Fallen Angels, False Truths

By: Tokyo Kitty

Disclaimer: Wheee not mine!

A/N: Ha ha! Try to understand THAT paradox! Is it true? Is it false? Who knows? That's why it's a paradox. Anyway, this chapter will be the first one with dialogue written in the present day. Wow, I've been writing too many flashbacks...oh well I like them...anyway yay! Enter Vincent, ex-turk.

The stars were already in the sky when Cloud pulled the weary Chocobo into the deserted town that was once Nibelheim. He left the Chocobo sitting by the gate, not needing to tie it up since he'd raised it himself and it knew no other master. "Vincent?" he called through the darkness of the large mansion. Everything was still in the same disarray that it had always been in. Was Vincent downstairs in the basement? It didn't look like he lived up here anyway. The amount of dust on everything clearly showed that.

"Vincent?" He called down the dark stone hallway underneath the mansion that lead to Vincent's chamber. No answer greeted Cloud's ears as he continued cautiously down the hallway to the old wooden door that had once imprisoned the dark haired man. Cloud opened the door silently sitting down on one of the many closed coffins. "Vincent, I know you're in here. I have a few questions for you."

Just like it had been when they first met, the lid to Vincent's coffin lifted of its own accord and Vincent sat up. "Cloud? What are you doing here?" The ex-turk inquired staring at Cloud with his red eyes that were the color of pure blood spilled on snow.

"I wanted to ask you something about your past. Actually it's more of Sephiroth's past. What do you know of it?" Cloud asked resting his elbows on his legs and his hands under his chin.

Vincent was silent for a moment. He had never told anyone the true reasons why he was here. Sure it was to atone for Lucrecia's death and the horrors done to Sephiroth. But there was more, more that he had never told anyone. Perhaps, if he told Cloud it would lift some of the burden from his own shoulders. Vincent let out a sigh, "It was nearly thirty years ago... I met Lucrecia after being in the Turks for a couple years. I was working as a bodyguard for her as she traveled with her husband, Simon Hojo, in his studies."

"She was a nice woman. Kind, caring, her eyes reflecting pools of the empathy that she had for all living things. The exact opposite of Hojo. I fell in love with her kind charm. Her husband was always away, you'd think he didn't even know he had a wife. I worried for her, told her she should leave him. But no, she stuck by the person she had married."

"You loved her? Even though it was against turk protocol to have any emotions for your client?" Cloud said unexpectedly. Vincent's story intrigued him. He wanted to hear the rest of it.

"Worse," Vincent said, hanging his head in shame, "About a year later I asked her to come with me, to join me instead of waiting for a man that would never love her more than science."

FLASHBACK: 31 YEARS AGO, NIBELHEIM

"Mr. Valentine I can't. I pledged myself to Simon, I can't be with you." She said her voice smooth yet so filled with emotion. It didn't show, but she was fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Lucrecia, Professor Hojo is using you for his experiments. He and Professor Gast are planning something...I hear their whispers I don't want them to do anything to you...because...because I-...I love you." It was the first time he'd actually said it to her face. She stood there, staring back at him with her large green eyes.

"Mr. Valentine, I'm sorry," she said her eyes filled with pain. "I-I can't...leave." The tears fell freely now, flowing down her porcelain white skin.

Vincent stepped forward wiping the tear from her eye. "Please, call me Vincent." He said with a soft smile. Not waiting for her to answer, he kissed her. He surprised himself with the action breaking away quickly to stare back into her eyes.

"V-Vincent..." Lucrecia stared up into the turk's eyes. Trusting, loving...and above all, loyal.. "Oh Vincent!" She wailed throwing herself on him, hugging him tightly, crying into his shoulder.

He patted her on the back knowing that what he had now, wouldn't last forever.

END FLASHBACK

"I don't entirely know why she had such a change of heart but..." Vincent trailed off. "She gave herself to me, for just that one night. She bore my illegitimate child. The person you know today as Sephiroth."

"What? You mean-

"Yes, Cloud, I am Sephiroth's true father." Vincent said, the remorse practically coming out of his ears.

"But, what about what Hojo said?" Cloud asked, confused by this new information.

"It was all lies. After the first few months of Lucrecia's pregnancy it became impossible to hide it anymore. When Simon Hojo found out he fired me from my position as a bodyguard for his wife and threatened to tell everyone about the scandal. She struck a deal with Hojo. He had been planning to do new research with something he called 'the Jenova Project' but, he didn't have any test subjects. Lucrecia gave her child, my son, to science to keep the scandal quiet."

