Disclaimer: Same as the last chapter. And yes, I will find a way to
explain Tseng suddenly being alive that is hopefully not terribly
outrageous. Also, if you are reading this on FF.N I apologize for the
format of the last chapter and will fix it. What happened was I did
have pagebreaks (that will hopefully show up in this chapter), and for
some really bizarre reason FF.N deleted them. If they don't show up
again, this time I will reupload them with new pagebreaks.
Second Coming
By A Guy Named Goo
Chapter Two: Bad Omens
"Hey, 'nother round over here!" Reno exclaimed, pointing at his empty mug. The bartender rolled his eyes, muttered something about the Turks running off the rest of his business, and then collected the three mugs in front of the three men in suits.
The mug out of the way, Kaji leaned over on the bar. It had been two weeks since that hellacious morning where they had witnessed their comrade's death, and life seemed to have gone back to normal for Shinra's "elite scouting team". Although what they had witnessed had left a dark cloud over everything they did, the events themselves went unspoken as part of a silent pact they had all made.
"Hey, up you!" Reno ordered, practically hauling Kaji up by his collar. "Don't tell me you're a lightweight! You're supposed to be a Turk!"
"It's not the booze!" the babyfaced Wutaian snapped. "It's just...eh, stuff." The mug was placed in front of him, and he took it and drank deeply from it. He was sitting between Reno and Rude, both Tseng and Zanya having orders that brought them elsewhere. In fact, it was Zanya's orders that were disturbing Kaji.
"Stuff? What kinda stuff?" Reno asked over his mug before tipping it back. His sunglasses were threatening to slip off his forehead and into the glass.
Kaji shrugged, putting the mug down and running his finger over the rim. His shaggy dark hair was falling in his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "I got an assignment."
Reno laughed, clapping his hand on the boy's shoulder and laughing, leaning over a bit to face Rude's stony face. "You hear that, Rude? The kid here's finally gonna get wet behind the ears!" Rude grunted noncommittally and took a deep pull from his beer.
"Not exactly," Kaji muttered. "I'm getting stationed with the old timer. Glorified babysitting duty. And I'm sure she had something to do with it. She's had it in for me ever since I got promoted to the Turks. She's probably just pissed 'cause....'cause...well, never mind." He knew the rest of the thought, but it would have been dangerously close to entering the "unspoken territory". He didn't want to cross that line.
"Gah, that sucks," Reno said sympathetically. "Finally make it to Turks just to get a job changin' diapers. I'd've quit if they tried to do that to me. Right Rude?" This time the bald man gave no response.
Kaji slid his beer away again to hide his face in his arms, his too-large suit jacket sleeves fanning out around his wrists. "Why don't they just give that old broad a gold watch and send her on her way? She's probably been around long enough to have shaken hands with an Ancient."
Reno snorted. "They tried, man. And...what was it she said, Rude?" He didn't seem to honestly expect an answer, as he continued talking without waiting for a response. Apparently he just wanted to make the other Turk feel like he was a part of the conversation. "'If I am going to leave Shinra, it's going to be in a box'. Seriously, you usually have to breed mindless drones for that kinda loyalty. Apparently they see something in her, though. They keep bouncing her around from division to division in the company, finding a place for her. I think it's an insult to the Turks that they eventually dumped her with us! Don't they know we're the most dangerous, the best of the best?!"
Kaji sat up again, looking at his watch. "All she's done from the first time I stepped foot in the Turks lounge is attach herself to me. It's a twisted obsession. She also seems hell-bent on gypping me out of all the best assignments and getting me all the shitty ones. I did not join the Turks to perform crowd control or watch some whiny little rugrat monster!"
Reno shrugged. "It's just for a little while. The Turks are awful shorthanded, between the old timer and Tseng being kept mostly on light duty," And the absence of Elena, but that was left unsaid, like much during the night's conversation. "'Shinra can't afford to have a perfectly good Turk doing the grunt work any mindless army recruit could handle. Sides, just be glad you got in now instead of last year or the year before, when someone told ol' Hojo the SOLDIERs were off limits and he decided to turn the Turks into lab rats. Remember that Rude?" That actually did get a reaction in the form of an aggravated snort. "He stuck us with so many needles, put so many chemicals and other weird things in us...if we live to see forty without mutating into some horrible freak we'll thank the Gods."
Kaji shuddered. "I saw that guy twice. That was enough, thanks."
Reno nodded enthusiastically. "That's one thing from the Crisis that I am thankful for: Hojo disappeared, and Jojo's more fond of sticking needles in herself than other people." Professor Jozene Sakir, called Jojo as a joking homage to the last head of the Research Department, was the only person at the new Shinra, Inc. that was almost as mysterious as the president. She spent all of her time in her lab, and bad things happened to people who interrupted her mid-project. About the only time she laid off experimenting on herself was when the president gave her an assignment.
Kaji stood up, rolling the sleeves of his blazer back up and unclipping his sunglasses from the front of it. About the only time all the Turks kept their uniforms in order was when they were facing the president, or being disciplined. "Well, it's been a blast fellas but tomorrow I face my fate. With any luck we can do this again soon."
"We'll see ya around, kid," Reno said with a small salute, his sunglasses finally falling onto the bar. "And I mean that. We'll wrestle you from the old lady if we've gotta. Not healthy for a young man to spend all his time with old ladies and babies, or some shit like that."
Kaji left the money for his drinks on the bar. "Thanks," he muttered, turning and leaving.
"He's fine," Barret muttered, less than impressed by the mercenary's reappearance. Cloud had shown up at the doorstep of Tifa's new bar (named Cloud Nine as an homage to the man, much to his chagrin), muttered something about being sick, and passed out cold. He'd been sleeping ever since, occasionally waking up to get something to eat or perform other necessities, before dropping back into his deep sleep.
Tifa sighed, leaning against the jukebox that doubled as an elevator. "I don't think he is, Barret. Maybe we should find a doctor somewhere..."
Just as she suggested it, Cloud slunk into the living area from the general vicinity of a tiny corridor that lead to the sleeping quarters. He blinked his glowing blue eyes blearily, surveying his surroundings before throwing himself into one of the beanbag chairs.
"Well, look who decided to join the world of the livin'!" Barret exclaimed, sounding more than just a bit annoyed. Tifa, on the other hand, walked over to Cloud's side, looking down at him with a worried expression.
"Are you feeling better, Cloud?" she asked him gently.
