Yuffie had no idea what to expect when she exited the portal. First there was her home town of Wutai, the lower slums of section 2, maybe she'd start where he left of and would start out speeding down some water drainage sewers, which kinda made her nervous. Instead she entered the front gate of a small village she had been to many times before. Kalm. After looking around for a moment noticing the various people going on their way, a man in a black suit reading a newspaper caught her eye. When she began moving towards him, he immediately put the paper down and walked towards her.
The first doorway led to the happy child, the second to the unruly youth, and the third led to the clean cut professional. That's precisely how he looked. Even in his early twenties, the way he looked added a decade to his age. Nicely polished shoes, black pants, and dress jacket. White button-shirt. Black tie. From the bulges in his chest she could tell he was wearing two pistols, one larger on his right and a small on his left. His Jet-black hair was put into a ponytail that was tied with a red rubber band. The general untidy tidiness of the Vincent she knew made him seem much younger than the man before her. What struck her the most was the wanton apathy she saw in his eyes. 'He could care less about my being here. He just wants it over.' She thought to herself.
When they finally met in the middle she said to him, "You look so much like Tseng."
"Traditional garb of the Turks, he too was half Wutaian, but he probably won't be born for another five to ten years."
"So…. Where are you?"
"After I fell down the manhole-"
"Which is pretty sick.."
"May I continue?" She nodded. "I was found by a young couple that were hiking in the foothills around Midgar. They found me and dragged me back to Kalm since they figured it was not safe for one of my types to be seen around Midgar. As it was, it was not safe for anyone there. The various weapons companies were hunting the gangs down with a contract for each confirmed kill. It was there that the Shinra emerged victorious, winning both the majority of the bounties and the future weapons contracts with the city of Midgar. From that point the Shinra would be the primary providers and trainers for Midgar's weapons and security. But getting back to the story, they brought me back here and nursed me back to health. They also sent me back to Midgar in a more professional looking attire."
Just as he said that, another version of Vincent wearing khaki pants and a button up shirt strode outside and into the passenger seat of a vehicle that upon his arrival clicked on and began puttering its way to Midgar.
"I still had plenty of cash in the bank, so I went there first. After sending a reasonable sum back my friends in Kalm, I rented out a small apartment in sector 3 and started job hunting."
There was a brief flash, and they were back in Midgar, standing side by side on the corner in the middle of horribly ragged neighborhood. Patrolling in pairs were guards in uniforms of blue, carrying submachine guns and knight sticks. Further down the street were a group of 4 guards in a square formation, in the middle was a large man in a white suit, strolling down the street as if he owned the entire town, his walking stick clicking in tune to his shoes. Faces appeared in windows, and people quickly crossed the street to avoid his path. No one wanted to be in his path incase he snapped again.
two weeks earlier: A similar scene 4 guards and one large man now in a gray suit. They were walking down a similar street with more ragged sidewalks. As he tipped his had to a woman in a stroller he tripped on the broken concrete sidewalks. As he rose one of the guards gave him his hand to help him up. A cackle of laughter erupted from a young man no older than 17 leaning against the building they were walking by. All 5 men just turned to him, as the man in gray turned red in face. One of the guards stepped forward and said, "Shut your mouth! This is the governor of Sector 2 you're laughing at!"
"Whose governor? I didn't elect him." He coolly replied and continued his loud cackle. The man in gray, the mayor turned two more shades of red before he decided to vent his anger. The handle of his walking stick caught the man between his neck and shoulder, he was instantly down. Then the mayor walked forward and began relentlessly kicking the young man in the stomach and crotch, pausing now and then to stamp his head and fingers. After about ½ a minute, one of the guards walked forward and put his hand on the mayor's shoulder and gingerly asked, "Maybe we should st—" but was cut off my 5 loud bangs. The mayor had reached into his suit and shot the guard 5 times without bothering to remove the gun from its holster inside his coat. He turned to the other guards, who backed off a couple steps hands. Then with a plain unwavering face he picked up the dead guard's submachine gun and put a clip into the young man. He then dropped the rifle and walked a couple yards down the sidewalk, then stopped. The guards just stared back. In a calm voice he called out, "It's a shame that one of Midgar's men in blue should go crazy like that and kill a poor young man. I had to kill him, it was justice." Then he started walking again. The 3 remaining guards to looked at the dead body of the poor boy and their former comrade then hurried to catch up to their governor.
Present… well past present…
"It wasn't hard to find jobs. Men like this were everywhere. Their exploits were made famous during the gang-midgar war. They hunted down the remnants of the gangs and turned them in for cash. They were murderer's all of them. When the war was over, the city honored them for their services rendered, but they never stopped. They continued to murder, except now with a government authority and an escort of guards. Finding work in this place wasn't hard. Not hard at all.
