Disclaimer: Ok, this is the last time I'm doing this. If you're too stupid to realize that I don't own FF VII's characters, then I don't think I have to worry about you having the brains to sue me anytime soon.

A/N: Alright, next chapter! Flashback in italic towards the middle through the end. Pretty much explains Vincent's possible past. Pretty dark and demented, but I think I kept Hojo the best in character in this (besides Lartsa since he's mine:) Thanks to all who reviewed! You know who you are! I'm just too lazy to post your names here, sorry.

Chapter 11

A hushed silence fell over Vincent's confession. Even the ever so vigorous Yuffie was stunned. Cloud got over his shock first, moving slightly toward Vincent who was examining his golden claw.

"Wait…you mean, you were Hojo's first experiment?" His tone was dubious, as Vincent had expected. He sighed slightly to himself; always a skeptic.

He turned from his claw and nodded. "Yes. Shortly after Lucrecia's decision to give her child for the sake of technological advancement, I was…enraged." He turned away from the others, hoping they could not see the memories of blood and death he caused in his rage through his eyes. "No one was able to stand up to me, the elite Turk, and any one who dared…I slaughtered."

Tifa gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth, while Yuffie just simply allowed her jaw to drop to the ground. He continued as if they were not there. "You see, Hojo had a trap waiting for me; he used my love for Lucrecia against me, using her as a bargaining chip. He had what he wanted…her offspring. She was no use to him."

Vincent's voice started to lose his emotion, and he regained his monotone tongue, throwing on his mask of indifference at his most tragic memories. No one caught it, except the tear-filled Tifa in the back.

"He threatened to kill her if I did not bow down to him, as if he were God. I threw my weapon, dropped to my knees and begged for her safety." Vincent smirked slightly at the sudden tenseness of his statement, and could all tell their identical thoughts: Vincent, begging for a woman? "Yes, I did as he said. Then he shot me, her soon after." He bowed his head, his midnight hair covering his crimson orbs. "I…he had some of my former comrades, Turks, strap me onto a table, and Hojo lectured me before he sliced me open."

As Tifa fainted, Vincent felt the pained memories rise from the back of his mind, where he had locked them away. They rose up and struck at him, and he could feel Chaos growl angrily at the rush of hatred that ran through Vincent:

"How can you destroy your own son and wife like this?" Valentine cried, though he knew Hojo thought nothing of either. He struggled feebly against the leather bonds holding him down, though he could not break them; the wound on his chest sapped most of his energy, and he believed this was punishment for allowing Lucrecia to proceed with this.

"My, my, my, you truly have no regard for the fate of Science!" His cackling filled in between his words, and Vincent loathed every part of him. "That female was only to provide the vessel of my next specimen!"

"Why you…" he growled. "How could any human being stoop so low?"

Hojo laughed, his fragile body shaking as he turned from Valentine to several computer screens behind him. He picked up a small vial resting innocently on the desk and held it in front of Vincent.

"You see this? This is a sample of the most powerful creature alive: Jenova! A being not of Earth, and believed to be a Cetra, what I hold in this vial could very well become the ultimate weapon on this pitiful planet!" He strolled away from the wounded Turk, pouring the solution into a syringe slowly. He stood over Vincent, the light above him framing his body and blocking his features from view. Everything but that disgusting, inhumane grin on his conceited face.

"Why are you keeping me alive?" Vincent knew that Hojo would dispatch him after his usefulness, just as he had done Lucrecia, meaning Hojo's demented mind had more ideas than he let on.

"Why, Turk, I plan on using another human as my model before I move onto my actual experiment! If anything faulty so occurs, then we shall know before we risk the human sample." He lowered his hand and stabbed the needle into Vincent's neck.

"Bastard…" he growled quietly. Hojo merely chuckled.

"Society always frowns on the advancement of science." Vincent felt the last of the solution enter him, and suddenly felt his muscles tense, grow. He heard a whisper in the back of his mind, tearing at the inside of his body. He screamed out in pain as he felt his body burn on the inside.

"What is going on?" asked Hojo cautiously, stepping back slightly and turning to his assistant. He quickly checked the scans and computer images, but suddenly gasped in surprise and horror as they detonated. Vincent's body suddenly shuddered as he tore the manacles and stood up, a completely different being.

"Restrain him!" he commanded as Galian Beast threw its head back and howled. Suddenly several Turks appeared, trying futilely to subdue the beast. He struck out with a forearm and knocked them all back, leaving only one standing.

The black-haired Turk drew his swords menacingly, twirling them in his usual fashion. "Valentine!" he cried. "What the hell are you doing?" When he failed to respond, he simply bowed his head and charged with amazing speed, pinning the beast to the wall. He backed away slowly as he admired his attack. "Cleanly through the heart," he mumbled sadly.

Vincent's form changed back, but his breathing continued. "Why is he not dead?" Lartsa asked surprised, sheathing his unused sword. "Shouldn't he be dead?"

"Apparently," chimed Hojo, now examining the unconscious Turk. "The Jenova cells make him practically immortal. My, I shall remember that, I cannot have my subjects living for eternity after me. That would be far too dangerous…perhaps there is a component close at hand I could use…"

Unknown to them, Vincent could hear the soft whisper in the back of his mind, talking to him in his unconsciousness. "Human…why did they do this?"

"Ugh…" he mumbled weakly. "…because I am a failure."

"A failure…hmm…"

"Who are you?"

"Remember those words when you decide to wake up next time. Your display here shall lead you to your brother." Vincent knew not what it meant. He had no brother. "Not by blood," it said, hearing his thoughts. "But by your species. You two will be different from the rest."

Vincent followed the others vaguely to the Highwind, an unconscious Tifa in his arms. No one knows as much of my past as they think.

If they did, they would wonder why your formerly deceased ally is walking around thinking his God's executioner.

Vincent pondered this as they boarded in silence. Could Lartsa have really crossed the line that Vincent had placed? He had control, power, his intelligence intact, unlike the others. Yet, he had been dead…Vincent had seen to that.

A/N: Next chapter should continue building up Vincent's and Tifa's relationship, along with a surprise visit from someone. Jealousy ensues and insults fly, too! Oh, and to anyone leaving a review, I had a question: What the fuckin hell is a Mary-Sue and OOCing? I cannot figure that out...