People belong to Squaresoft, like you didn't know... I'm just doing this for fun, and I own nothing. AU.

Chapter one: Share my misery, why don't you?

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Once the scientist got back to his own kingdom, he seemed to completely forget Vincent. The Turk sighed and leaned against the door that had closed behind him. He was relieved to find that he had some control over his body, at least when Hojo wasn't paying attention. He lifted the claw close to his face, turning it this way and that, clutching the pointed claws into a fist. That caused him some pain, so he figured that there was at least something of his hand inside it. But he couldn't find any opening in the metal thing, no way to get it off. Curiously he lifted the sleeve of the black shirt up a bit, to reveal skin above elbow and the end of the metal. Vincent hissed and moaned, when instead of pale skin his eyes met black scales.

'A monster. I'm a monster...'

He quickly covered the scales and lifted the claw back up, to use it as a mirror. It turned his pale skin yellowish and twisted his features, but Vincent could see that his face was still as he remembered it. 'At least I'm not completely scaled,' he thought, slightly relieved. His right hand was still human, pale and uncovered from elbow down, except for a fingerless glove. He made a fist, hand missing the feeling of his trusted gun in its grasp. He missed it. Hojo seemed completely oblivious to the outside world, all it would take was one bullet... or maybe ten, just to make sure.

The human hand rose to his neck, almost without thinking, and found the cold, iron collar. Perhaps that was what Hojo used to control him. Or then the scientist had programmed him this way. Frustrated, he pulled at the collar and banged his head to the door with a groan when he couldn't find whatever it was that locked the thing around his neck. It was a perfect circle, no ending, no beginning, just cold iron. A sign of the slave.

The voice was still whispering in his mind, although it grew silent every now and then. He couldn't make out the words or the tone of the voice, but it seemed familiar, as if the speaker was someone he'd know all his life.

With a sigh Vincent let his hands fall to his sides and lifted his head to look around the room. He could remember all the machines and tables, and the tubes for Mako. One was now full of the liquid and glowing. He glanced at it only briefly, but the sharp eyes soon returned to the cylinder. It wasn't just full, there was someone in it.

Seeing that Hojo was still busy with whatever he was doing, the Turk pushed himself off the door and walked quietly to the glowing tube. The liquid was thick and bubbly, but the body inside was close enough to the glass that he could easily make out its form, and facial features. With a frown, Vincent stepped even closer and lifted his human hand to touch the glass.

It was a boy, a young boy, his body short and lithe. He floated in the liquid, limp and asleep, or at least his eyes were closed, Vincent couldn't say if the boy dreamed or was comatose. Hands with long, slender fingers were slightly raised, and the tips of the fingers touched the glass every now and then, as the body moved slightly in the liquid. Different coloured wires came down from the cylinder's ceiling and ended behind the boy's back, probably going into his body.

He couldn't say what colour the boy's soft hair was, but it looked yellowish. It flowed freely all around his head, creating an illusion of both a halo and Medusa's head. There were some longer hairs in the neck, a ponytail that twisted like a snake. Face was thin and pale, closed eyes had sunk deep into their holes. The tip of the boys nose was slightly uptilted, and his mouth was small, thin lips parted. Was this Lucretia's child? The son she had died giving birth to?

"Ah, you've met." Hojo's slithery voice broke his concentration. Vincent turned to look at the man with contempt as the scientist came to stand beside him. The man adjusted his glasses and looked up at the boy's face. "Valentine, this is specimen C. He is the reason I woke you."

"Is he... Lucretia's son?" He had to ask, even though he hoped that it wasn't. He couldn't stand the thought of his dear Lucretia's only child as the subject of Hojo's sick experiments.

He didn't expect Hojo's reaction. The man burst into laughter that sounded as slimy as his speech.