At that moment, the 5 men passed their corner, and as they got midway between the streets a large crack filled their ears and one of the men fell over. The four guards just stared down the street. Four blocks from where they came from, a man stood up on the roof of a apartment building. He wore a black shirt, black pants and had a pistol in his hands. They couldn't tell what he looked like, but they all knew he fired the shot. Slowly he stood up and walked towards the back of the building, where he would jump from roof to roof for the next 20 minutes on his way back to his apartment in sector 3. When he disappeared from view the 4 solders turned to face each other.
"Think we should go after him?" "Nah, he's long gone…" one of the solders laughed to himself. "Think we should call an ambulance?" "Wait a minute or two more, he may still be alive." At that comment all 4 erupted in laughter. They never did call an ambulance, he skipped ahead to the coroner, and they didn't want to bother wasting any more time with the former govonors's body.
Yuffie looked like she had seen a ghost. Her face was white and her breathing was heavy. Vincent looked bored. "The guard's parent's" he began. "were over there in that dinner." He pointed to a diner across the street. In the window of exited onlookers were two faces stone cold and calm. "The boy's parents were over there." He gestured to a empty hardware store. "The father is actually carrying a shotgun on him. He said that if the mayor got up, he would go out and finish the job himself. They offered me 100,000 Gill. I took the job for 25,000. I wasn't greedy. I had money, all I wanted was justice for those it was denied to. I never liked killing… I just seemed to be what I was best at, like you are with stealing."
Yuffie sharply turned to him and spat out, "There is a huge difference between stealing materia and murdering people!"
"What about all those helpless travelers you robbed blind? Without their materia how long do you think they lasted against the monsters in the wilderness?"
Yuffie was in a state of shock, the thought of all those poor saps being attacked by a ruthless horde of beasts right after she had lifted all their materia never occurred to her. She just dropped to her knees, her eyes filling with tears. "It never occurred to me…"
"I'm sorry I said that. Besides, the monsters in the areas you stalked were all pretty weak. I'm sure they were all able to make it up a tree or something to safety until they could get back to civilization. I mean when we met you, we were swatting monsters left and right and they gave us no problem." Vincent gently put his right hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.
She slowly stood up and said, "Come on Vincent, its your guilt I'm here to relieve, not the opposite way around." And for a moment there was a blinding light, and they were in the middle of a diner.
"This is maybe 1 ½ hours later, I had changed on a rooftop, I'm waiting for my money." Yuffie's gaze dropped onto the figure of Vincent sitting at a booth in the back of the shop, reading a newspaper. Just as turned to the next page, two men walk through the entrance. One carrying a briefcase in his right hand the second man trailing behind him. Vincent stands up and greets them then the three sit down, and order their drinks. The two men Yuffie now recognizes as the fathers of the two dead men. They quickly finish their drinks and hastily leave, eager to get back to their families. Looking over this shoulder Vincent quickly opens the case, and mentally counts the money, then smiles to himself. "They gave me 60,000gill extra. Over double the negotiated price." Vincent quickly paid his tab and made his way to the back door. "I rented a room in this building on the 5th floor. That's where I lived and worked."
Yuffie and the shadow of Vincent quickly followed him upstairs, when he reached the top of the stairs, he began whistleing some random jig. And quietly made his way into the darkened room. Yuffie who was still in the doorway noticed a movement from further down the hall, and a man in a black suit and darkened sunglasses emerged carrying a submachine gun. As the lights flicked on Vincent gave a short call. Glancing inside Yuffie saw 3 men, two similarly dressed men carrying submachine guns and a third man in the center of the room sitting in a chair from Vincent's table. The third man seemed different, He was wearing the same type suit as the other two, but he seemed older. His poise made him seem more patient and more learned. The other two men flanked him; he was sitting slowly taking puffs out of a cigarette.
"Vincent Horatio Valentine…" he began. "Its been nearly a twelve years since I've last met a Valentine." As he stopped speaking the man behind Vincent lunged forward and drove the butt of his rifle into the back of Vincen't neck. Vincnet fell over limp.
In the few minutes that followed, lots of orders were issued. Vincent was searched, his two pistols lay on the table. His house was torn apart, and two other weapons, a large rifle and another pistol were found, along with 3 large sums of money. All his money was thrown haplessly on the bed, and his pistols on the table. Vincent was sat down in another chair opposite side his table of the smoking man. "They were Turks, first generation." Vincent whispered to Yuffie. 'Must have been' Yuffie thought to herself. 'I wouldn't have noticed the one behind us unless he moved while we were still watching.'
