a long while, and Sephiroth really didn't expect him to. He was surprised when he felt his hand clutched by Vincent's. He only said on word.
"Family. Now and forever."
Off in a cave, hidden beyond the paths that most would walk, the ghost of Lucrecia smiled.
A/N: This isn't the end. I just thought it was a good way to end the chapter. Also, thanks to Dee-whY-Cee-aRe for being the only one to review my fic so far. As always, any feedback is a good thing, as it helps with me learning to write. Any at all. Please!!
Shinra Headquarters.
Vincent shook his head. Nothing had changed, at least from outward appearances. Admittedly the soldiers were better equipped, and there were more patrols. But, Vincent was a Turk at one point, seconded only by his rival Tseng.
Vincent smirked as he remembered their last conversation. Tseng had been infuriated that Vincent had received the job to protect the scientists. It was ironic that Tseng had wanted the job. Had he actually been given it, Vincent might still be...normal.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Vincent began walking toward the building. He was taking a risk, one that he was well prepared for, but still a risk nonetheless. Given the fact that he was illegally experimented on, Hojo might have been foolish and not cancelled his clearance.
As he approached, the guards drew on him. "Hold and present your clearance, please." The other eyed Vincent warily, taking his appearance, and especially the clawed left arm, in as sign of trouble.
"Well?" Vincent handed them his card. He could kill them with ease, but this was a subtle job. So he found himself hoping that the card worked.
"Valentine, Vincent...Turk..." The computer bleeped. "Access granted."
The first guard handed Vincent's key card back to him. "Hey, I thought all you Turks wore blue suits?"
Vincent turned his gaze to the guards. "I'm a special case. It signifies the blood of my enemies. All dead."
As he strode through the doors, both guards sighed in relief. For some reason or another, neither felt they would live if he didn't want them to.
Vincent shook his head as he went to the elevator. Hojo had never reported his 'death'. They hadn't cancelled his access even after so long of an absence. "Sloppy..." He slipped the card into the elevator slot. Being a former Turk, Vincent had access to all the floors save the Presidents living quarters.
As the elevator was nearing it's destination, Vincent attached the suppressor to his weapon. No need for the entire tower to know of his presence. Killing off the entirety of Hojo's staff would be a pleasure. Almost as much a pleasure as killing Hojo himself.
*
The cold, glowing green eyes stared right back at him. No answers were there. One would think that all the answers about someone would lie in their eyes. Unfortunately for Sephiroth, such was not the case.
He broke the staring contest he had with the mirror and went back to lying on the bunk. His chest stung from where they had beaten him earlier in the week.
Sephiroth was in the general area of the lab for his daily exercise when he had saw them come in. Professor Gast's wife and their little baby.
He was no fool. He knew that if they were here, where Gast had tried to escape, and Gast wasn't, that he was dead. That enraged Sephiroth so terribly that he attacked the guard. And was subsequently beaten for it.
Now, the daughter of Gast would suffer as Sephiroth had suffered. She was an Ancient, from what he had heard. As was her mother. When Hojo arrived, he would subject them to the same tortures.
As it was, Sephiroth knew there was no stopping Hojo. He had tried for years. What could some weak Ancient and her child do?
Sephiroth jumped as he heard a thud against his door. He saw a slow pool of blood flow underneath the crack of the door. As it opened, he saw a man holding a gun, clothed in red. His red eyes bored straight into Sephiroth's. "You are Sephiroth, yes?"
Sephiroth stood up on the floor. He saw the body of the guard. "Yes I am. Are you here to kill me?"
Vincent allowed himself a smirk. "If I was, you would be dead. Where is Hojo?"
"Who are you?"
"I have the gun, I'm asking the questions."
Sephiroth mirrored the gunman's smirk. "If you were here to kill me, I'd be dead."
"Brave boy. I am Vincent, a...friend of your mother."
"You know my mother?" Sephiroth was shocked, "You know Jenova?"
Vincent shook his head, "You are not born from someone named Jenova. Your real mother's name is Lucrecia. There is much to explain, Sephiroth, and we haven't the time for twenty questions. So come with me and tell me where Hojo is."
Sephiroth padded toward Vincent and carefully walked over the blood. "I'm not sure where Hojo is. He hasn't examined me in a while. Perhaps Anderson might know."
"Anderson?"
Sephiroth nodded, "Anderson is second to Hojo. He hates him. And he hates me. But he should know where Hojo is," Sephiroth looked up at Vincent, "You aren't going to leave me here are you?"
"Your mother told me to watch over you. I suppose I have to take you with me. But I'm here to kill Hojo. I am not here for you. Do you understand?"
Sephiroth lowered his head, "A means to an end."
Vincent blinked at the echoing of his own words. "Yes. Move along."
Sephiroth moved quietly behind Vincent. As they moved through the halls of the lab, Sephiroth noted that everyone was dead. Quietly and efficiently, Vincent had killed everyone in his path.
"You are not afraid?" Vincent asked, somewhat puzzled at the strange child's behaviour.
"Any place is better than here. And any person, be they a murderer or a demon, is better than the lot of these people. They torture in the name of science."
Vincent stopped and looked at the boy again. "You speak very well for a child."
In a cold voice, reminiscent of one of the scientists, "My brain activity is at thirteen percent. It is beyond the majority of adults."
"I see." Vincent continued walking. "It will serve you well. You will be a quick learner."
"And what will I be learning?"
"How to fight, how to survive, and how to kill, if necessary."
Sephiroth absorbed all of this. "You are taking me from Midgar?"
"Far from Midgar. As far as we can. They will hunt you, even after I kill Hojo."
Sephiroth stopped. Vincent was about to grab him to move him along. "Wait, this is Anderson's room." Vincent turned and saw the door. "Ah, excellent."
