Chapter Nine
There's not supposed to be any pain in the Lifestream…why does it hurt so much? Vincent wondered, as the darkness that had enveloped him for an unknown amount of time began to fade. Why am I so cold?
A second voice within him spoke up, one that he hadn't heard much over the last seven years, but one that had never been completely silenced. Because you're not in the Lifestream.
I have to be. Vincent saw the memory of his death flash through him. I was shot five times in the heart. I died…
The other voice replied, You did die, but you're not dead now. I felt your soul leave this body, abandoning me, but you've returned, Vincent. You are not dead.
If I died, then why didn't you leave this body, too? Vincent asked inwardly, confused and disoriented.
I have no soul, Vincent. Only this consciousness is left of me. That damned drug they gave you seven years ago may have taken my body, but it didn't take away my consciousness. You know that. You know that I've still been here all along. That's why you drink. You do it to try and silence what I tell you.
Vincent had tried to deny this truth all along, but during that morning encounter with Tifa before he'd left, it had been this voice that had egged him on to be so rough. It hadn't been him at all, it had been the other within him, despite his denial at the time. Leave me be.
I can't. I am you, the voice growled back. Your seizures, you know what they really are, Vincent.
He didn't want to hear this. Shut up!
I will not. Those seizures are me attempting again and again in times of emotional upset to try and come out. Without a way to manifest myself though, your mind just short circuits. If I had a way to come out, you wouldn't have those seizures anymore. The voice almost sounded mournful. If we could find a way--
I'd rather die than have you take me over and change my body ever again, Chaos.
The demon almost seemed to laugh, Dying is nothing new for you, old friend. Wake up, see what's going on.
Vincent felt agony with each breath he took. But I'm breathing…
His ears picked up a sound. It was a low hum, but it wasn't so much that he was hearing it coming from the atmosphere around him, rather, it seemed to be coming from within him.
With more effort than he would have ever imagined it would take, he forced his eyes open, realizing that he was staring up into a florescent light fixture. He wasn't capable of moving his body in the least. He was tied down and his entire body was wracked with unimaginable pain.
He heard a moan come from his left, and he let his head fall to the side. His eyes met Spencer's. The other man was lying naked on another table just a short distance away. The agent's complexion was ghastly, and his expression betrayed the fact that he was in just as much pain as Vincent. Vincent actually managed to lift his head for a brief moment to inspect him.
There on Spencer's body, was an incision line that ran down from below his breastbone to his groin. It was a brutal and jagged looking surgical site, and the holes that had been made by the shower of bullets into the young man's abdomen were obvious as swollen, bruised marks. Seeing his companion in this state made Vincent fear looking at himself.
Yet, Vincent had to know. He turned his head back to center and then lifted it until he could see his own body. Like Spencer, he was unclothed and strapped to a table. The source of his pain was immediately obvious. An enormous 'Y' shaped incision marred his fair skin. It started toward his shoulders, running at an angle under his collarbones, until those two lines joined in the center of his chest, then running straight down until just past his sternum. It was being held shut with countless surgical staples, and his own bullet holes were visible like Spencer's-- all five of them.
He let his head fall back to the table, no longer wishing or capable of looking at himself. Not knowing what else to do, he looked back over at Spencer again. He wanted to say something, but his throat was so dry that he couldn't manage.
Spencer's arms were strapped down at his side, but he made the piteous gesture of moving his wrist, seemingly trying to reach Vincent somehow. There was a fear in the blonde's eyes, a fear that reflected what Vincent himself felt.
Spencer tried to speak, desperate for anything to end his pain. "Help me."
Vincent wished he could, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't even sure where they were at the moment, or why.
Peirte, who'd had his back turned from the scene, heard Spencer's first words and was snapped out of the daydream he'd slipped into while doing nothing more than watching Sephiroth sit reading.
He walked over between the tables that possessed the two men. Peirte reached out and touched Vincent's chest, causing him to cry out.
The scientist was pleased. "Mr. Valentine, welcome back to the Earthly fold."
Vincent recognized him as the man that had ordered his execution. He wanted nothing more than for this man to get his hand off of him, as the pressure Peirte was applying was making his misery worse. "Stop…"
"It hurts terribly, I would imagine, yes?" Peirte asked, switching his gaze between the two men.
Spencer again begged, "Help me…"
"All right, I can give you something for the pain. It's not that I wished the two of you to suffer, it's just that allowing you to feel the pain made you regain consciousness quicker. Just a moment." Dr. Methius disappeared out of their respective lines of sight for a few minutes, returning with two loaded syringes in his lab coat pocket. He grabbed the I.V. line that was going into Vincent first, and injected something, before turning to Spencer and doing the same.
As the two men felt the almost instant relief wash over them, they both closed their eyes, thankful for this reprieve.
Peirte grinned in satisfaction, but he had work to do now that they were awake. Mr. Valentine was the more important of the two men to him, and it was Vincent that he turned to first. "I'm going to untie you now. You are very weak still, your body has been shut down for a very long time. Any attempt to fight or flee for the time being will result in failure. Do you understand?"
Vincent's mind was so clouded and confused that he just agreed by nodding slightly.
"Very good." Methius got to the task of unstrapping his specimen from the table. He reached down and helped Vincent sit up.
Thanks to the painkiller he had been given, Vincent was able to do this without causing himself too much misery. He looked around the room, realizing that he was in the lab, and that Sephiroth was still in the cell a short way off, sitting upon his bed reading.
When he felt his father's eyes upon him, Sephiroth lowered his book for a second and pulled off his reading glasses. He inspected Vincent for a brief moment, then flashing him a small smile before getting back to his book.
Vincent just couldn't get his mind on track for some reason. It was as though he wasn't situated into his body quite right. He hated the way he felt.