Cloud sat quietly. Never would he have guessed that since birth had Sephiroth been tested on. From what Vincent had revealed, everything was beginning to make sense.

"Lucrecia died in child birth that same year. She never even got to hold her own son. With those same bright green eyes..." Vincent closed his eyes as if to suppress some dark emotion that had scarred him all his life.

"But what about you? How did you get here?"

"Me? As soon as Hojo had set up a team to begin work on 'the Jenova Project' he turned on me and did...things to my body. I bear the same marks as anyone who was involved in 'the Jenova Project'. After that he locked me in this room." He said pushing off the cloak and unbuttoning his shirt. "This is Hojo's work...this arm, these scars, my transformations, and this room...all of it steeped in the blood and sadness of science. The cold banality of experimentation." Vincent's chest was covered in intricately lined scars crossing everywhere on his body. Some were smaller than a strand of hair, others looked like they were made by a bear claw . "But you've seen such marks before, haven't you, Cloud?" Vincent asked glancing at Cloud's blank expression.

"Ye...yes, on Sephiroth. They were all over his legs and arms too." Cloud said his voice monotone as he recalled the similar marks that had covered Sephiroth's body.

"How would you know that? I doubt Sephiroth took off his shirt often knowing how many admirers he had when he was in SOLDIER, not to mention the scars aren't something he would've been proud of."

"Oh, um well..." Cloud blanked turning slightly flushed. Vincent gave him a knowing nod fully aware of how Cloud had known. "I should go...it's a long way back and I need to get back to Gongaga before daybreak..." Cloud said turning for the door.

He felt someone grab at his arm. "It's dangerous to travel at night alone. Stay for the night. I guess I could break the rules for once and go upstairs and sleep with you in a bed." Vincent gave him a genuine smile, something Cloud had never seen the man do before.

'There's something different about him...he seems lighter, less weighed down. He's right though...I should stay'. Cloud nodded. "Alright," Cloud said smiling back at the raven haired man.

The two headed out of the stone prison going up the stairs into the room right next to the hidden staircase. After a few minutes of patting dust out of the bedding Cloud announced that he had to go put his Chocobo away and get his bag. Vincent nodded watching Cloud leave. He sighed taking off his cloak and hanging it on a bed post. He had been right. Telling Cloud had helped to lighten his load of troubles. Of course it didn't make a large difference. He still felt responsible for everything and wasn't going to leave the mansion. But it was nice to have a guest after two years of cutting himself off from humans.

He lay down on the old bed, it giving under his weight. He pulled the blanket over his body falling asleep after so much talking and the energy he'd exerted to remember the past.

Cloud came up into the room a few minutes later throwing the bag on the floor. He looked over at Vincent's sleeping form, wrapped up in the blankets, his face had a calm, placid look to it. 'Gods, he looks just like Seph when he's sleeping,' Cloud thought. Vincent's hair fell in nearly the same pattern that Sephiroth's did without the bandana. Cloud reached over to brush the hair out of his face, but stopped half way. 'What am I doing? No matter how much he looks like Sephiroth he isn't him. Stop it Cloud, just let go...' His mind chastised him. It was true. Vincent wasn't Sephiroth but still, Cloud felt attached to him, attracted to him...

Before Cloud knew what he was doing he had leaned over Vincent and kissed the sleeping man. Vincent's eyes fluttered open, staring up at Cloud in confusion.

"Cloud?" Vincent whispered, their faces only a few centimeters apart. He could feel Cloud's breath on his face.

'WHY did I do that?' Cloud thought, the same stunned look on his face that was on Vincent's. 'He looks so beautiful like this though...'

"One night, Vincent, that's all I want." Cloud said crawling on top of the startled man. He held Vincent's shoulders effectively pinning him below him.

"Cloud...I-" Vincent didn't get to finish his sentence as Cloud's lips connected with his own again, this time with more passion.

"Please Vincent," Cloud said quietly, staring into Vincent's red eyes with his own piercing blue eyes.

CENSORED BY TOKYO KITTTY PRODUCTIONS

"Good night, Vincent." Cloud said curling up under the blankets. He fell asleep a few moments later, but it was too soon to hear Vincent whisper softly: "Good night".

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out...my friend said that I should add a scene here when she was editing it and I just had to then...Plus I like how this came out...I think I can do stuff with this now...I'm starting to get the beginning of a plot line and hopefully chapter four will be out soon. I'll see you then! Farewell!