Vincent rang the bell. He smirked as he heard Anderson curse. "This had better be important, I have a lot-" CRACK!
As Anderson opened the door, Vincent smacked him quickly upside the temple. Anderson crumpled to the ground on his knees. "What the hell? Who are you? Gu-" Anderson stopped speaking as he saw the barrel of the gun levelled at his head.
"Tell me where Hojo is and you live." Vincent said, malice dripping from each word.
"H-hh-he's in C-C-Costa del Sol...on vacation..." Anderson squeaked, "Please don't ki-" The shot was barely audible, but the crack as it tore through Anderson's head echoed slightly down the hall.
As the body fell backward, Vincent looked down. A small hand was on his. A small finger was on his trigger finger. Sephiroth had made him pull the trigger.
"He deserved to die." Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly.
Vincent shook his head and took Sephiroth's hand from his. "Whatever he did to make you want to kill at a young age must have been intense."
Sephiroth didn't say a word. He just began walking down the hall toward the exit.
Vincent caught up in two easy strides. As they reached the other end of the lab, Sephiroth tugged on Vincent's cloak. "Are we going after Hojo?"
"Now is not the time. If I tried now, the element of surprise would be lost. And I wouldn't be successful if I had a child with me."
"But you will kill Hojo?"
Vincent clenched his clawed hand, "Indeed I will."
Sephiroth gestured toward a clear cell. "What of them?"
Vincent looked toward the area where Sephiroth had gestured and saw two people. Or rather a woman and her child. Vincent had the strangest feeling as he beheld them. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt they were different. He looked away sharply as the woman screamed at him to help. It was sound proof, but it was obvious what she wanted. "We leave them."
"What?" Sephiroth asked, incredulous.
"I said we leave them. Our ability to travel is already hindered because you are a child. A woman with a baby is far more difficult to move about with."
Sephiroth glared at him angrily, "We can't just leave them!"
"Would you rather I just end it for them now?" Vincent was at a loss. If he helped them, they would surely be captured. But he also understood where Sephiroth was coming from. He also, however, had to show his resolve.
"No. They can't die. Not now." Sephiroth felt his eyes burn. He rubbed at them vigorously and his hands became wet. "What's wrong with my eyes?"
Vincent looked at him, a curious expression on his face. "Have you never cried before?"
"No."
"No matter. We must move." Vincent scooped Sephiroth up in his left arm.
Sephiroth stared at the woman, banging for all her life against the prison. Sephiroth blinked the tears away, the first of his young life. "I'm sorry. But I guess this is the way people leave." Sephiroth's mind went to that day when Gast left him.
"I was abandoned by Gast, and now I abandon his family." Sephiroth glanced at Vincent, his saviour, "Ironic, isn't it?"
"Not really. You don't have the choice to save them. It was my choice, and another sin. Another for me to atone for."
*
After they had left the main Shinra building, Vincent had purchased Sephiroth some clothing and had stolen a vehicle. They were quickly heading for the Junon docks. Vincent wanted to make the next ferry to Wutai.
Sephiroth was so fascinated with the world outside that he stayed in the back of the truck. The sterile lab had none of the vibrant color of the outside world.
As they neared Junon, Sephiroth climbed back into the cab. Vincent said nothing and kept driving.
"Thank you, Vincent."
"For what? I did what was necessary for my atonement. Your mother had asked me to."
Sephiroth smirked, "From what I read, there are many ways to atone. Like going to a church and working there for the rest of your life. You came and took me from the hell of that lab." Vincent said nothing. "As you wish, but I still thank you."
Vincent shook his head. Sephiroth eyed Junon and sighed, "This will be my first new city. I wonder what it will be like."
"We won't be here long. We head for Wutai as quickly as possible."
"What is in Wutai?"
"It is where I was born. It is where I learned how to fight. And it is where you will learn the basics. After that, I believe we will head to Cosmo Canyon, or perhaps back to Nibelheim."
Sephiroth nodded, though he had no notion of where or even what those places were. But the thought of learning how to fight intrigued him. As they were leaving, Sephiroth had noticed a sign. 'Join SOLDIER now! Be a warrior for Shinra!'
Though he had no desire to serve the company that subjected him to such brutal tests, the idea of being a warrior was in his mind.
Such thoughts also lead him back to Gast's family. His hands clenched. He knew what he was to do.
He would become the most powerful fighter in the world. His strength would be legendary. We would never be weak again. Weak like Gast, like his family. Weak as Sephiroth was now.
"I am going to be strong, Vincent. We will be strong. No one will do to us again what Hojo has done to us. Agreed?" They both had their eyes on the road ahead. Sephiroth couldn't read Vincent as well as he could the people in the lab. He felt that they were basically the same.
"Agreed, Sephiroth. We shall be strong. Lucrecia would have wanted that."
Sephiroth turned to Vincent and smiled. The first one in a long time. "Thank you, again, Vincent." Sephiroth was sure that, even though Vincent didn't say anything, that he was happy for the company as well.
"We're like a really weird family," Sephiroth said, gazing toward the road again, "We both had our lives, and they were both altered by Hojo. We are different from others, the same but unique to each other. That makes us family, right?"
Vincent didn't say anything for a long while, and Sephiroth really didn't expect him to. He was surprised when he felt his hand clutched by Vincent's. He only said on word.
"Family. Now and forever."
Off in a cave, hidden beyond the paths that most would walk, the ghost of Lucrecia smiled.
A/N: This isn't the end. I just thought it was a good way to end the chapter. Also, thanks to Dee-whY-Cee-aRe for being the only one to review my fic so far. As always, any feedback is a good thing, as it helps with me learning to write. Any at all. Please!!