Cloud looked up at her like he hardly recognized her, before facing the floor again. "Yeah. A bit. Thanks."
"What the hell is wrong with ya now?" Barret asked, stomping over to the still half-asleep blonde.
Cloud looked up at the large man, then shrugged. "Hell if I know. I spent the last nine months in Kalm going crazy. Guess that and traveling took a lot out of me."
Yuffie muted the TV and turned to look at Cloud. "Going crazy? Why?"
Another shrug. "Dunno. That's kind of why I came back to Midgar. I didn't know where else to start. I've been getting the weird feelings and stuff I had when Sephiroth was still alive, too."
A silence fell over the room. Finally, Barret stomped over to Yuffie and wrenched the remote from her hand, unmuting to change the subject. The unmistakable Shinra logo was on the screen, catching the attention of the four in the basement.
"President Amunet Shinra's Five Point Program," a female announcer began, the number and each point appearing below the logo as she spoke, "includes the reconstruction of the destroyed mako reactors and Sector Seven, the establishment of new mako reactors to further reduce the cost of mako energy, the elimination of the slums with a massive relocation program to move the people of the slums to the outskirts of Midgar to expand the city's borders and thus eliminate the class system, the creation of new jobs within Shinra itself to afford many opportunities for people within the company, and the establishment of another Midgar so that other areas may benefit from the progress of Midgar. As a result of the five point agenda, President Shinra's approval rating is estimated at 78% on the plate itself, and 64% beneath the plate, and his approval rating is steadily on the rise as he wins over more support with promises of a brighter tomorrow for the citizens of Midgar. In response to critics who claim that he is untrustworthy if he never shows his face, President Shinra has called his first press conference for next week, where it is believed he will win even more support."
"Bullshit!" Barret shouted, smacking the television. It fizzled out for a moment, then the picture returned, tuned into an update about Chocobo racing. "All he's doin' is bullyin' the people of the slums outta their land and outta his sight!"
Yuffie shrugged. "I don't know. He sounds like an okay guy. For someone who is killing the Planet, anyway."
"Ain't you payin' attention?!" Barret fumed. "He's just brainwashin' the rich and bullyin' the poor!"
"Barret, calm down," Tifa said, making sure it sounded like a suggestion and not an order. "I'd hate to say this...what if Yuffie's right? Maybe President Amunet Shinra doesn't know that mako energy will kill the Planet. Maybe he honestly thinks he's doing better for the people of Midgar. For everyone. Just because the company is bad doesn't mean everyone involved in it is."
"Then how come no one's seen his damn face?!" Barret cried in outrage, no believing he was hearing this from Tifa. He stomped over to the jukebox, causing Tifa to step off of it. "I'm goin' back upstairs. If any of you feel like savin' this Planet, then you can join me!" With that, he rode the platform up into the bar.
"Do you really think he could be a good guy?" Yuffie asked Tifa.
Tifa shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just feeling a little discouraged. We saved the world once just to have Shinra reappear. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe this really is the time for the end of the Planet and all we're doing is delaying the inevitable. What do you think, Cloud?"
Cloud, who had been examining the TV carefully, didn't look at either of the girls as he spoke. "President Shinra...he knows something..."
ooooooooo
President Amunet Shinra wasn't surprised to step into the 64th floor laboratory and see Professor Jozene Sakir sitting at a desk, tying a tourniquet around her own upper-arm., sleeves of her lab coat already rolled up past her elbows and a syringe grasped between her teeth. Upon hearing someone enter, the woman dropped the syringe and jumped, reaching for something in her with her left hand lab coat before realizing who it was.
"Don't ever do that!" Sakir shrieked, before realizing who it was. "Please. Sir."
"Right. Don't forget who signs your paychecks," Amunet said with a nod, taking a seat without being invited. Pretending the president wasn't there, Sakir continued flicking her own arm until a vein that wasn't sclerosed from repeated injections appeared on the surface. "So what's the data on the project?"
The scientist made a "one moment" gesture with her finger, recorded something on the paper next to her, and then slid the needle containing a cloudy orange substance into the vein, injecting it slowly. She noted something else, slid the paper into a green folder next to her, and then drew out a black one. "Let me see...male, 49.8 centimeters, 3083 grams."
"Healthy?" Amunet urged.
Sakir shrugged. "Well, that depends on your definition. Is he going to be able to live, eat, breathe, walk, and talk on his own? Yeah, sure. But you had us intentionally breed some weakness into him, so he's going to be fragile. You'll have to be cautious about the outside stimuli he's exposed to. We can't monitor his exact physical ability or power levels until he gets a little older, but where it stands now you got what he wanted: if he has even a fraction of the power Sephiroth had, he'd destroy himself if he tried to use it. He'd probably take out a few people with him, but hey, you can't win'em all." She tossed the folder toward the president and opened a sealed container, drawing out a cookie and offering the container. "Cookie?"
"I wouldn't eat anything that came out of your lab," Amunet said, surveying the data.
Sakir nodded. "Ah. Smart move. Was hoping I'd soften the blow."
Blue eyes met the glassy black eyes of the scientist. "What blow?"
Sakir sighed. "Apparently we all underestimated the power of Jenova. We know mako and Jenova can cause an increase in physical strength. I was almost sure I had limited that. But in the two weeks since he was born, the project's muscle mass has increased nearly 25%. Bone structure has shown an 18% improvement, and he's increased in weight by about 42%. Right now I am chalking this up to 'babies grow fast', but this is just a little too fast. We could try to stop it or slow it down, but with the preexisting weakness you had us program into him he probably wouldn't survive such an attempt and we'd be back at square one. And even if you wanted to try again from scratch, there's only so many women able to bear children working for this company, myself included. You'll run out of volunteers and people to force sooner or later, and it'd be a nightmare getting someone from outside of Shinra involved." She took a bite of the cookie, looked at her arm, then opened her green folder to jot something down. A thin trail of blood was leaking from where she injected herself, but she made no movement to wipe it away.
The president sighed with exasperation, looking over the contents of the folder with narrowed eyes. "And is there anything we can do? This project was coming close to a breakthrough, but we can't take the risk of bringing another Sephiroth into the world. You can understand my dilemma."