Peirte reached over and unhooked the line going into Vincent's arm, but leaving the intravenous catheter placed so he could give his specimen more drugs as needed. "There, now, just a moment."
Vincent sat with a blank look on his face as Peirte stepped away again for a moment. The scientist then returned with a white jumpsuit in his hands. With considerable assistance from Peirte, Vincent got the garment on, mercifully ending his unclothed state. He was now standing beside the table he'd been affixed to, leaning heavily upon Dr. Methius for support.
Peirte began to lead him slowly toward his office. Once there, he helped Vincent to sit in his chair before the computer terminal at his desk. "Are you comfortable?"
Vincent just nodded, not knowing why he couldn't muster the strength or will to fight.
"Good. I want you to know that you were in fact dead, Mr. Valentine. I have brought you back for a reason," Peirte said gently, smiling.
Why this man would bring him back after ordering his execution in the first place was beyond his comprehension.
"I can help you, Mr. Valentine, if you help me."
Vincent narrowed his eyes, knowing that helping anyone in Shinra with anything was not acceptable. "I want…"
"You want what?" Peirte finished for him. "To go home? Is that what you wish?"
Again, Vincent just nodded.
"Well, Mr. Valentine, I'm afraid that there is nothing for you to go home to." Peirte reached over and hit a few keys on his computer, opening some sort of media program. "Your wife found out that you were dead less than twenty-four hours before we filmed this, Mr. Valentine."
Vincent's eyes went wide as an image of his bedroom came up on the screen. From the angle of the shot, he knew that the camera that had been planted in his home was in the heater vent, directly over the bed. "Home…"
"Yes, and just look what your wife did." Peirte reached over and hit something, letting the recording from the spy cam begin playing.
Vincent stared on as the door to his room opened, and Tifa and Cid entered. Cid went and sat on the edge of the bed, Tifa coming to sit at his side a moment later. Vincent felt himself beginning to shake.
Peirte saw that Vincent was starting to have a reaction, even though nothing particularly damning had played yet. "It gets better, Mr. Valentine."
Vincent then watched as Cid got off of the bed and knelt before Tifa, reaching out and touching her face. He wished he could hear what they were saying. "What is she telling him?"
"Oh, sorry," Peirte laughed, reaching over and hitting another key, turning on the audio.
Vincent listened as Tifa said she wanted Cid, before they kissed. His hands gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in, and he felt his stomach turn. When he saw Cid remove Tifa's jeans, he looked away from the screen, being hit with dry heaves.
Peirte shook his head and got the small wastebasket from beside his desk and placed it where it would be needed if Vincent were to actually produce something.
"Take off your shirt," Cid's voice could be heard saying.
Vincent gathered himself and glared back at the screen again. In silence and without moving, he proceeded to watch the next twenty-seven minutes of video. The only thing to announce the fact that he was actually alive were his shallow breaths and his occasional blinks that drove tears down his cheeks.
He knew that he'd given his consent for them to do this in the letters that he'd written, but that had been in the event of his death-- and he wasn't dead.
Chaos couldn't miss a chance as Vincent watched his wife seemingly fuck Cid with abandon, obeying his every request, responding to his every move. Less than a day after she got word of your death, Vincent. Just remember that. At least after Cloud's death she waited two days, and then, it was just to jerk you off. I guess she was a lot more eager to be with Cid, huh? She looks like she's enjoying herself, too. Listen to her…she's crying out his name, for God's sakes.
Vincent tried to silence his mind, but it was no use.
The demon within him went on. Did you hear that? He just asked her to ride him! Can you believe it? And look…she's actually going to do it! Vincent, when was the last time she did that to you?
He didn't want to see anymore, but he was paralyzed in his anguish and couldn't look away. When he heard Cid ask permission to come inside her, it was more than he could bear and he finally looked away, feeling another wave of nausea.
"That…that was amazing," Tifa could be heard saying.
Peirte had to fight the urge to laugh. This was just proving to be too easy. "Wait now, there's just one more little thing."
Vincent reluctantly brought his eyes back to the screen, seeing Tifa and Cid now just lying side by side upon the bed.
"I love you," Cid said to Vincent's wife.
He could see Tifa actually smile. "I love you, too."
Peirte turned off the computer and crossed his arms over his chest. "So, what do you think about that?"
Vincent slowly stood up, his body shaking violently as he did so. He placed a hand upon his chest. There was a horrible pain within, but it had nothing to do with his surgery. Tears still streamed down his cheeks, and despite his attempt to stop himself, he blurted out, "She's broken my fucking heart…"
"That's not possible, Vincent." Peirte reached out and placed his hand upon Vincent's shoulder. "You don't have a heart to break. The only thing in your chest now is an over glorified mechanical pump. What you're feeling is all in your head, Mr. Valentine, which is fortunate."
Vincent scowled and met the scientist's gaze. "How is any of this fortunate?"
"I can stop the pain you're feeling." Peirte lowered his voice. "I can stop it and you need not ever, ever feel it or anything else again."
Madman or not, wrong side or good, in his present state, with no remaining sense of judgement, Vincent found this to be an offer he just couldn't refuse. "Then make it stop."
Peirte almost squealed in joy to hear this. He pulled another syringe from his pocket. "Hold out your arm and push up your sleeve."
Vincent did as asked, exposing the I.V. catheter that was still taped into his arm. He closed his eyes, no longer caring what was done to him.
Dr. Methius drove the needle into the catheter's port and injected the drug into Vincent's vein. "Now, sit down for a moment."
Feeling his world spinning immediately, Vincent fell back into the chair he'd been occupying. The drug was having an effect. All of the misery, all of the pain, depression, and heartache began to fade. Vincent found that his mind went eerily quiet, save that one voice that would never leave him.
"How do you feel?" Peirte asked, seeing that Vincent appeared to be relaxing.
