Author's Note: I don't own FF. I think everyone understands this by now.
Also: I put off further Turkness for now because I realized that all the
while I had somehow misplaced my favorite character and hadn't explained
where he was! So, heeeeeeeeere's.... Vincent!
Chapter Eight
Crimes Against the Planet
Vincent Valentine stood in the stretching shadows of one of the remaining buildings in the village of Mideel. The hauntingly familiar shadow had lured him here, just as it had to other places. In just two days, he had been pressed to his limit, forcing himself to transform into the Galian Beast to cover the great amount of distance overland, and then once into Chaos in order to fly over the water obstacle to this location. He hadn't lost control of himself either time. Even in the beastial state, his mind had remained focused on the psychic scent he had caught and the urge to be with it.
And now he was here, in a town flooded by Mako, the Lifestream. And somewhere in this place was the one he sought.
Lucrecia.
It was different now than it was before. When he had been a Turk, assigned to protect her, Hojo, and Professor Gast, it was a respectful love where he had kept his distance and just watched. After a while, he had resolved in his mind that he had to be with her, and take her away from Hojo and his disgusting experiments. When she refused, he tried to stop it himself... and his new arm, red eyes, and the beasts within were the result.
After he had joined Avalanche and was reunited with Lucrecia, albeit temporarily, it had been a relieved feeling that she was still alive, and still in some sense cared for him. Now, though, a feeling of dread filled him.
The woman he loved was doing something stupid. And he didn't know whether to stop her or help.
Somewhere inside, he had felt her need, known what she would do after learning of Sephiroth's death. Just as somewhere inside, he knew that the planet was already acting against her, gathering its will and its power to crush her before she committed irrepairable damage to the planet.
By the glowing mass of liquid that was the Lifestream, children played, throwing a ball back and forth. Near them, a dog wagged its tail and watched their fun. Across the way was a boy with a pet chocobo, trying to sell his goods. Somewhere among these people was the love of his life, somehow wounding the planet.
He fingered the gun at his hip. Could he do it? For the sake of the world, could he kill the woman he loved? Could he raise his gun against her, point the barrel directly at her head, and fire? He imagined the blood splatter, pieces of skull fragment and brain flying through the air, a look of shock, surprise, betrayal on her face.
His hand closed around the handle of Death Penalty.
"I can't do it," he said to himself.
"Of course you can't, my dear Vincent."
He whirled about, raising the gun at the owner of the voice, instantly cocking back the hammer. Lucrecia's face was older, but not as old as it should be. The Jenova cells in her body had slowed her aging, as well as improve her physically.
"You never could," she continued. "Even when you fully believed that my child, born from me, but of Jenova, would be the ultimate evil, you couldn't even bring yourself to think that possibility. Now look at you. You say you love me. But now you're contemplating murdering me."
Vincent lowered the weapon. He cast his eyes down in shame. "I could never kill you. But what you're doing... it's wrong. It's a crime against the planet. Can't you hearing it crying out? Surely the Jenova in you grants you that ability."
She nodded, no look of remorse touching her face at all. "What is the world to me when it has taken my son from me? My Sephiroth is dead. At first I was both happy and saddened to hear that, but now I realize that he was my son. He is all I care about."
"Is that what this is about? Do you intend to bring back Sephiroth somehow?"
A smile played on her lips, but it didn't touch her eyes. "Yes. With the sample of the Lifestream that I've already extracted, and as well as samples of my DNA and that of Hojo, I can cause my son to be reborn into this world. The planet may fall, but my son will live again."
"Never a thought about me," Vincent said wistfully. "How did I become ensnared by you?"
"Don't give me that. I am fond of you, Vincent, but nothing more. If killing you brought back my son, I would do it. Wouldn't you risk destroying the world if it meant saving me?"
"Yes," he answered. Images of Cloud and Tifa, Barret and Cid, Red XIII and Caith Sith and Yuffie all played in his mind. The memory of Aeris, kneeling in the City of the Ancients... and Sephiroth... "No," he amended. "I would not sacrifice the world for you, Lucrecia. Maybe once. But not now. I would give my own life in a moment, but never the life of someone else."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Vincent. I was hoping for you cooperation in this. I am sorry to see that you won't help me."
Something about the tone of her voice made him look away, almost in shame. He hardened his heart, and prepared himself for what he had to do next. He readied his grip on Death Penalty, and looked the love of his life directly in the eye. And found a gun barrel already pointed at him.
Pain exploded through his chest. The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the air. Vincent's mind, already filled with shock, found it odd that he had felt the pain and then heard the shot. Everything seemed to slow down.
The children that had been playing before scattered, the dog barked furiously. The chocobo, catching the scent of blood, ran away, panicked.
Vincent managed to lift Death Penalty and aim it at Lucrecia. Another shot fired, striking his arm. His own weapon went off, skimming the side of the woman's temple. He stumbled back, almost falling into the Lifestream.
"Why?" he asked.
"I need Jenova cells that are untainted by human DNA. When you transform into Chaos, as you inevitably will from a mortal injury, your DNA will no longer be human, thus enabling me to take what I need. I'm very sorry about this, Vincent. I really was hoping you would help me voluntarily."
It was true. He could feel the change coming. His chest was siezing up, making it difficult for him to breathe. With the last of his energy, he sat up, and stared Lucrecia down. "Lucrecia, my love... get fucked."
With his metal arm, the only part of him with the necessary strength remaining, he shoved himself away from her and directly into the Lifestream.