"This? Lucretia's son? My most successful experiment?" Vincent glared at the man and tried to lift his claw to run it through the scientist's thin throat. "That was a good one. No, this is just a simple boy from the village. Stupid enough to wander around the mansion. He found this place, and... well, I couldn't just let him leave after that, could I?" Hojo chuckled again and crossed his arms behind his back. "The mother was told that the boy was lost in the mountains... he's just a simple peasant, NOTHING compared to my Sephiroth. But still, an interesting specimen."

Sephiroth? Was that the name of Lucretia's son? Vincent was relieved that this wasn't him, although the relief made him feel guilty. No one deserved to become one of Hojo's projects.

"Where is your precious Sephiroth, then?" He asked, eyes fixed again on the young boy's face.

"In Midgar. He's the greatest general of all time, in the Shin-Ra army. Not bad, considering he's just 25 years old."

'...so if Sephiroth is hers, I've slept for... 25 years. Gods.' The thought made Vincent shake his head sadly. 'Two and a half decades. And I still haven't forgiven myself for not helping her. For letting her die.'

Hojo raised his hand and knocked on the glass sharply. That woke Vincent from his thoughts and the boy from his sleep. The Turk lifted his head just in time to see two brightly glowing, sapphire eyes open. The boy let out a groan that was muffled by the Mako as he saw the scientist. He pushed himself away from the glass, to the other side of the cylinder, so that the thick liquid almost hid him from the men. Still, the eyes glowed slightly, even through the green.

"Specimen C. It's almost feeding time. Then you'll get to meet your new teacher."

Vincent turned to stare at Hojo curiously. "Teacher?"

"Yes. If the boy is to be of use to anyone, he needs to learn to fight, to kill. You'll teach him the basics, that should be something you can do." The scientist walked around the cylinder and came to face Vincent again. "Besides, I can't be here all of the time, I am needed in Midgar. You'll keep an eye on the specimen, teach it even while I'm not here." With that, Hojo walked to the close by computer terminal and started the Mako drain.

Vincent turned back to the cylinder and saw the boy who had floated close to him and stared straight back with an expressionless face. The Mako drained slowly away from the tube, but the boy kept his eyes locked on Vincent's, even when his wet hair glued itself to his face and neck. Only when his head was completely out of the liquid and he was forced to breathe air again did he close his eyes. Vincent watched with something like pity when the boy coughed and coughed until all of the green liquid had left his lungs. The tank was almost empty by then, and the blond fell to his knees, breathing hard. The Turk took a step back and grimaced when he saw that the tubes did indeed go into the boy's back. He was then pushed away as two laboratory assistants stepped to the cylinder, opened it with a password and began to unplug the boy. Vincent could only watch the process with horrid fascination.

One of the assistants gave the boy a towel, and he dried himself with shaky hands. He was then given a large, white shirt, but was not let out of the cylinder. The other assistant closed the door, and they both left the room, probably to get the boy's promised food. Vincent stepped closer again, looking at the boy. His blond, yellowish hair was now towel dry and a few spikes had stood up to point in different directions. The glowing, blue eyes stared straight back at him, pale face still expressionless.

Soon an assistant came back with a tray of food, and opened the door long enough to give it to the boy. Vincent watched as he ate hungrily, blue eyes still looking at him from time to time. He then turned to Hojo who came to stand next to the tank. That made the boy move away. Hojo just chuckled and turned his attention to the Turk.

"I will leave early tomorrow morning, but I will keep an eye on you through my assistants. And don't get your hopes up, I can still control you, even if I am on the other continent. The boy will be let out occasionally, I suggest that you spend that time teaching him." The scientist nodded to the boy and left, leaving by the same door his assistants had used. Vincent watched him go and sighed. It didn't take long before a man came in and stood next to the tank until the boy had finished his eating. He then took the tray and left, leaving the two prisoners alone.

The room was almost completely dark now, when the Mako no longer lit it up. The only sources of light were the computer screens and the boy's blue eyes. Vincent sat down on the cold stone floor and dropped his head to his hands. The sudden silence made the whispers in his head sound louder, but still not comprehensible. "This... is just perfect..." he muttered and sighed, claw feeling ice cold against his skin.