Vincent opened his cold, emotionless eyes. "I don't."
Peirte grinned. The drug that he'd given Vincent not only would wipe the emotions out of the former Turk, but it was also unbelievably addictive. This first dose was all it would take to get Vincent hooked. Dr. Methius had him completely and totally at his beckon call.
---------
Tifa was having a nightmare. In it, she was again making love to Cid, but throughout the whole thing, Vincent was standing in the corner, watching with tears in his eyes. Even though he was there and watching, she refused to stop what she and the pilot were doing.
As she and Cid finished, Vincent narrowed his eyes at them and growled, "She's broken my fucking heart…"
Tifa sat bolt upright in bed, clutching her hands over her chest. She was alone in her bed, as Cid had gone back to the guestroom after their encounter, not wanting the boys to be any wiser as to what he and Tifa had done.
She saw that the morning light was doing its best to get through the heavy curtains and she looked at the clock. It was seven-fifteen. Cid would be up.
Tifa slid out of bed and threw a robe around herself before opening her bedroom door and making her way down the hall. She found Cid sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hands. "Cid?"
He could see that something was terribly wrong with her. "Tifa? Are you all right?"
She shook her head and leaned onto the table. "Cid… Vincent's not dead! We've made a terrible mistake!"
Knowing that she must have just awoken from a nightmare, he got up and went over to her, taking her into his arms. "Tifa, you just had a dream, that's all."
"No, it was more than a dream, Cid!" She pushed herself away from him. "He saw us, Cid. He watched the whole thing!"
He put his hands on her shoulders. "Tifa, get a fucking grip! He's dead, okay? Reno saw him die! You felt him die, for God's sake…"
"And this morning I felt that he was alive again, Cid." She knew she wasn't crazy.
The fact that Tifa seemed to have some sort of intangible link to Vincent had been shown the other night when she'd known of his death before Reno had arrived. The possibility that somehow, somewhere, Vincent could be back was just not something that the pilot could accept, though. "Damn it, Tifa, calm down! It was a nightmare."
She felt dizzy and moved to sit in her chair at the table. Cid was most likely right and she knew it, but still, that dream had felt real. Tifa hung her head and cried, the guilt of falling into Cid's arms so quickly cutting right through her. "What have I done?"
Cid huffed and knelt beside her, taking her face in his hands. "You did what your heart told you to do…" He let his words trail off. Maybe it hadn't been her heart that had driven her to it. Perhaps Tifa had given in to him out of pity. Suddenly, Cid moved back and got into his chair, the color draining from his face.
Tifa saw his reaction and stared at him. "Cid?"
"Why were you willing to be with me last night, Tiff?" he asked, not looking at her.
"Because I love you, Cid."
"It wasn't just pity?" His blue eyes narrowed as he gazed down into his cup.
Tifa shook her head. "Of course not! Cid, I don't sleep with men that I don't love…" She was struck by this. Tifa had gone through this same conversation with Vincent after their first encounter. She fell silent.
Cid was also at a loss for words. He picked his cup back up and took a sip from it. They had been together for less than twelve hours and it was already getting dramatic. Looks like you're getting some weird fucking form of revenge, Sunshine, he thought to himself.
---------
After Vincent's injection and subsequent relief from his misery, Dr. Methius had taken him over to Sephiroth's cage, intending to put him inside with his son.
Vincent stood there as the cage door was locked behind him. He stared at Sephiroth.
Finally done with the current page of his book, Sephiroth dog-eared it and then set it at his side, pulling off his glasses and placing them with the book. He gazed over at his father, looking thoughtful. "How was death?"
Vincent just stared back at him blankly.
"Come over here," Sephiroth requested.
After hesitating for a moment, Vincent complied and walked over to Sephiroth's bed and sat beside his son. He met his eldest child's gaze and couldn't help but ask, "Are you all right?"
Sephiroth motioned at himself. "Better now than I have been in a long time."
"Good." Vincent held no grudge for the fact that his son had pulled a knife on him the other day. "Where I shot you…is it all right?"
"Yes."
Vincent just nodded slightly, accepting this answer.
"Dr. Methius is going to let us out of the lab." Sephiroth watched his father for any possible reaction.
There wasn't much of one. "Let us out?"
"To go back to ASRIO." Sephiroth had agreed to test these waters with Vincent for the doctor.
"For what purpose?" Vincent asked.
"To infiltrate and undermine." Sephiroth smiled.
Vincent nodded. If this was what Peirte wanted him to do, then that was what he would do. To keep Peirte happy and thus keep himself availed of the drug he'd been given was his only priority. He didn't care about anyone anymore, he just cared about staying emotionless and getting his next fix. "So be it."
Sephiroth's smile widened. Having his father at his side in their actions would be wonderful. He knew that they could make a very effective and deadly team. "Spencer will be sent with us as well."
Logically, Vincent knew that this was wrong, but there just wasn't any will within him to argue. "Spencer…"
He couldn't help but ask, "You have no compulsion to go home, do you Vincent?"
He knit his brow for a moment, but then shook his head. "There's no reason. Tifa is with Cid now, and I just don't care anymore. What about you? You're different now, but is there still anything within you for Jeanine?"
Not thrilled at how this had just been turned back onto him, Sephiroth frowned and looked away. He was going to lie. "Nothing."
"I see." Vincent stared down at his hands.
Inside of him, Chaos reveled in this return to a cold, emotionless existence. It would make it far easier to control Vincent. He was now the only entity within Vincent to have any feelings, and those didn't contain any urges to do good.
---------
Derek arrived at work at the usual time. When he walked into the lab, he spotted Vincent sitting next to Sephiroth in the cage. He stopped in the center of the room.
Peirte came out of his office when he heard his young assistant arrive. "Derek?"
He turned, motioning over at the two men sitting together. "Is that… safe?"