"You want my professional opinion?" Sakir asked. "I've been against this from the beginning. Ever take a look at Hojo's notes? The Jenova Project broke every scientific, legal, and moral protocol that you can think of and then some. The things that went on make me sick. I wanted to wash my hands of this, and I make it no secret the only reason I got on board was because you promised to make me head chairperson of Scientific Research. I should have known that you'd only offer the job to someone as crazy and unpopular as me for a reason. You claim you want to prevent the mistakes of your predecessors, but with all due respect, Sir, practically the first thing you did upon coming into office was duplicate their greatest and most fatal error. My solution? Wash your hands of the whole thing. And destroy this...thing. What we're doing is twisted and cruel. Quit while you're ahead."
Amunet stood up, eyes still narrowed in anger. "And with all due respect to you, professor, you're the last person I want to hear advice in ethics from, considering what you spend all your time and funding doing. This project is your job, and you'd do well not to forget that. We are not aborting this project, not now and not ever, so you'd do well to think of a way to make it work if you value your position here."
As the president left, Sakir narrowed her eyes and thought unpleasant thoughts before turning her attention, once again, to her arm and her cookies.
ooooooooo
Kaji was staring longingly outside the room, the door wide open but his orders keeping him from making that final step outside. Although he was wearing his dark blue Turks uniform, the elder Turk standing behind him was dressed casually in a loose beige sweater, holding a bundle wrapped in a mint green blanket. Once in a while Kaji's dark eyes would face the woman and baby with scorn before he continued his "guard duty".
"This sucks," Kaji said bitterly, unclipping his sunglasses from his blazer again and chewing on the frames.
Zanya shrugged, holding the bottle as the baby nursed contentedly. "Orders are orders," she said plainly. However, it had been Zanya's suggestion that Kaji be assigned as her partner for now. The president had been hesitant to allow it, as not many Turks were around that could report for labor- intensive work detail, but had eventually relented with the caveat that Kaji could be reassigned at any time to report to another job where his youth and vigor as well as his skills would be an asset. Seeing that the young Turk just planned to stand there all night, she sighed. "Come in and close the door, please."
It must have been the "please" from his superior that made Kaji raise an incredulous eyebrow, but he did as he was told, stepping into the tiny room that was set up to look like a very dull and monochromatic nursery. He continued to look out the window at the hall, however, obviously longing for action elsewhere. Zanya almost felt guilty for putting in the request for him to be assigned with her, especially since she couldn't keep him innocent and away from the action forever. It just pained her to see a boy that seemed so young lose the last of his innocence.
"Hey, you ever been to Wutai?" Kaji asked suddenly, conversationally.
Zanya smiled, but it was a distant, humorless smile. "Yes. I was stationed there during the war," she said absently, taking the bottle away from the baby in her arms. He looked up at her with expectant, glowing green eyes.
Kaji nodded. "Thought you might have been. But since it wasn't that long ago I thought maybe you were stationed somewhere else. I have no clue how long you've been around."
Zanya laughed a little, then rested the baby on her shoulder to burp him. "I've been around almost as long as Shinra itself. I'd been with SOLDIER quite a while when the war began, though. I was a unit leader and took quite a few hits for my men. I lost my eye then."
This seemed to intrigue the young man, who grabbed the only other seat in the room. "I always wondered what they did with the body parts that got cut off of people in accidents or in battle."
Zanya shrugged, getting up to move the baby into the crib. As soon as she was sure he was secure, she sat back down in the rocking chair, leaning forward to resume the conversation in earnest. "Well, Hojo- if you can remember him- red lined most of the members of SOLDIER to his care if they were injured. He was adamant about that. He liked to get his hands on our body parts. When I came out of the anesthesia I saw him arguing with the field surgeon about my eye. I don't know if he ever got his hands on it or not, or why the surgeon couldn't or wouldn't give it up. But there was an joke going around that he was using the 'spare parts' to try and build a new SOLDIER in his spare time. There might have been some truth to that, unfortunately. He was...a disturbed man."
Kaji shuddered. "Like I told Reno the other night: I saw him twice, and that was enough. The stories I've heard..."
Zanya sighed. "Sadly, most of them were true. I have a feeling him becoming chairperson of the Scientific Research Department had as much to do with his lack of morals and ethics as it did his breakthroughs during the first Jenova project. I also think Sakir was made his replacement for the same reason he was hired: because she's willing to do things any self-respecting scientist wouldn't."
Kaji shook his head. "Damn, Shinra was screwed up for a while." He met Zanya's eye again. "Did you like Hojo?"
She laughed bitterly. "No one liked Hojo. Not even the president. People objected to him- and if they worked in Shinra, they weren't seen for much longer after they did- and people tolerated him. Some poor, misguided souls even grudgingly respected him. The only person who may have come close to actually liking him would have to be Professor Gast, who worked with him when he was the chair of the Science Department and apparently thought very highly of Hojo's abilities. I, unfortunately, had to tolerate him. He spent a lot of time with the members of SOLDIER, so I had no choice."
Kaji seemed to ponder this for a moment. Zanya had to wonder why he had the sudden preoccupation with the late scientist. All she knew was that she wanted to change the subject. "You would have been around Wutai during the war, if memory serves me right. So tell me, what were things like on the other side?"
"I was sorta around then," Kaji said. "I was around when it started. I have eight brothers and sisters. The oldest stayed to fight, and those that couldn't ran off with the youngest. I was one of the youngest, so I had to run for it." He held up his right hand to show that the tip of his pinky was missing. "My 'war injury', as I call it. Got it slammed in a door on the ship taking us away and ripped it clean off. By the time I got back to Wutai the war was over, my father was dead, and my mother was tending to my siblings that stayed. Needless to say, me getting involved with the Shinra wasn't a popular decision with my friends and family."
"I'd imagine not," Zanya said with a nod. Although she had avidly supported the war at the time, in hindsight and in the wake of the consequences she was seriously regretting her own involvement in it, at the very least. "That's a big family you have there. And no one is there to support you?"
Kaji shook his head. "Nope. They all think I'm a traitor. Sometimes I regret going to Shinra. I think about the reasons I joined and weigh them against the reasons I left...you know, I am still not sure why I joined. All I know was that Wutai was really starting to suck after the war and the bigger a tourist trap it became, the more down everyone got. Midgar promised excitement, and about the only way to survive in Midgar these days is to be born there or have involvement in the Shinra. Plus it's nice to get a 'good job' and a promotion when I do well. I was so damn excited when I was offered a position with the Turks..." He laughed somewhat bitterly. "It kinda hurt not to have anyone to brag about it to. If I bragged to the other Turks, they'd think I was being a kid. If I bragged to the other soldiers, they'd think I was being a jerk. And I certainly couldn't tell my family. That'd make for a wonderful call home: 'hey Mom, guess what? I'm now part of Shinra's elite kidnapping and assassination team!'"