"At least you're on the outside..." came a quiet voice. Vincent lifted his head and stared at the boy. He had moved next to the glass, as close to the other man as he could, and his palms were pressed against the mako-stained glass. Blue eyes were begging him to open the door, although the boy must have realized that Vincent couldn't do it. The Turk sighed again and moved to sit closer to the tank. "I'm sorry... are you alright?"

The boy shrugged and managed a small smile. "I've been worse, and better. Nothing hurts... much."

"I don't suppose specimen C is your real name?" Vincent said quietly. The boy shook his head and his smile widened. 'I'm probably the first one here who even bothered to ask his name...' the man thought and learned to hate Hojo some more.

"I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife. Who are you?"

"My name is Vincent Valentine. Nice to meet you, Cloud, even though it would be nicer to meet somewhere else."

Cloud chuckled quietly and moved even closer. "Yeah."

"How long have you been here? As Hojo's... guest?"

"I'm... not sure. It's been a year, at least. Maybe more. It's kinda hard to tell, there's no sunlight, and I haven't been... awake all of the time. He... Hojo has kept me asleep."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Cloud." Vincent murmured and looked down at his hands. For some reason, they looked reddish. He looked up to see if there was a red light above, but the ceiling was completely dark. So were the walls.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked quietly, noticing his confusion. Vincent looked up at him.

"I don't know. When I looked down, my hands seemed red, but there isn't a red light or anything." He couldn't understand why his words made Cloud laugh quietly. "What is it?" The boy just pointed at his face, and the Turk lifted his hand to touch it.

"Your eyes. It takes a while to get used to it..." Cloud explained. Vincent frowned and brought his hand close to his eyes. It bathed in red again.

"But..."

"Your eyes glow, Vincent. Like mine, but red. It's the Mako..."

"My eyes... glow..." He just stared at his hand for a while, until Cloud yawned. The Turk lowered his hand and turned back to the boy, noticing that he was shivering slightly. "Are you cold?"

"A bit. Umh, if you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep..." Cloud said and curled up on the crated floor of the tank. Vincent nodded and leaned his back against the glass. "I don't mind. I'd give you my cape if the door were open for me to do so..."

"Thanks, Vincent."

They were both silent for a while, and Vincent thought that the boy had fallen asleep already, when he heard the quiet whisper. "Vincent?"

"Hmm?"

"Promise me... that you won't leave while I sleep..." The voice was quiet and drowsy and afraid. Vincent closed his eyes and turned his head so that his cheek touched the cold glass.

"I promise. I'm not going anywhere." The Turk whispered.

He waited for a few minutes, until he was sure that Cloud slept, and then stood up. Walking around the laboratory Vincent saw that it really hadn't changed much, there were a few new machines and computers but that was it. They made the room look smaller than he remembered, and more menacing.

/Vincent.../

He turned around, expecting to see Cloud awake, but the boy still slept. Frowning, Vincent backed away to a dark corner, looking around. He could swear he had heard

/Vincent.../

Red eyes went wide and he staggered against the wall. He had heard that. But not with his ears. The voice had been inside his head, and it was her voice. "...Lucretia?"

A voice, like a short laughter, and then his head was quiet again. Vincent realized he was shaking, and closed his eyes. "Lucretia..." So she wasn't completely gone, a part of her was still with him. But was it there to help, or to haunt? With a moan the Turk covered his face with his hands and slid down to sit on the floor.

Her voice had been inside his head, but he was sure that it wasn't the same voice that kept whispering to him all of the time.

...in your misery, you're not alone, so come share your tears with me, and witness it all go wrong...
HIM

Like it? Hate it? Worth continuing? Lemme know! .
Thanks for the first review, and yes, Seph'll get there eventually...