"Father and son together?" Peirte walked over to the side of the cage. "What could be dangerous about that?"
The assistant watched as Dr. Methius continued toward the cage and pulled a key ring from his pocket. "What are you doing?"
"I think you'll be surprised," Peirte said, as he slipped a key into the lock on the cage.
Derek had a compulsion to run, but found himself frozen in place.
Vincent and Sephiroth both got up from the bed and stepped out.
Peirte turned back and faced Derek. He nodded, but seemed to be looking past him.
Derek moved to see if there was someone behind him, but before he could react, Spencer stepped up behind him and placed him in a headlock.
"Go have him sit down," Peirte ordered, pointing to a chair sitting in the middle of the room.
Spencer was considerably stronger than Derek, and easily pulled him over to the chair, forcing him to sit. He placed his hands firmly upon Derek's shoulders, keeping him in place.
Peirte came over to him. "Sephiroth informed me that you are an ASRIO agent."
"But I…" Derek knew his number was up.
"I had you tailed the other day, and you were seen making a drop." Peirte shook his head. "I really liked you, Derek. This is a sad day for me."
Derek felt a cold sweat break across his skin.
This was Peirte's chance to test Vincent. He turned to where Sephiroth and his father were still standing. "Mr. Valentine, would you come here for a moment?"
Vincent came over as ordered.
Peirte reached beneath his lab coat and produced the 9mm he kept in his shoulder holster. He smiled and then handed it to Vincent. "You may have this."
Slowly, Vincent reached out and took the gun. He examined it for a moment, immediately seeing that it was in desperate need of a good cleaning. Obviously, the doctor knew little about proper firearm maintenance.
"Kill him," Peirte said, his voice just as flat and cold as it had been when he had ordered Toskin to shoot Vincent.
Vincent walked closer to Derek, and placed the muzzle of the gun in the center of the assistant's forehead. He wasn't eager to kill the young man, but Chaos was almost orgasmic with the thought. Let's kill him, Vincent. Pull the trigger!
Spencer, not wishing to get hit by the bullet, let go of Derek and stepped to the side.
Derek's whole body was shaking, and tears came to his eyes. He begged for his life. "Please, don't kill me! Mr. Valentine…how can you do this? You're with ASRIO!"
Vincent cocked an eyebrow. "I'm with no one."
The gun's report rang through the lab, momentarily disrupting the quiet that had settled over the scene.
Vincent let his hand holding the gun fall back to his side. Inside of him, Chaos howled with pleasure. You're a killer, Vincent. You haven't forgotten!
Derek's body remained upright for a moment, and then he slumped forward and tumbled to the floor. Blood began to pool beneath his head from both the entry and exit wounds.
Vincent brought his left hand up to his face and wiped his cheek. He had been hit there with a small amount of blood upon shooting the ASRIO plant.
Peirte put his hand upon Vincent's shoulder, his smile returning. "Very good, Mr. Valentine, very good."
---------
The spy that had followed Derek and read his drop the night before took the ASRIO agent's car from the Shinra building's parking lot and drove it to the apartment complex. He parked it where Derek had, and quickly placed a small black cylinder beneath the vehicle before disappearing into the night.
---------
Reno once more had his phone go off in the middle of the night. Annoyed, he rolled his eyes and then picked it up from the nightstand. "What?"
"It's Amy, Sir."
"Derek was supposed to get picked up tonight, Amy." Reno ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
"I know, but he wasn't at home. I got another drop from him, though. His car was there, but when we went to his apartment, there was no answer." She looked down at the small note in her hands.
"What?" Reno frowned. Rarely had an agent in danger of having their cover blown not been at home for a pick up. "Fuck… Well, what's the drop say?"
"Vincent and Spencer will be breaking out of the lab tomorrow night, taking Jaras with them. They need to be picked up on the street. The plan is to be out by midnight." Amy, as usual, then lit the note on fire.
Reno got right out of bed and stood up. "Wait, they have a plan to get out?"
"That's what it says, Reno."
They had to be alive if they were plotting an escape. Yet, Jaras hadn't been himself at the time of the mission, so how they were going to bring him along safely was beyond him. He figured he would just have to trust Vincent's judgement on this one. After all, Vincent had made a solemn vow not to leave the lab without his son. "All right, I'll have the chopper standing by, just in case they pull this one off."
"All right. I'm going to stake out Derek's apartment for the rest of the night and see if he turns up. Maybe he's going to help them with the escape," Amy speculated.
Reno shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. Thanks, Amy."
"Bye."
---------
Vincent was sitting at a table within the lab, not restrained in any way. In the back of his mind was some sort of urge to flee. Peirte hadn't bothered to reclaim his gun from Vincent, and it was just lying on the table before him. Yet despite the fact that he was armed and that the building seemed relatively quiet for the moment, Vincent just had a complete lack of a desire to run. His emotions were gone-- as Peirte had told Sephiroth, Vincent's recent stint at death and then consequent drug exposure had left him soulless.
Spencer, under the same chemical influence as Vincent sat across from the former Turk, his eyes vacant as he just stared off into space.
Sephiroth sat to the right of his father, a book in his hands, reading. Maybe he wasn't Jaras anymore, but there were certain habits that he'd gained over the last fourteen years that he just couldn't let go of. Books had been something Hojo had denied him while growing up, and continuing to read them, even though within the confines of the lab, was for him some small sign of rebellion.
Vincent's blank expression was broken, when he felt a twinge of something within. He leaned forward slightly in his seat, placing his hand on his chest. Vincent figured that it had been several hours since he'd had his last dose of pain medication, and he wondered how bad it would still hurt if he didn't get anymore. After about half an hour had passed, Vincent reached out and placed his hands upon the table, feeling like the room was starting to spin.
Sephiroth saw this movement out of the corner of his eye, and spoke without lowering his book. "Are you having trouble?"
