Chapter Five

The hidden staircase was still intact, for the most part. There were a few places where I had to jump a gap, and almost lost my footing, but I made it down in one piece. It was so dark I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face. I whispered a few more words, and instantly the materia in my hand began glowing brighter. Who needed a flashlight when you had magic?

I could hear what sounded like shuffling up ahead, and I felt all the color drain from my face in apprehension. Former AVALANCHE member or no, those sounds were coming from Hojo's lab, and the thought of that place alone was enough to drive even the strongest man insane. Come of think of it, it already had. I repressed a bitter laugh at the realization.

The scuffling sound grew increasingly louder as I approached. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the door that led to the room filled with coffins. The final resting place of all Hojo's test subjects. I shuddered as the memory of crimson eyes reminded me that not all of them had gone into that room deceased.

A resounding crash and the sound of breaking glass came from within the laboratory, and despite myself, I cried out in alarm. I spun around, checking to make sure nothing was behind me. All my senses were on overdrive, my body tingling with adrenaline. It was fight or flight, but I wasn't about to let myself run away. As I turned to face the laboratory, the light from the materia swept over a figure looming toward me.

I'll admit it. I screamed like a little girl. The figure recoiled in the glare of the light, covering its eyes with its arm. An arm that shone with the gleam of golden metal.

I dropped the materia in surprise, and it rolled a few feet away, stopping in front of a pair of pointed, steel-toed boots.

"Vincent!" I exclaimed, hardly believing my eyes. He quickly lowered his clawed arm at the sound of my voice, studying his unexpected intruder. He picked up the materia at his feet and took a few steps closer.

"Tifa," he said calmly, inclining his head as he handed the small, round orb back to me. "I . . . was not expecting you." Though his face was a stoic mask as always, something in the tone of his voice told me he was just as surprised as I was, if not more. I laughed nervously, still a little on edge from his sudden appearance.

"Well, I missed you too, Vincent. Honestly, you scared me half to death!"

"I apologize."

I hadn't been serious, well, not completely, but apparently Vincent's sense of humor was exactly the same—nonexistent. He hadn't changed much, but the smile on my face faded just a bit as I took a closer look at him.

He looked like a ghost of his former self, and he had already been pretty wraith-like to begin with. The man Yuffie had often referred to as "the vampire" seemed more like a walking corpse than ever. His face was thinner, gaunter, the skin so pale it was almost translucent. His dark hair was a long, tangled mess that hung in his eyes; eyes which glowed faintly scarlet in the dark. He still wore the same red cloak, but the bottom was frayed and tattered.

"Vincent. . . are you alright?" I asked hesitantly, trying to get a good look at his face behind the curtain of hair. He seemed a little taken aback by the question, but he didn't show it for long.

"I am fine."

"You look like death warmed over." As if to oblige me somehow, he brushed some of the hair away from his face with his claw.

"One such as I does not have much cause to worry about their appearance."

I sighed audibly, not caring if he heard me. So, it was back to this old routine, was it? I'd thought that confronting Hojo had provided Vincent with some sort of resolution. He had seemed to open up a little on our journey to save the Planet, but apparently it hadn't lasted.

"That doesn't mean you can't eat, you know." I said sternly. Was it my imagination, or was there the hint of a smile behind the high collar of the cape?

"I do not need to eat as much as . . .a normal person." He replied indifferently. I assumed this was a side effect of the demons Hojo had 'gifted' him with. But I was in no mood for excuses.

"Well, you're still human—er, basically. . .anyway. . ." my words ground to a halt at the strange look that came into Vincent's eyes. It was halfway between sadness, and anger. "Humans need food on occasion." I added in an attempt to rectify the situation. It seemed to work, or at least the look was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"So, what are you doing here? I heard all these noises." I asked casually, trying to lighten the mood of this mostly one-sided conversation.

"I was moving boxes." Vincent replied, sticking to his usual rule of uttering no more than five words at a time. It was a game I was growing tired of playing.

"Boxes?" I echoed, encouraging him to elaborate.

"I'm destroying Hojo's records." He said coldly. This surprised me a little. There were thousands of files in that back room, why go through the trouble of getting rid of them all? I knew Vincent didn't like Hojo very much, they had a bit of history together, to put it mildly. But this kind of behavior pointed to a kind of . . . vindictiveness, one that didn't suit Vincent's character at all.

"Well . . .can I help?" I finally asked. If he wanted to take on such an odd task, I might as well help things along. That way, maybe I could get to the bottom of things afterward.

"If you would like," he replied with a slight incline of his head, vaguely polite as always. He offered no hint as to whether or not he actually wanted my help, but since he didn't say no, I was willing to assume he didn't mind. Then again, knowing Vincent, he probably didn't care either way. If I wanted to get knee-deep in dust and Shin-Ra filth, who was he to object?

"Okay, how about I get some dinner?" I offered. I knew I was starving, it was way past breakfast, and the man was in desperate need of a large steak. And I swear, that wasn't a pun.

"Do as you wish; I won't be staying long." Vincent said, inclining his head at me again as he walked past me and toward the stairs. I spun on my heel and followed him, trying to keep up with his long, powerful strides.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" I asked curiously. He looked like he hadn't been outside in years, so where on earth could Vincent Valentine possibly have to go?

"To the cave," was all I got for an answer. But I knew what he meant, if only vaguely. Cloud had told me that just beyond the Nibel Mountains, there was a strange cave concealed behind a waterfall. Vincent had gone inside, alone, and come out . . . different. Whatever was in that cave, it obviously held meaning for him, and him alone.

"Don't tell me you're going to live there?" I said incredulously. Sure, this place wasn't exactly homey, but Vincent couldn't think so lowly of himself as to think he deserved to live in cave for the rest of his life? Could he?

My question went unanswered as Vincent suddenly stopped in his tracks, forcing me to stumble to a halt before I collided with him. For a moment, he simply stared at me, his crimson eyes glowing intensely, and I thought he wasn't going to say anything.

"I must put something to rest. Then I will come back here, and destroy Hojo's files."

It was the most he had said to me the entire time, and it was enough to keep me quiet the rest of the walk upstairs. Why had I assumed Vincent wanted to go live in a cave? Cloud's face suddenly forced its way into my mind, and I remembered all the things I had done—or hadn't done, that had led to the Meteor incident. Suddenly, I felt that if Vincent ever did want to live in a cave, I could sympathize with him. Sometimes, I felt like crawling into a hole myself.