Zanya sighed. The more Kaji talked, the more she wanted to lock him away somewhere and be a better mother to him than she had been to either of her sons. To keep him out of the company and the army's grasp, like she'd been too foolish to do for her offspring. To pat him on the head and tell him he was a good boy. But she had a feeling that, as young and vulnerable as Kaji seemed to her, he wanted nothing more than to be treated and respected as an adult.
"Do you have any kids?" Kaji asked suddenly, leaning against the changing table next to the chair. His sunglasses were no longer in his hand, and his dark eyes were facing the floor. From them, Zanya could tell he was feeling a combination of boredom, homesickness, and sadness.
After a few quiet moments, Zanya nodded. "Yes, two. My oldest is a little older than you, and my youngest is a little younger. Assuming I have your age right, from the way you describe the war."
This seemed to pique Kaji's interest. "What are they like?"
Zanya smiled slightly, a rather sad smile. "They're very different from one another. Sener, my oldest, is a big, strapping boy. He wasn't much for bookish things, but he was a natural born leader and a decent tactician. I wasn't surprised that he entered the army or that he got to such a high rank as he did. But Uriel...he wasn't that big. Rather delicate, in fact. He wasn't much for physical activity, although he took to Materia and magic fairly well. His only real physical talent was he had an ability more commonly called 'Limit Break', where when he was pushed far enough he would have a short burst of adrenaline that allowed him access an ability he couldn't otherwise. But he tended to hide that part of himself, because the Shinra were fascinated by it, especially Hojo. He was much more into books and learning. He was a scholar and wanted to be a scientist. Keeping him out of Shinra's Science Department was one of the hardest things I ever had to do and I always feared he would resent me for it, but I didn't want either of my sons to be at the mercy of Hojo. When he told me he was joining the army as well, I was sincerely shocked. Some part of me wonders if he did it to earn my approval, knowing that I was so active in the Shinra military and his brother was upholding that tradition..." Realizing she was unloading her shortcomings as a mother onto a boy young enough to be one of her sons, she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I still keep in touch with Sener. Uriel used to call me often, but he's in the middle of his year and a half sequester period where he will train rigorously to enter either SOLDIER or the Turks. He's hoping for the latter, or so he said last time I heard from him. Admittedly, that was a while ago."
"Sener and Uriel?" Kaji asked. He chuckled a bit. "Do you resent your kids? You must have something against them to give them names like that..."
Zanya also laughed a little. "They mean something, at least." She stood up and walked over to the crib. "And I am thinking that he should be Ridwan..."
Kaji shrugged. "Hey, I'm not the one who has to live with that name."
ooooooooo
Night and day tended to blend into one another in Vincent's world of darkness. Lost to his deep sleep once more in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, trying to shut out the outside world while his past nightmares replayed over and over in his subconscious, he had no reason to believe he would be disturbed again. But then again, he hadn't expected to be disturbed the last time, either. And this time it wouldn't be nearly as pleasant...
The creature that crept into the locked room seemed to have a purpose, discarding the key in a corner as it did slid inside like a shadow, all darkness and shadow except for a pair of glowing green eyes. Yanking off the lid of the coffin, it froze for a moment over the still, sleeping form, contemplating for a moment, it seemed, the still and nearly lifeless contents.
Finally, after the moment of silent contemplation, it drew out a dagger, silver muted from the lack of light, with three glowing green orbs embedded in the hilt. Raising the dagger in a two-handed grip, the figure poised over the body, aiming for the heart....
And in a flash, several things happened. Vincent's eyes opened wide, taking in the form preparing to stab him. Instinct kicked in, and he jumped from the coffin, perching on the back for a moment as he drew his gun. A few shots were fired, and a second dagger emerged, this one with two green orbs and a blue one. Vincent, in his assessment of Materia, also noticed two red ones dangling on silver chains from the right hear, and two more green ones from the left. But the assessment barely registered as twin daggers lunged at his form, and he had to flip to escape the blades.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked, gun still gripped tightly in his right hand, claws clicking as he clenched and unclenched the left one.
The green eyes narrowed in the darkness, and a feral growl escaped the throat of his assailant. "Die!" they shouted, their voice surprisingly light and young sounding as he lunged forward, the dagger in his left hand igniting. With a flick of his wrist, the fire spell was launched in Vincent's direction, and the movement to dodge sent him out into the hallway outside of the room. He fired more shots, and a surprised yelp came from within the room, but green light from the cure spell still surrounding them, the attacker was back out in full force, driving Vincent further down the hall and into the lab.
An ice spell struck Vincent, and he groaned in pain. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but fought the beast within him that was striving to escape as he accessed his own Materia, implanted into his gun. He cast bolt, and it seemed to connect as the assailant cried out. But again, he wasn't down for long as he ran the rest of the way into the lab, illuminated by the abandoned Macho tanks and the slivers of moonlight that streamed in through the small windows near the ceiling of the room.
For the first time Vincent saw his attacker: a teenage boy. He couldn't have been much older than sixteen or seventeen years old, eyes glowing Macho green and skin seeming pale in contrast to his shoulder-length, wavy black hair and all-black outfit. Tight black pants, black turtleneck, open black trench coat with shining silver buckles...and the look in his eyes was one of pure hatred and loathing, and something less than human.
Vincent tried shooting at the boy again, and again the boy grunted as the shots tore his side. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a blue bottle and ripped the cork out with his teeth, drinking the potion and throwing it aside carelessly. Suddenly he was on top of Vincent, lashing out with inhuman speed as he rode the flood of adrenaline through his veins, driving Vincent closer and closer to his own Limit Break. Daggers tore at his skin, and he knew that soon enough he'd have no choice but to shift if he wanted to heal himself quickly to survive.
The rush of adrenaline fading out of the boy, Vincent was able to throw him off with inhuman strength as he finally felt his control slip. It was like fire burning through his veins as he shifted into his beast-like alternate form and lunged at the boy with as much aggression as had been displayed toward him. Sensing that this was more for him to handle on his own, the boy lept up for the small windows in the basement, crashing through them and onto the ground outside.
The rush of adrenaline faded, and with it the beast that had overcome Vincent. Once again in his human guise, he looked up at the broken window, stepping through the broken glass and contemplating giving chase for the boy. But he seemed to have long faded into the night.
Just what had that been all about? And why would someone so young want him dead?