Vincent opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again when the pain returned, this time worse. He moved from his chair and collapsed to the floor, coming to rest on his hands and knees. It wasn't the pain that he'd felt from the surgery before-- it was like an all-encompassing sickness. His breaths came in short gasps, and he began sweating profusely. The nausea that he'd felt while watching the video of his wife and the pilot returned, this time far worse. Vincent began to have bouts of dry heaves that made his incision from his surgery ache terribly.
Sephiroth lowered his book and cocked an eyebrow. "Dr. Methius? I think there's a problem."
Peirte turned from whatever he was working upon and came over, seeing Vincent hovering on the ground on all fours. "Mr. Valentine?"
Vincent managed to look up at him.
The scientist saw that Vincent's eyes were bloodshot, and that his complexion was ashen. Peirte knew exactly what was wrong. "Just a moment."
Vincent lowered his head again, and allowed himself to fall to his side, lying on the floor. Tears burned in his eyes as his emotions started flooding back in, intensified in his withdrawal. The misery he felt physically forced him to close his eyes, but the second he did this, all he could see was Tifa and Cid. An involuntary cry escaped him.
Thoroughly annoyed and completely distracted from his book now, Sephiroth tossed his novel onto the table and pulled off his reading glasses. He looked over to where Peirte was slowly drawing up some blue liquid into a syringe. "If you could be a little quicker about that, Doctor."
Methius laughed to himself as he tapped the side of the syringe to rid it of a bubble. "Patience, Sephiroth."
Although he wasn't going to make any outward gesture to show it, Sephiroth wasn't just wanting Vincent's misery to end to make him quiet, but somewhere, deep within him, he was actually concerned.
Peirte was intentionally taking his time, wanting Vincent to realize exactly what a ferium withdrawal felt like. Although the drug could completely alleviate emotional pain after injection, what the user was subjected to upon withdrawal was entirely inhumane. Those who got hooked on it usually ended their own lives within hours if unable to get their next fix once the symptoms set in. He knelt at Vincent's side and pushed back the sleeve covering the arm that still had the catheter in it. Within a few seconds, he had given the injection and he stood up, watching Vincent's reaction.
Within moments of being given the shot, Vincent began to again feel the drug wash over him-- his emotions once more went silent, and all of his physical pain faded. Panting to catch his breath, he managed to get back up into his chair, dragging his sleeve over his face, wiping it dry. He met the doctor's gaze. "What just happened?"
"It's the price of emotional peace, I'm afraid." Peirte tossed the used syringe over into a sharps container and then sat upon the edge of the table that the three others were sitting. "When you feel the beginnings of withdrawals, you need to get another dose. You have no idea how bad the pain can get, and you don't want to."
So that was it. Vincent, after just that first dose, was as hooked as any junkie could be. "What is it?"
"Ferium, the blue dragon, if you will." Peirte smiled.
Vincent knit his brow for a moment. Ferium. He knew what that was. It was another in the ever-growing list of illicit drugs being abused in the world. Lovingly touted as the new opium of the age, ferium had come into popularity amongst drug users about four years earlier. It's immediate delivery from emotional pain had made it spread like wildfire. People would do anything to escape the miseries of their lives, and ferium was the one drug that could offer that. But it was addictive-- very much so, making it sought after by violent means on the street. The number of lives that it had destroyed was incalculable. Although it was the only thing keeping Vincent from killing himself at the moment, ultimately, he was aware of the fate its users faced. Had he possessed any feeling, he would have gotten angry at Peirte for getting him onto this drug, but there was no anger within him. All he knew was that going through that pain again was not something that he wanted. "You will give me more when I need it?"
Dr. Methius nodded at him. "Absolutely. Are you capable of giving yourself injections, Mr. Valentine?"
Having spent his teenage years in Midgar after his parents had died, Vincent had been exposed to drugs before. There had been a short time in high school when he'd dared to toy with heroin, seeking its momentary distraction from his horrible life. Shooting up was a skill that he'd gained during those years, although he'd escaped true addiction to that particular drug. He gave his answer. "Yes, I can."
"Good." Peirte got up and walked over to a cabinet. He returned a few moments later with a small black case. "Here's something for you."
Vincent reached out and took it, setting it upon the table before opening the case. Inside, there was a glass syringe, several needles, and a vial of the infamous blue liquid.
Peirte smiled again. "That is yours. There is enough in that vial to keep you feeling good for three weeks, Mr. Valentine. I will be providing Spencer with the same thing. Now, in return for that, I have a very special request for you."
Vincent looked up and met the man's gaze. "That is?"
"I'm sending the lot of you back to ASRIO. I believe that Sephiroth broached the subject with you earlier, yes?" Peirte cocked his head to the side.
"Yes."
"Good, then pay attention." He got up and began to pace back and forth before the table. "What I need you to do is simple. You are very close to ASRIO's leader, Mr. Valentine. Exploit this and get me the names of everyone involved in that organization. It's high time that Shinra found out the identities of all of the ASRIO plants so that we can… clean house as it were. Once we have that list in our possession, SOLDIER will be given a manifesto of those individuals and everyone that has ever had anything to do with ASRIO can be assassinated. After that, we will raid the ASRIO base, destroy it, and that will be, as they say, that. Have you any objections?"
Vincent sat silent for a moment. With his own sense of right and wrong shut down courtesy of the ferium, the only inner voice within him spoke up. Oh Vincent, this is wonderful! It will be like a return to the old days… Living under the guise of being on ASRIO's side, all the while selling them out to Shinra. You have good memories of your life as a Turk, Vincent. You can't deny that. Going back to the days of working for Shinra is something that you've longed for from time to time. Now is that time, Vincent. Tell him what you want to do.
"Well, Mr. Valentine?" Peirte was growing impatient.