"Wake him…" the one in charge said as he put his cigarette out on the ashtray. And with that the closest man pulled a viol out from his jacket pocket, removed the top and waved it before Vincent's nose. Vincent's head and body jerked in response, and he was wide-awake in moments.
"What do you want?" was all he could say.
"Mr. Vincent Valentine, you are hereby charged with the murder of four governors of the city of Midgar. As a result of your actions, you shall be executed right here. Your money and weapons will be confiscated by the state of Midgar. And your family, your actions, and you in general will be forgotten…" With that final statement the three other Turks raised their gun and leveled them on Vincent. "However" he began.
Vincent looked nervous. He wasn't sweating as much as Yuffie would have expected him to, but his eyes were constantly darting back and forth between the four men. Then his eyes settled back on center-man. "However…" he repeated.
"However, the Shinra Corporation is on the lookout for unnaturally skilled individuals for its new mobile division. You, by chance, have shown some skill. And if you can prove yourself, and work for us, then the state of Midgar will forgive you transgressions. If you fail, or decline… well I think you get the picture." The three men just chuckled as they flipped the safety's off their guns.
"What do I need to do?" The man began to stand, and the other three motioned for Vincent to do likewise. He picked up one of Vincent's pistols from the table, the Outsider. Vincent followed the man as he slowly walked to the window. Throwing the window open, the city was alive with noise. They had to yell to each other, it was that noise. The man emptied the outsider of its six cartridges and gave the pistol and one cartridge to Vincent.
"The street light in front of us, hit the bulb." A brief bang rang out and suddenly the street-light in front of them fell dark. "Now the next one" Another brief bang and the lights in the street light two blocks away went dark. "The next", then "The next", then "The next." Five bullets were wasted in that manner. "That type gun isn't meant for long range shooting, is that what you used to kill the governor earlier today?"
Vincent frowned. "How did you know?"
"His body went straight to the coroners today, it was surprising, we were expecting the bullet to come from a sniper rifle, not a hand gun. Tell me, are you as good with a rifle as you are with a pistol?"
"Better…" was his only response.
"One last shot." With that he gave Vincent the final bullet.
"The next light?"
"No, closer." He pointed down the street. "See that family there? The father, the mother, the daughter… So pretty, spinning around for her parents. I feel so sorry for her parents. Their daughter is about to get shot."
Vincent just turned his head and stared at him. "What?"
"What?!?" Yuffie screamed out. "Vincent! You don't shoot her do you?"
"Just keep watching" his shadow commanded.
"You're going to shoot that little girl. You don't have to kill her… unless you want to… You simply have to hit something on her person."
"No." Was his only response, and three submachine guns were again leveled at his body.
"You don't have a choice in the manner. You can walk away and die, miss the shot and die, or you can take the shot… maybe you'll kill her, maybe you'll wound her, or perhaps she will be just fine." The man dropped to knees in front of the window and pulled out some binoculars. "Take the shot Mr. Valentine."
Vincent just looked across the faces of the other three men, they all just gave his cold stares as replies. Then he dropped to one knee with his pistol clamped in his hands. He carefully studied the girl.
'She must be six, or seven, maybe eight. Blonde, fair skin like her parents, a little chubby, wearing a skirt, and a button down shirt. She's trying to get her parent's attention by spinning in circles in front of them. Unsuccessfully too.' He thought to himself. His hand began to shake, and his breathing became more shallow… 'No… I have to control myself… If not for me, than for the girl… For the girl… No…this isn't right… This is the coward's way out… I can' t risk her life… What has she done?!?!' His hand began to shake worse than before. His entire being was rattling.
"Careful Mr. Valentine, we don't want any mistakes."
He calmed himself. Yuffie just looked on in horror, as did Vincent's shadow. He began taking deep breaths, and his hands stopped shaking. 'shes also wearing a…. tiara…. A tall thin one… I could his that, its far enough away from her head, but if I make even a slight miscalculation shes gone. And the way shes spinning like that, I'll have to be careful with my timing…' His body became much more tense, his breath picked up again, and slowly he began to squeeze the trigger.
"Vincent?" Yuffie questioned the motionless figure as if he could hear her.
"Do you know what I'm aiming for?" The shadow asked Yuffie.
"The tiara, but its so small. Tell me he makes the shot!"
"We'll see…we'll see…"
And at that moment, Vincent finally took the shot. A loud bang seemed to fill their ears for an eternity, as Vincent dropped the gun, and practically jumped out the window to see what had happened to the girl. She was still there, still spinning. And her tiara was still intact. Surely if the bullet had hit near them, the parents or the girl would have noticed. But she was still spinning. Yuffie saw this and felt an immediate relief, but she did'nt see the tiara.
"So you did manage to hit the tiara?"