End of Chapter Two
Second Coming
By A Guy Named Goo
Chapter Two: Bad Omens
"Hey, 'nother round over here!" Reno exclaimed, pointing at his empty mug. The bartender rolled his eyes, muttered something about the Turks running off the rest of his business, and then collected the three mugs in front of the three men in suits.
The mug out of the way, Kaji leaned over on the bar. It had been two weeks since that hellacious morning where they had witnessed their comrade's death, and life seemed to have gone back to normal for Shinra's "elite scouting team". Although what they had witnessed had left a dark cloud over everything they did, the events themselves went unspoken as part of a silent pact they had all made.
"Hey, up you!" Reno ordered, practically hauling Kaji up by his collar. "Don't tell me you're a lightweight! You're supposed to be a Turk!"
"It's not the booze!" the babyfaced Wutaian snapped. "It's just...eh, stuff." The mug was placed in front of him, and he took it and drank deeply from it. He was sitting between Reno and Rude, both Tseng and Zanya having orders that brought them elsewhere. In fact, it was Zanya's orders that were disturbing Kaji.
"Stuff? What kinda stuff?" Reno asked over his mug before tipping it back. His sunglasses were threatening to slip off his forehead and into the glass.
Kaji shrugged, putting the mug down and running his finger over the rim. His shaggy dark hair was falling in his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "I got an assignment."
Reno laughed, clapping his hand on the boy's shoulder and laughing, leaning over a bit to face Rude's stony face. "You hear that, Rude? The kid here's finally gonna get wet behind the ears!" Rude grunted noncommittally and took a deep pull from his beer.
"Not exactly," Kaji muttered. "I'm getting stationed with the old timer. Glorified babysitting duty. And I'm sure she had something to do with it. She's had it in for me ever since I got promoted to the Turks. She's probably just pissed 'cause....'cause...well, never mind." He knew the rest of the thought, but it would have been dangerously close to entering the "unspoken territory". He didn't want to cross that line.
"Gah, that sucks," Reno said sympathetically. "Finally make it to Turks just to get a job changin' diapers. I'd've quit if they tried to do that to me. Right Rude?" This time the bald man gave no response.
Kaji slid his beer away again to hide his face in his arms, his too-large suit jacket sleeves fanning out around his wrists. "Why don't they just give that old broad a gold watch and send her on her way? She's probably been around long enough to have shaken hands with an Ancient."
Reno snorted. "They tried, man. And...what was it she said, Rude?" He didn't seem to honestly expect an answer, as he continued talking without waiting for a response. Apparently he just wanted to make the other Turk feel like he was a part of the conversation. "'If I am going to leave Shinra, it's going to be in a box'. Seriously, you usually have to breed mindless drones for that kinda loyalty. Apparently they see something in her, though. They keep bouncing her around from division to division in the company, finding a place for her. I think it's an insult to the Turks that they eventually dumped her with us! Don't they know we're the most dangerous, the best of the best?!"
Kaji sat up again, looking at his watch. "All she's done from the first time I stepped foot in the Turks lounge is attach herself to me. It's a twisted obsession. She also seems hell-bent on gypping me out of all the best assignments and getting me all the shitty ones. I did not join the Turks to perform crowd control or watch some whiny little rugrat monster!"
Reno shrugged. "It's just for a little while. The Turks are awful shorthanded, between the old timer and Tseng being kept mostly on light duty," And the absence of Elena, but that was left unsaid, like much during the night's conversation. "'Shinra can't afford to have a perfectly good Turk doing the grunt work any mindless army recruit could handle. Sides, just be glad you got in now instead of last year or the year before, when someone told ol' Hojo the SOLDIERs were off limits and he decided to turn the Turks into lab rats. Remember that Rude?" That actually did get a reaction in the form of an aggravated snort. "He stuck us with so many needles, put so many chemicals and other weird things in us...if we live to see forty without mutating into some horrible freak we'll thank the Gods."
Kaji shuddered. "I saw that guy twice. That was enough, thanks."
Reno nodded enthusiastically. "That's one thing from the Crisis that I am thankful for: Hojo disappeared, and Jojo's more fond of sticking needles in herself than other people." Professor Jozene Sakir, called Jojo as a joking homage to the last head of the Research Department, was the only person at the new Shinra, Inc. that was almost as mysterious as the president. She spent all of her time in her lab, and bad things happened to people who interrupted her mid-project. About the only time she laid off experimenting on herself was when the president gave her an assignment.
Kaji stood up, rolling the sleeves of his blazer back up and unclipping his sunglasses from the front of it. About the only time all the Turks kept their uniforms in order was when they were facing the president, or being disciplined. "Well, it's been a blast fellas but tomorrow I face my fate. With any luck we can do this again soon."
"We'll see ya around, kid," Reno said with a small salute, his sunglasses finally falling onto the bar. "And I mean that. We'll wrestle you from the old lady if we've gotta. Not healthy for a young man to spend all his time with old ladies and babies, or some shit like that."
Kaji left the money for his drinks on the bar. "Thanks," he muttered, turning and leaving.
ooooooooo
"Is someone going to go and see if he has a pulse?" Yuffie asked from he spot on the beanbag chair in front of the large TV. Although she had returned to Wutai after the Crisis, just before Cloud's disappearance she had returned to Midgar, saying something about them not being able to keep her away. At first they were hesitant to let the young Materia thief join them full time, but she had seemed so hell-bent on having a position with the new AVALANCHE that Tifa and Barret couldn't send her away."He's fine," Barret muttered, less than impressed by the mercenary's reappearance. Cloud had shown up at the doorstep of Tifa's new bar (named Cloud Nine as an homage to the man, much to his chagrin), muttered something about being sick, and passed out cold. He'd been sleeping ever since, occasionally waking up to get something to eat or perform other necessities, before dropping back into his deep sleep.
Tifa sighed, leaning against the jukebox that doubled as an elevator. "I don't think he is, Barret. Maybe we should find a doctor somewhere..."
Just as she suggested it, Cloud slunk into the living area from the general vicinity of a tiny corridor that lead to the sleeping quarters. He blinked his glowing blue eyes blearily, surveying his surroundings before throwing himself into one of the beanbag chairs.
"Well, look who decided to join the world of the livin'!" Barret exclaimed, sounding more than just a bit annoyed. Tifa, on the other hand, walked over to Cloud's side, looking down at him with a worried expression.
"Are you feeling better, Cloud?" she asked him gently.