A ghost of a smile passed Vincent's lips. "I'll do it."
"Good." Peirte was thrilled. "Now, don't get any illusions of not coming back when the time comes. The ferium available on the streets is garbage compared to what I've given you, if you can even find it. What you have there is pure, you only need to take a quarter milliliter per dose. Be careful not to overdose, and get back here before your vial is empty, or you will regret it. Sephiroth will go back with you to ASRIO. All three of you need to put on a good show to make them believe that you are as you were when you left."
Vincent narrowed his eyes. "How do we go about getting back to ASRIO?"
"Derek's handler was given a bogus drop last night, saying that you three intended to escape from the lab this evening, and that you will need to be picked up come midnight. All you need do is walk out of here at that time and wait out on the street. Your friends will undoubtedly be along to collect you shortly thereafter." Dr. Methius couldn't have been happier over how this was all shaping up.
Vincent turned his eyes to his son, seeing that Sephiroth had a faint smile of his own. "They know that you're not the same."
Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow. "Easily explained. We tell them that I was injected with Jenova, but there is still just too much Mako in my body from my immersion in the Lifestream, and all of that which was put into me has died off. Hence, I'm good old Jaras once more."
---------
Reno walked out to the hanger the following morning. He needed to talk to Brad. What he had in mind he didn't want anyone, especially Angel, to know about. He found the pilot with the chopper outside the hanger doors. Brad was up on a ladder, doing his best to wash the aged helicopter from his perch.
The ASRIO leader got up beside the ladder and looked up at his comrade. "Brad?"
He gazed down at Reno, apparently annoyed at being interrupted. "Yeah? What can I do for you?"
"Come down here for a sec," Reno requested.
The older man huffed and then came down. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay."
Reno dropped his gaze to the ground. "Will she be up for another trip to Junon tonight?"
Brad raised his eyebrows. "Sure, but why are we goin' back?"
"Brad, I need you to keep a secret." Reno stepped closer to him.
"Sure thing."
"We've gotten a few drops from Derek," Reno said quietly, scanning the scene to make sure that they were alone. "He's told us that Vincent and Spencer… aren't dead."
Brad remembered Reno's loss of composure after getting into the chopper the other night, and couldn't believe that Reno could have been wrong about the fate of two of his men. "What? Reno, from what you've told me you saw, there's no way that Vincent could be alive…maybe Spencer, but Vincent?"
"Well, that's why I don't want anyone knowing for now." He shrugged. "The last drop said that Vincent, Spencer, and Jaras are gonna break out of the lab tonight. If that's the case, we need to be there to pick them up. So, you and I are taking off at sunset, and we're just gonna hang out in Junon, just in case."
"Part of you doesn't believe it, right?" Brad asked, already knowing the answer.
"Look, in the event this all proves to be some sort of fuckin' joke, I don't want Angel getting her hopes up that her daddy might still be kicking. If they get out of the lab and we bring them back here, then I'll believe it." Reno met his stare briefly. "I can't make her suffer through the nightmare of losing him twice, Brad."
The pilot nodded knowingly. "Who else is going?"
"Just us, Brad. We're not going in there or putting ourselves in danger. I'm not leading my men into what could be just some weird trap. So, we'll land your bird on the roof of the building across the street, and we'll just stake out the Shinra building and see." Reno's general cockiness and confidence were no where to be found in him. His shoulders were slumped forward, and his eyes had lost their spark. The guilt of Vincent and Spencer's deaths, or at least, their serious injury, was crushing him. Only seeing them alive and well would make him feel any better.
---------
Tifa had continued to feel uneasy all day. She couldn't shake the images of the dream she'd had that morning, nor could she get over what she and Cid had done the night before. Despite her attempts to not think about her encounter with him, she found herself doing so, causing her to catch her breath and tremble slightly at the thought. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she wanted to be with him again. The fact that she couldn't kiss him or really even touch him all day long because of the kids got to her.
They sat in the family room all watching some movie on the television. Seeing that the boys were engrossed for the time being, Tifa, sitting next to Cid on the couch, leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Come back to the bedroom in a few minutes."
He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow, before nodding shallowly. He, too, had been miserable all day that he hadn't been able to touch her. After watching her retreat, he remained where he was for a few minutes and then got up, quietly slipping back to the bedroom.
Cid entered and saw Tifa just standing before the bed. He locked the door and went forward, stopping in front of her.
Tifa smiled at the pilot for a moment and then put her arms around him. "I'm sorry for freaking out this morning."
He rested his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes. Holding her just felt unbelievably good. He'd envied Vincent's ability to do this with her whenever he so chose. "It's all right, Tiff. You're under a lot of stress. Maybe us being together that quickly was just a little more than I should have asked for."
She moved back slightly so she could look into his eyes. "You didn't ask me, I asked you."
Cid smiled at her words, and felt his desire for her stir once more. "You know, if we stay in here talking about this, I'm gonna end up doing something."
Tifa giggled. "We can't, Cid. Not until after the boys go to bed."
"It was worth a try," he replied, shrugging.
"How about just a kiss?" Tifa asked, already closing her eyes.
Cid's usual smirk returned and then he let his lips meet hers.
---------
Reno sat at a computer console within the control room of the ASRIO base. Although he had the outward appearance of someone engrossed in work, anyone that would have looked at the computer screen would have seen that Reno was really just flipping through pictures of various scantily clad women that he'd downloaded.
Quigley walked up before him, unable to see what was on the screen. "Reno?"
Immediately, he hit the power button on his monitor and shifted his position in his chair before looking at Quigley. He hadn't heard the other man approach and was embarrassed, even though the researcher had no idea what Reno had been up to. "Quiggers?"
Quigley sat in one of the two chairs before Reno's desk. He was obviously uncomfortable, and didn't meet Reno's gaze. "Hey, I just wanted to know…how Spencer died."