"No, take a closer look."
"What, but if you didn't hit it, then they're going to kill you."
The rest of their conversation was drowned out by laughter. Yuffie turned around and saw Vincent. He had doubled over, and could not stop laughing. Tears were coming out of his eyes. Yuffie had never seen anything like it. Vincent finally stopped laughing, and lay on the ground. "Well, seems like I failed… Looks like I'm dead now." With that, the stretched out on the floor and gave a heavy sigh.
The old man just smiled at him sheepishly, and began to chuckle to himself. "Stand up Vincent, you have lots to learn."
"Learn about what? Aren't you going to kill me?" he smilingly said.
"First lesson kid, learn about your equipment." With that he flicked a small cylindrical metal object towards Vincent. From the floor he caught it and examined it. It was one of his cartridges. "No offense kid, but you were shooting blanks." The old man turned around and began to walk off, but quickly turned around one last time. "Oh ya, if you ever point a gun at my grand daughter again, I'll kill you. Should you choose to join us you'll get your money and weapons back." With that the old man turned around again and signaled the others to follow. The first two passed without even looking at Vincent, the third passed by his head stopped. Quickly unhooked his submachine gun and in one daft movement bashed Vincent on the forehead. Yuffie just winced as she saw it happen. Vincent was out cold a second time that day. The four men quickly gathered up his money, and guns and quickly made their way out, but not before dropping a small envelop on the unconscious Vincent's chest. The three Turks loaded every thing into their car and drove straight to Shinra HQ. The old man, crossed the street and greeted his son, his son's wife and his grand daughter. Then he treated them to a wonderful dinner, they never figured out why he asked them to wait on that particular corner for him.
When Vincent finally awoke he tore open the letter and began reading.
To Whom It May Concern:
You have been selected to undergo a rigorous, but worthwhile training. Your various skills have earned you a place amongst the best and the brightest of all fields. Should you choose to accept this invitation, please report to the Shinra Head Quarters in Midgar.
Scribbled underneath the disappointingly short letter was a small note from the old man, 'We have all your weapons too. Money can be earned anywhere, but something tells me you'll want this rifle back. For the record, this was simply a test. Never expect to have to kill someone without a reason. And we will never ask you kill children. Join us, I could make you into a legend.'
"So they gave you a choice, of whether or not to join?"
"Was'nt much of a choice, it was either join, or be killed the next time you set foot in an area controlled by the Shinra… Besides I wanted my stuff back."
"So you joined for the money?"
"No, I wanted that rifle back. It was a memory of my father, it was the Death Penalty." As they spoke the other version of Vincent retreated to the shower, where he took a quick shower and got dressed for his trip to Shinra HQ.
"And just like that you joined?"
"Pretty much…"
"And that girl?"
"…" Vincent Turned away. "I would have killed her probably… Even now, I'm not sure if I'm a good enough shot as to hit the tip of that tiara with a gun that has as little accuracy as that."
"They pushed you into that corner, they knew you'd take that shot. That was the point."
"It was my weakness they preyed on, and they had it. I took the shot because I was a coward."
"That's not true, it takes a lot of courage to do something like that. You have to realize, that the entire thing was a test, you had no choice in the matter. He knew you'd shoot for the tiara, he said it himself, he was related to the girl. He knew you'd take the shot because it was a good one. You could have hit it. You nailed that light bulb six blocks away, you could have hit that tiara thing. That's why he had you do it. He worked you up to it. He wanted to see if you had the nerve to take a risk not only in yourself but whether or not you were confident enough to take others along with you. That's all. "
Vincent just eyed her, "How would you know that?"
"Some tribes in the south of Wutai have similar induction ceremonies. They have you perform a task, and if you fail they kill you and a family member. That's how they separate the brave from the weak."
Vincent just stared at her for a moment, as his double began packing his suitcases. "I still feel bad about it. I opened fire on a little girl."
"You know that man's name now don't you? Lets look her up when we get back to Midgar. She can't be more than 40 or 45 years old. And I guarantee you; she will be more pissed at her granddad than at you. You'll see."
"Think so?"
"Know so." She beamed a giant smile at Vincent, and he had no choice but to smile back. "Soo…. What happens after this?" she inquired.
"I train to be a Turk."
"ohhhh, can I see?"
"Next door down."
"grrr…. grumble grumble ungracious…" And with that the scene faded, and Yuffie stalked off into the darkness in search of a way out.
Vincent just smirked as he watched her stalk off. 'I hope you're still out there somewhere, because I really want to apologize.' With that thought he disappeared and joined the other shadows of Vincent waiting to join into one.
NA: Definetly did'nt come off as cool as I thought it would. Actually this oneis kinda disappointing. Ohwel…