Cloud looked up at her like he hardly recognized her, before facing the floor again. "Yeah. A bit. Thanks."
"What the hell is wrong with ya now?" Barret asked, stomping over to the still half-asleep blonde.
Cloud looked up at the large man, then shrugged. "Hell if I know. I spent the last nine months in Kalm going crazy. Guess that and traveling took a lot out of me."
Yuffie muted the TV and turned to look at Cloud. "Going crazy? Why?"
Another shrug. "Dunno. That's kind of why I came back to Midgar. I didn't know where else to start. I've been getting the weird feelings and stuff I had when Sephiroth was still alive, too."
A silence fell over the room. Finally, Barret stomped over to Yuffie and wrenched the remote from her hand, unmuting to change the subject. The unmistakable Shinra logo was on the screen, catching the attention of the four in the basement.
"President Amunet Shinra's Five Point Program," a female announcer began, the number and each point appearing below the logo as she spoke, "includes the reconstruction of the destroyed mako reactors and Sector Seven, the establishment of new mako reactors to further reduce the cost of mako energy, the elimination of the slums with a massive relocation program to move the people of the slums to the outskirts of Midgar to expand the city's borders and thus eliminate the class system, the creation of new jobs within Shinra itself to afford many opportunities for people within the company, and the establishment of another Midgar so that other areas may benefit from the progress of Midgar. As a result of the five point agenda, President Shinra's approval rating is estimated at 78% on the plate itself, and 64% beneath the plate, and his approval rating is steadily on the rise as he wins over more support with promises of a brighter tomorrow for the citizens of Midgar. In response to critics who claim that he is untrustworthy if he never shows his face, President Shinra has called his first press conference for next week, where it is believed he will win even more support."
"Bullshit!" Barret shouted, smacking the television. It fizzled out for a moment, then the picture returned, tuned into an update about Chocobo racing. "All he's doin' is bullyin' the people of the slums outta their land and outta his sight!"
Yuffie shrugged. "I don't know. He sounds like an okay guy. For someone who is killing the Planet, anyway."
"Ain't you payin' attention?!" Barret fumed. "He's just brainwashin' the rich and bullyin' the poor!"
"Barret, calm down," Tifa said, making sure it sounded like a suggestion and not an order. "I'd hate to say this...what if Yuffie's right? Maybe President Amunet Shinra doesn't know that mako energy will kill the Planet. Maybe he honestly thinks he's doing better for the people of Midgar. For everyone. Just because the company is bad doesn't mean everyone involved in it is."
"Then how come no one's seen his damn face?!" Barret cried in outrage, no believing he was hearing this from Tifa. He stomped over to the jukebox, causing Tifa to step off of it. "I'm goin' back upstairs. If any of you feel like savin' this Planet, then you can join me!" With that, he rode the platform up into the bar.
"Do you really think he could be a good guy?" Yuffie asked Tifa.
Tifa shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just feeling a little discouraged. We saved the world once just to have Shinra reappear. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe this really is the time for the end of the Planet and all we're doing is delaying the inevitable. What do you think, Cloud?"
Cloud, who had been examining the TV carefully, didn't look at either of the girls as he spoke. "President Shinra...he knows something..."
ooooooooo
President Amunet Shinra wasn't surprised to step into the 64th floor laboratory and see Professor Jozene Sakir sitting at a desk, tying a tourniquet around her own upper-arm., sleeves of her lab coat already rolled up past her elbows and a syringe grasped between her teeth. Upon hearing someone enter, the woman dropped the syringe and jumped, reaching for something in her with her left hand lab coat before realizing who it was.
"Don't ever do that!" Sakir shrieked, before realizing who it was. "Please. Sir."
"Right. Don't forget who signs your paychecks," Amunet said with a nod, taking a seat without being invited. Pretending the president wasn't there, Sakir continued flicking her own arm until a vein that wasn't sclerosed from repeated injections appeared on the surface. "So what's the data on the project?"
The scientist made a "one moment" gesture with her finger, recorded something on the paper next to her, and then slid the needle containing a cloudy orange substance into the vein, injecting it slowly. She noted something else, slid the paper into a green folder next to her, and then drew out a black one. "Let me see...male, 49.8 centimeters, 3083 grams."
"Healthy?" Amunet urged.
Sakir shrugged. "Well, that depends on your definition. Is he going to be able to live, eat, breathe, walk, and talk on his own? Yeah, sure. But you had us intentionally breed some weakness into him, so he's going to be fragile. You'll have to be cautious about the outside stimuli he's exposed to. We can't monitor his exact physical ability or power levels until he gets a little older, but where it stands now you got what he wanted: if he has even a fraction of the power Sephiroth had, he'd destroy himself if he tried to use it. He'd probably take out a few people with him, but hey, you can't win'em all." She tossed the folder toward the president and opened a sealed container, drawing out a cookie and offering the container. "Cookie?"
"I wouldn't eat anything that came out of your lab," Amunet said, surveying the data.
Sakir nodded. "Ah. Smart move. Was hoping I'd soften the blow."
Blue eyes met the glassy black eyes of the scientist. "What blow?"
Sakir sighed. "Apparently we all underestimated the power of Jenova. We know mako and Jenova can cause an increase in physical strength. I was almost sure I had limited that. But in the two weeks since he was born, the project's muscle mass has increased nearly 25%. Bone structure has shown an 18% improvement, and he's increased in weight by about 42%. Right now I am chalking this up to 'babies grow fast', but this is just a little too fast. We could try to stop it or slow it down, but with the preexisting weakness you had us program into him he probably wouldn't survive such an attempt and we'd be back at square one. And even if you wanted to try again from scratch, there's only so many women able to bear children working for this company, myself included. You'll run out of volunteers and people to force sooner or later, and it'd be a nightmare getting someone from outside of Shinra involved." She took a bite of the cookie, looked at her arm, then opened her green folder to jot something down. A thin trail of blood was leaking from where she injected herself, but she made no movement to wipe it away.
The president sighed with exasperation, looking over the contents of the folder with narrowed eyes. "And is there anything we can do? This project was coming close to a breakthrough, but we can't take the risk of bringing another Sephiroth into the world. You can understand my dilemma."