Reno hung his head, wishing that he could tell his friend that his beloved brother might not actually be dead, but again, that was a secret he needed to keep. "Quiggers, I don't really--"
In an uncharacteristic moment, Quigley got angry and refused to be blown off. He leaned forward and slammed his hands down onto Reno's desk. "God damn it, Reno! He was my brother! I have a right to know!"
"Okay, keep your panties on," Reno shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
Quigley settled down, awaiting the story.
"It happened just as we were getting ready to run out of the lab, after Vinny realized that Jaras wasn't himself." Reno closed his eyes, reliving that moment. "The alarm had started to go off, and a couple of guards ran in, machine guns blazing. Kimo took out one instantly, but the other took aim at Spencer and just blasted him."
"And?"
"And what?" Reno asked.
"Did he…" Quigley stopped and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Did he die right away?"
Reno opted to not tell Quigley that Spencer had lain screaming for several moments after being shot. "No, he was dead before he hit the floor, bud."
Quigley nodded, accepting this. "He loved his job, Reno."
"I know, he was a good guy," Reno sighed back, remembering that Spencer had never once turned down a mission, and how well he'd done on all of them. "A good God damned guy."
The first smile that Quigley had shown in a while cropped up. It wasn't like Reno to just praise people for no reason. His brother must have truly impressed the ASRIO leader. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."
"Maybe I can make things better." Reno leaned back in his chair, putting his boots onto his desk.
"What?" Quigley didn't understand.
Reno flashed a brief smile, hoping that tonight would go well. "Oh hell, I don't know. Never mind."
Grieving or not, there were plenty of things for Quigley to work on. He got up and knit his brow. "I'm going to go. Thanks for letting Spencer work here. I know he loved it, Reno."
"Sure thing." Reno reached forward and turned his computer screen back on, getting back to the task at hand.
---------
Several more hours had gone by, and Reno hadn't moved from his desk. He looked up at the clock and saw that it was seven. He pulled out his phone and dialed home.
Angel answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"Hey Babe." Reno smiled instinctively upon hearing her voice.
"Reno, where are you?" she asked, not having expected him to have stayed at work this long.
"The base." He stood up and stretched the stiffness from his body. "Hey, I'm going to probably just stay here tonight. I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on."
Angel shrugged. Having Reno spend the night in their old room in the base wasn't all that unusual, he'd done it on occasion. "Oh, all right. Dana's spending the night at Jessie's house anyway, so it'll give me a chance to do a few things around here."
The fact that Angel was always so understanding made him feel bad that he was lying to her. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."
"All right. Goodnight."
"Babe?" Reno asked, hoping to catch her before she hung up.
Angel still had the phone in her hand. "Yeah?"
Reno knit his brow. "I love you."
It struck her as odd. Not that Reno had said it, but that he had done so over the phone sounding completely serious. Usually, if he said it on the phone, it was just a quick 'love ya' hastily tacked on as he hung up. "Reno?"
"Yeah?"
Angel smiled. "I love you, too. Goodnight."
"Night, Babe." He hung up and went out to the hanger.
Brad was waiting for him, with the helicopter already powered up.
Reno climbed in and went ahead and landed in the copilot's seat, donning the headset. "Hey, thanks again."
Brad grinned over at him. "Like I've said before, any excuse to fly is a good one."
Reno shook his head. Pilots like Cid and Brad were a strange breed. "I'm glad you feel that way."
"Sure thing." Brad pulled the bird up into the sky and headed off toward their goal.
---------
Peirte looked over at the clock, seeing that it was ten 'til midnight. "Gentlemen, I do believe it is time for you to make your exits."
Vincent, Spencer, and Sephiroth all looked over at him.
"Well, don't all just run out of here at once." The scientist approached them.
Sephiroth was the first to get up. He slipped his glasses into his shirt pocket and picked up the sword he'd been given with his left hand, the book he'd been reading in his right.
After tying the laces on the combat boots he'd been given, Vincent also rose, having his ferium kit in the leg pocket of the jumpsuit he was wearing, and the 9mm Peirte had turned over to him in his hand.
Spencer did much the same, but was unarmed.
Vincent looked over at the scientist. "So, we just walk out?"
"Why not?" Peirte went over and held open the lab door. "Go on, your destiny awaits. Three weeks, just remember that."
Vincent looked over at his son, finding Sephiroth smiling at him again. He nodded curtly and then walked on out, being followed by the other two.
Peirte closed the lab door behind them. He hoped that all would go as planned.
Vincent started down the hall toward the elevators, but stopped just a short way from the lab door. Slowly, he turned his head to the left, seeing five neatly grouped bullet holes in the wall next to him.
Chaos took notice, as well. Look at that, your blood is still there, too. You're like a fucking cat, Vincent. Nine lives…how many more do you think you have left? One for Lucrecia, one when you went on that first raid with ASRIO, one when Cid hit you with the plane, and one here in this hallway. That's four, Vincent. Five left. How shall we spend them?
Vincent was shaken out of his daze when Sephiroth put his hand upon his shoulder. His son pushed him forward gently. "No time for dwelling upon the past."
Vincent nodded and moved toward the elevators.
---------
The building across from the Shinra office in Junon was owned by ASRIO sympathizers, and they had granted Reno clearance to use their roof as a landing spot during a phone call earlier that day.
Brad gently brought his chopper down there and cut the engines. He turned to Reno. "I'm gonna stay with the bird, just in case we need to make a quick get away."
Reno nodded and got up. "Sounds like a plan. I'm going down to the ground and keep an eye out. If I'm not back by one, go home."
Not one to question orders generally, Brad flashed him a smile. "Sure thing. Go get 'em."