Author's Note: Oh my god. I can't believe I just did that. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that. I'm going to hell, I just know it.
Chapter Eight
Crimes Against the Planet
Vincent Valentine stood in the stretching shadows of one of the remaining buildings in the village of Mideel. The hauntingly familiar shadow had lured him here, just as it had to other places. In just two days, he had been pressed to his limit, forcing himself to transform into the Galian Beast to cover the great amount of distance overland, and then once into Chaos in order to fly over the water obstacle to this location. He hadn't lost control of himself either time. Even in the beastial state, his mind had remained focused on the psychic scent he had caught and the urge to be with it.
And now he was here, in a town flooded by Mako, the Lifestream. And somewhere in this place was the one he sought.
Lucrecia.
It was different now than it was before. When he had been a Turk, assigned to protect her, Hojo, and Professor Gast, it was a respectful love where he had kept his distance and just watched. After a while, he had resolved in his mind that he had to be with her, and take her away from Hojo and his disgusting experiments. When she refused, he tried to stop it himself... and his new arm, red eyes, and the beasts within were the result.
After he had joined Avalanche and was reunited with Lucrecia, albeit temporarily, it had been a relieved feeling that she was still alive, and still in some sense cared for him. Now, though, a feeling of dread filled him.
The woman he loved was doing something stupid. And he didn't know whether to stop her or help.
Somewhere inside, he had felt her need, known what she would do after learning of Sephiroth's death. Just as somewhere inside, he knew that the planet was already acting against her, gathering its will and its power to crush her before she committed irrepairable damage to the planet.
By the glowing mass of liquid that was the Lifestream, children played, throwing a ball back and forth. Near them, a dog wagged its tail and watched their fun. Across the way was a boy with a pet chocobo, trying to sell his goods. Somewhere among these people was the love of his life, somehow wounding the planet.
He fingered the gun at his hip. Could he do it? For the sake of the world, could he kill the woman he loved? Could he raise his gun against her, point the barrel directly at her head, and fire? He imagined the blood splatter, pieces of skull fragment and brain flying through the air, a look of shock, surprise, betrayal on her face.
His hand closed around the handle of Death Penalty.
"I can't do it," he said to himself.
"Of course you can't, my dear Vincent."
He whirled about, raising the gun at the owner of the voice, instantly cocking back the hammer. Lucrecia's face was older, but not as old as it should be. The Jenova cells in her body had slowed her aging, as well as improve her physically.
"You never could," she continued. "Even when you fully believed that my child, born from me, but of Jenova, would be the ultimate evil, you couldn't even bring yourself to think that possibility. Now look at you. You say you love me. But now you're contemplating murdering me."
Vincent lowered the weapon. He cast his eyes down in shame. "I could never kill you. But what you're doing... it's wrong. It's a crime against the planet. Can't you hearing it crying out? Surely the Jenova in you grants you that ability."
She nodded, no look of remorse touching her face at all. "What is the world to me when it has taken my son from me? My Sephiroth is dead. At first I was both happy and saddened to hear that, but now I realize that he was my son. He is all I care about."
"Is that what this is about? Do you intend to bring back Sephiroth somehow?"
A smile played on her lips, but it didn't touch her eyes. "Yes. With the sample of the Lifestream that I've already extracted, and as well as samples of my DNA and that of Hojo, I can cause my son to be reborn into this world. The planet may fall, but my son will live again."
"Never a thought about me," Vincent said wistfully. "How did I become ensnared by you?"
"Don't give me that. I am fond of you, Vincent, but nothing more. If killing you brought back my son, I would do it. Wouldn't you risk destroying the world if it meant saving me?"
"Yes," he answered. Images of Cloud and Tifa, Barret and Cid, Red XIII and Caith Sith and Yuffie all played in his mind. The memory of Aeris, kneeling in the City of the Ancients... and Sephiroth... "No," he amended. "I would not sacrifice the world for you, Lucrecia. Maybe once. But not now. I would give my own life in a moment, but never the life of someone else."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Vincent. I was hoping for you cooperation in this. I am sorry to see that you won't help me."
Something about the tone of her voice made him look away, almost in shame. He hardened his heart, and prepared himself for what he had to do next. He readied his grip on Death Penalty, and looked the love of his life directly in the eye. And found a gun barrel already pointed at him.
Pain exploded through his chest. The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the air. Vincent's mind, already filled with shock, found it odd that he had felt the pain and then heard the shot. Everything seemed to slow down.
The children that had been playing before scattered, the dog barked furiously. The chocobo, catching the scent of blood, ran away, panicked.
Vincent managed to lift Death Penalty and aim it at Lucrecia. Another shot fired, striking his arm. His own weapon went off, skimming the side of the woman's temple. He stumbled back, almost falling into the Lifestream.
"Why?" he asked.
"I need Jenova cells that are untainted by human DNA. When you transform into Chaos, as you inevitably will from a mortal injury, your DNA will no longer be human, thus enabling me to take what I need. I'm very sorry about this, Vincent. I really was hoping you would help me voluntarily."
It was true. He could feel the change coming. His chest was siezing up, making it difficult for him to breathe. With the last of his energy, he sat up, and stared Lucrecia down. "Lucrecia, my love... get fucked."
With his metal arm, the only part of him with the necessary strength remaining, he shoved himself away from her and directly into the Lifestream.
Author's Note: Oh my god. I can't believe I just did that. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that. I'm going to hell, I just know it.