"You want my professional opinion?" Sakir asked. "I've been against this from the beginning. Ever take a look at Hojo's notes? The Jenova Project broke every scientific, legal, and moral protocol that you can think of and then some. The things that went on make me sick. I wanted to wash my hands of this, and I make it no secret the only reason I got on board was because you promised to make me head chairperson of Scientific Research. I should have known that you'd only offer the job to someone as crazy and unpopular as me for a reason. You claim you want to prevent the mistakes of your predecessors, but with all due respect, Sir, practically the first thing you did upon coming into office was duplicate their greatest and most fatal error. My solution? Wash your hands of the whole thing. And destroy this...thing. What we're doing is twisted and cruel. Quit while you're ahead."
Amunet stood up, eyes still narrowed in anger. "And with all due respect to you, professor, you're the last person I want to hear advice in ethics from, considering what you spend all your time and funding doing. This project is your job, and you'd do well not to forget that. We are not aborting this project, not now and not ever, so you'd do well to think of a way to make it work if you value your position here."
As the president left, Sakir narrowed her eyes and thought unpleasant thoughts before turning her attention, once again, to her arm and her cookies.
ooooooooo
Kaji was staring longingly outside the room, the door wide open but his orders keeping him from making that final step outside. Although he was wearing his dark blue Turks uniform, the elder Turk standing behind him was dressed casually in a loose beige sweater, holding a bundle wrapped in a mint green blanket. Once in a while Kaji's dark eyes would face the woman and baby with scorn before he continued his "guard duty".
"This sucks," Kaji said bitterly, unclipping his sunglasses from his blazer again and chewing on the frames.
Zanya shrugged, holding the bottle as the baby nursed contentedly. "Orders are orders," she said plainly. However, it had been Zanya's suggestion that Kaji be assigned as her partner for now. The president had been hesitant to allow it, as not many Turks were around that could report for labor- intensive work detail, but had eventually relented with the caveat that Kaji could be reassigned at any time to report to another job where his youth and vigor as well as his skills would be an asset. Seeing that the young Turk just planned to stand there all night, she sighed. "Come in and close the door, please."
It must have been the "please" from his superior that made Kaji raise an incredulous eyebrow, but he did as he was told, stepping into the tiny room that was set up to look like a very dull and monochromatic nursery. He continued to look out the window at the hall, however, obviously longing for action elsewhere. Zanya almost felt guilty for putting in the request for him to be assigned with her, especially since she couldn't keep him innocent and away from the action forever. It just pained her to see a boy that seemed so young lose the last of his innocence.
"Hey, you ever been to Wutai?" Kaji asked suddenly, conversationally.
Zanya smiled, but it was a distant, humorless smile. "Yes. I was stationed there during the war," she said absently, taking the bottle away from the baby in her arms. He looked up at her with expectant, glowing green eyes.
Kaji nodded. "Thought you might have been. But since it wasn't that long ago I thought maybe you were stationed somewhere else. I have no clue how long you've been around."
Zanya laughed a little, then rested the baby on her shoulder to burp him. "I've been around almost as long as Shinra itself. I'd been with SOLDIER quite a while when the war began, though. I was a unit leader and took quite a few hits for my men. I lost my eye then."
This seemed to intrigue the young man, who grabbed the only other seat in the room. "I always wondered what they did with the body parts that got cut off of people in accidents or in battle."
Zanya shrugged, getting up to move the baby into the crib. As soon as she was sure he was secure, she sat back down in the rocking chair, leaning forward to resume the conversation in earnest. "Well, Hojo- if you can remember him- red lined most of the members of SOLDIER to his care if they were injured. He was adamant about that. He liked to get his hands on our body parts. When I came out of the anesthesia I saw him arguing with the field surgeon about my eye. I don't know if he ever got his hands on it or not, or why the surgeon couldn't or wouldn't give it up. But there was an joke going around that he was using the 'spare parts' to try and build a new SOLDIER in his spare time. There might have been some truth to that, unfortunately. He was...a disturbed man."
Kaji shuddered. "Like I told Reno the other night: I saw him twice, and that was enough. The stories I've heard..."
Zanya sighed. "Sadly, most of them were true. I have a feeling him becoming chairperson of the Scientific Research Department had as much to do with his lack of morals and ethics as it did his breakthroughs during the first Jenova project. I also think Sakir was made his replacement for the same reason he was hired: because she's willing to do things any self-respecting scientist wouldn't."
Kaji shook his head. "Damn, Shinra was screwed up for a while." He met Zanya's eye again. "Did you like Hojo?"
She laughed bitterly. "No one liked Hojo. Not even the president. People objected to him- and if they worked in Shinra, they weren't seen for much longer after they did- and people tolerated him. Some poor, misguided souls even grudgingly respected him. The only person who may have come close to actually liking him would have to be Professor Gast, who worked with him when he was the chair of the Science Department and apparently thought very highly of Hojo's abilities. I, unfortunately, had to tolerate him. He spent a lot of time with the members of SOLDIER, so I had no choice."
Kaji seemed to ponder this for a moment. Zanya had to wonder why he had the sudden preoccupation with the late scientist. All she knew was that she wanted to change the subject. "You would have been around Wutai during the war, if memory serves me right. So tell me, what were things like on the other side?"
"I was sorta around then," Kaji said. "I was around when it started. I have eight brothers and sisters. The oldest stayed to fight, and those that couldn't ran off with the youngest. I was one of the youngest, so I had to run for it." He held up his right hand to show that the tip of his pinky was missing. "My 'war injury', as I call it. Got it slammed in a door on the ship taking us away and ripped it clean off. By the time I got back to Wutai the war was over, my father was dead, and my mother was tending to my siblings that stayed. Needless to say, me getting involved with the Shinra wasn't a popular decision with my friends and family."
"I'd imagine not," Zanya said with a nod. Although she had avidly supported the war at the time, in hindsight and in the wake of the consequences she was seriously regretting her own involvement in it, at the very least. "That's a big family you have there. And no one is there to support you?"
Kaji shook his head. "Nope. They all think I'm a traitor. Sometimes I regret going to Shinra. I think about the reasons I joined and weigh them against the reasons I left...you know, I am still not sure why I joined. All I know was that Wutai was really starting to suck after the war and the bigger a tourist trap it became, the more down everyone got. Midgar promised excitement, and about the only way to survive in Midgar these days is to be born there or have involvement in the Shinra. Plus it's nice to get a 'good job' and a promotion when I do well. I was so damn excited when I was offered a position with the Turks..." He laughed somewhat bitterly. "It kinda hurt not to have anyone to brag about it to. If I bragged to the other Turks, they'd think I was being a kid. If I bragged to the other soldiers, they'd think I was being a jerk. And I certainly couldn't tell my family. That'd make for a wonderful call home: 'hey Mom, guess what? I'm now part of Shinra's elite kidnapping and assassination team!'"