Reno exited the chopper and went over to the building's elevator. He checked his gun during the twelve-story ride downward, hoping that he wouldn't need it. Then again, if Vincent, Spencer, and Jaras were really going to break out, there was every chance that they would be followed out of the building by a mob of guards.
Once on the ground floor, Reno made his way through the lobby of the building and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He looked up at the Shinra building as it loomed before him. Somewhere, inside, he desperately hoped that his friends were making their way out.
He looked around, realizing that he was rather conspicuous on the street, since there was absolutely no one else out due to the hour. Reno tried to step back into a shadow as best he could, but there was little cover offered here.
Reno was staring at the main entrance to the building, knowing good and well that there was little chance that if Vincent were alive, he would lead them out through it.
Soon enough, he was proven wrong.
The doors opened and three men quickly walked out, two in white jumpsuits, one in black clothes. Reno couldn't believe his eyes. He ran forward into the middle of the street. "Hey!"
Vincent, Sephiroth, and Spencer all looked over at Reno, and then ran toward him.
Not feeling that they had time for pleasantries, Reno turned and ran back into the other building and entered, hitting the elevator call button. So far, it didn't look like anyone was pursuing his friends.
The three men caught up with Reno and met him as he waited for the elevator.
Reno knit his brow for a moment as he examined them, and then went to Vincent, and threw his arms around him. "Fuck man, I thought you were dead…"
Vincent reached up and clapped Reno on the back, before pushing out of his awkward embrace. He felt absolutely nothing for the man before him, the man he intended to betray. "I'm not."
"No shit." Reno smiled and the elevator doors opened.
They all entered and started the ride up to the roof.
Reno looked at Jaras. "Hey, are you…okay?"
Doing his best to put on Jaras' socially inept, geekish air, Sephiroth shrugged. "Yeah. They tired injecting me with the Jenova cells, and it almost worked, but just a few hours after you had come and gone, the Mako that's still in my body killed what they'd put into me. I felt…weird there for a while, but now I'm okay."
Reno seemed to take this in stride and he looked at Vincent. "So how in the fuck are you alive?"
Vincent's expressionless eyes looked down at his chest. With his left hand, he reached up and grabbed the zipper to his jumpsuit and undid it half way.
As the white fabric parted, Reno could see the hideous incision line and bullet holes that graced Vincent's chest. He stepped forward and held open his father in law's jumpsuit, to get a good view. It looked terrible. "Shit, Vinny…"
Vincent stepped back after feeling that Reno had seen enough. He would give a half-truth in response. "Dr. Methius didn't let Spencer and I die."
Reno looked at Spencer. "Are you that fucked up, too?"
Quigley's baby brother just nodded.
"Are you guys in pain? You've got to be miserable!" Reno didn't understand how they could be standing there so calm with such injuries. The small incision he'd gotten during an emergency appendectomy four years earlier had damn near driven him insane. The wounds that these two men sported were a thousand times worse.
"I think," Spencer started, "that we're in too much shock at getting away right now to worry about it."
The elevator got to the roof and they went to the chopper. Reno opened the door and all four of them got in.
Upon hearing the door close, Brad fired up the engines and got them into the air.
Reno sat next to Vincent. "I was going to have Derek picked up last night, but he never showed. Do you know where he is?"
Vincent forced himself to frown. "He helped us get out but on the way, he was killed."
Reno raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yes. He decided to stay back and try to distract the guards." Vincent narrowed his eyes, trying not to let Chaos' ecstasy over having killed Derek make him smile. "They opened fire upon him."
"Damn." Reno hadn't gotten to talk to Derek in person more than twice, but he was still hit by his death. He had been a wonderful plant. Deciding to change the subject, Reno met Vincent's gaze. "Tifa's going to be really happy, Vinny."
He tensed his jaw. Ferium or not, something still hurt a little. He didn't think that Tifa would be happy in the least. She seemed fairly contented to be with Cid now. Vincent forced himself to lie. "And I will be, too."
Reno was getting a strange feeling from Vincent, but then again, his father in law generally had that effect upon him. He noticed the gun clutched in Vincent's hand. "Where did you pick that up?"
Vincent cocked an eyebrow. "I had to kill a Turk on the way out, and I took it from his body." Lying feels good, doesn't it?
"Oh," Reno said back, thinking that if anyone was capable of taking out a Turk, that it would be Vincent. He then turned his gaze over to where Jaras was sitting, the sword he'd gotten resting across his knees. "And that sword, did you guys pick that up off someone you had to fight on the way out, too?"
Vincent merely nodded in response.
If they'd really fought their way out of the building, Reno couldn't figure out why no one had chased them as they'd made their way to the other building and to the roof. He could see that Vincent had turned away from him, apparently opting to tune him out for the time being. Reno figured he would just have to get the details of their escape later. "Vinny?"
He just sighed, not looking back at him.
Reno still had something to ask. "Do you want us to go and just drop you off at home? Tifa needs to know you're alive, Vinny."
He scowled for a second and then turned back to Reno. "No, I think it would be best if I were just to go back to the base with you for now."
Knowing that there had been something going on in Vincent's life before going on the mission, Reno figured that maybe Tifa and he had been fighting. "Vinny, are things okay at home? I'd think that you'd want to see her after all of this."
He was not going to get into it with Reno. "Take me back to the base. I will deal with Tifa when the time is right. Cid is with her, she's fine."
Reno actually got mad. He couldn't believe that Vincent would turn down the chance to get home at once. His wife was pregnant if nothing else. "Vinny! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Once more, Vincent faced away from his son in law. "I'm not getting into it with you, Reno-- not now, not ever. Don't worry about my personal business. I'll call her from the base later."
Maybe he's just too freaked out to deal with it right now, Reno thought to himself, as he stared at Vincent's back. He couldn't really blame him for being a little mentally unstable at the moment, after all that he'd been through. "Fine, Vinny. Have it your way."