Zanya sighed. The more Kaji talked, the more she wanted to lock him away somewhere and be a better mother to him than she had been to either of her sons. To keep him out of the company and the army's grasp, like she'd been too foolish to do for her offspring. To pat him on the head and tell him he was a good boy. But she had a feeling that, as young and vulnerable as Kaji seemed to her, he wanted nothing more than to be treated and respected as an adult.
"Do you have any kids?" Kaji asked suddenly, leaning against the changing table next to the chair. His sunglasses were no longer in his hand, and his dark eyes were facing the floor. From them, Zanya could tell he was feeling a combination of boredom, homesickness, and sadness.
After a few quiet moments, Zanya nodded. "Yes, two. My oldest is a little older than you, and my youngest is a little younger. Assuming I have your age right, from the way you describe the war."
This seemed to pique Kaji's interest. "What are they like?"
Zanya smiled slightly, a rather sad smile. "They're very different from one another. Sener, my oldest, is a big, strapping boy. He wasn't much for bookish things, but he was a natural born leader and a decent tactician. I wasn't surprised that he entered the army or that he got to such a high rank as he did. But Uriel...he wasn't that big. Rather delicate, in fact. He wasn't much for physical activity, although he took to Materia and magic fairly well. His only real physical talent was he had an ability more commonly called 'Limit Break', where when he was pushed far enough he would have a short burst of adrenaline that allowed him access an ability he couldn't otherwise. But he tended to hide that part of himself, because the Shinra were fascinated by it, especially Hojo. He was much more into books and learning. He was a scholar and wanted to be a scientist. Keeping him out of Shinra's Science Department was one of the hardest things I ever had to do and I always feared he would resent me for it, but I didn't want either of my sons to be at the mercy of Hojo. When he told me he was joining the army as well, I was sincerely shocked. Some part of me wonders if he did it to earn my approval, knowing that I was so active in the Shinra military and his brother was upholding that tradition..." Realizing she was unloading her shortcomings as a mother onto a boy young enough to be one of her sons, she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I still keep in touch with Sener. Uriel used to call me often, but he's in the middle of his year and a half sequester period where he will train rigorously to enter either SOLDIER or the Turks. He's hoping for the latter, or so he said last time I heard from him. Admittedly, that was a while ago."
"Sener and Uriel?" Kaji asked. He chuckled a bit. "Do you resent your kids? You must have something against them to give them names like that..."
Zanya also laughed a little. "They mean something, at least." She stood up and walked over to the crib. "And I am thinking that he should be Ridwan..."
Kaji shrugged. "Hey, I'm not the one who has to live with that name."
ooooooooo
Night and day tended to blend into one another in Vincent's world of darkness. Lost to his deep sleep once more in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, trying to shut out the outside world while his past nightmares replayed over and over in his subconscious, he had no reason to believe he would be disturbed again. But then again, he hadn't expected to be disturbed the last time, either. And this time it wouldn't be nearly as pleasant...
The creature that crept into the locked room seemed to have a purpose, discarding the key in a corner as it did slid inside like a shadow, all darkness and shadow except for a pair of glowing green eyes. Yanking off the lid of the coffin, it froze for a moment over the still, sleeping form, contemplating for a moment, it seemed, the still and nearly lifeless contents.
Finally, after the moment of silent contemplation, it drew out a dagger, silver muted from the lack of light, with three glowing green orbs embedded in the hilt. Raising the dagger in a two-handed grip, the figure poised over the body, aiming for the heart....
And in a flash, several things happened. Vincent's eyes opened wide, taking in the form preparing to stab him. Instinct kicked in, and he jumped from the coffin, perching on the back for a moment as he drew his gun. A few shots were fired, and a second dagger emerged, this one with two green orbs and a blue one. Vincent, in his assessment of Materia, also noticed two red ones dangling on silver chains from the right hear, and two more green ones from the left. But the assessment barely registered as twin daggers lunged at his form, and he had to flip to escape the blades.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked, gun still gripped tightly in his right hand, claws clicking as he clenched and unclenched the left one.
The green eyes narrowed in the darkness, and a feral growl escaped the throat of his assailant. "Die!" they shouted, their voice surprisingly light and young sounding as he lunged forward, the dagger in his left hand igniting. With a flick of his wrist, the fire spell was launched in Vincent's direction, and the movement to dodge sent him out into the hallway outside of the room. He fired more shots, and a surprised yelp came from within the room, but green light from the cure spell still surrounding them, the attacker was back out in full force, driving Vincent further down the hall and into the lab.
An ice spell struck Vincent, and he groaned in pain. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but fought the beast within him that was striving to escape as he accessed his own Materia, implanted into his gun. He cast bolt, and it seemed to connect as the assailant cried out. But again, he wasn't down for long as he ran the rest of the way into the lab, illuminated by the abandoned Macho tanks and the slivers of moonlight that streamed in through the small windows near the ceiling of the room.
For the first time Vincent saw his attacker: a teenage boy. He couldn't have been much older than sixteen or seventeen years old, eyes glowing Macho green and skin seeming pale in contrast to his shoulder-length, wavy black hair and all-black outfit. Tight black pants, black turtleneck, open black trench coat with shining silver buckles...and the look in his eyes was one of pure hatred and loathing, and something less than human.
Vincent tried shooting at the boy again, and again the boy grunted as the shots tore his side. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a blue bottle and ripped the cork out with his teeth, drinking the potion and throwing it aside carelessly. Suddenly he was on top of Vincent, lashing out with inhuman speed as he rode the flood of adrenaline through his veins, driving Vincent closer and closer to his own Limit Break. Daggers tore at his skin, and he knew that soon enough he'd have no choice but to shift if he wanted to heal himself quickly to survive.
The rush of adrenaline fading out of the boy, Vincent was able to throw him off with inhuman strength as he finally felt his control slip. It was like fire burning through his veins as he shifted into his beast-like alternate form and lunged at the boy with as much aggression as had been displayed toward him. Sensing that this was more for him to handle on his own, the boy lept up for the small windows in the basement, crashing through them and onto the ground outside.
The rush of adrenaline faded, and with it the beast that had overcome Vincent. Once again in his human guise, he looked up at the broken window, stepping through the broken glass and contemplating giving chase for the boy. But he seemed to have long faded into the night.
Just what had that been all about? And why would someone so young want him dead?
End of Chapter Two