Again, I ask that you pardon the typos…I'm spent today.
Chapter Eighteen
Vincent regained consciousness, and found himself to be in the cage that Sephiroth had occupied during his stay in the lab. He tried to move from the bed, but the overwhelming pain that hit him kept him from doing any more than rolling onto his side. His body felt like he'd been beaten within an inch of his life, and the truth was that he had. Where his chest had been opened up during his surgery, was still far from being healed, and the sheer agony of breathing was more than he thought he could stand. The only thing that could take this pain away was his precious ferium. Vincent reached down and unzipped the pocket on the leg of his pants where he'd stashed his ferium kit, and to his horror, it was gone.
Yeah, Dr. Methius took everything you had after he finished beating the shit out of you, Vincent. Chaos had been aware during the whole chain of events, and hadn't been pleased to go through it.
"Damn it." Vincent got flat on his back again, finding it to have been a more comfortable position. I'm going to go into full-blown withdrawal soon… I can already feel it starting.
I suppose so. Chaos didn't want to go through it anymore than Vincent. I hope your body can tolerate it. You're already in bad shape, but I guess you know that.
He closed his eyes and sighed. Since Vincent didn't know what time it was, he had no idea how long it had been since his last dose, other than it had been administered in the bathroom of the airship that had brought him to Junon.
"Mr. Valentine?" asked a woman's voice from a short distance off.
Vincent made no attempt to reply, not caring who it was since it was undoubtedly no one who could help him in the least. He heard her call out his name a second time, and continued to ignore her.
Amy huffed and frowned. She was sitting in a chair beside the cell, where she'd been all night. Her first exciting assignment from Dr. Methius had been to remain here and watch Vincent all night long for any 'signs of interest'. Well aware that this had been no more than Peirte's way of ditching her here in the lab for the night, she'd had no choice but to comply. She was, after all, his supposed Turk.
When she'd heard the commotion in the scientist's office that she was locked out of the night before, she wondered if Vincent had attacked Peirte. When the door had opened a good twenty minutes later, and the doctor had emerged completely unharmed, she realized that Mr. Valentine had been on the losing end of whatever had occurred.
Peirte had scowled at her as he'd walked past. "Go in there and clean that up, Abran."
Reluctantly, she'd gone into the office to find it a dismal mess, and with Vincent's bloodied body crumpled in the corner. Obviously, Peirte had been wailing on the other man for all he was worth, and she realized at once the Vincent was lucky to be alive at all. She'd dutifully mopped up the blood off the floor, and rearranged the office furniture as she figured it should have been, before Dr. Methius reappeared in the doorway.
"Go put him in that cage. You can get him there without my help, I should hope," he'd asked, his voice laced with cutting sarcasm.
Knowing that any Turk worth their salt, male or female, should be capable of lifting and moving another person, Amy had just silently nodded back. Of course, not actually being fit in any way, shape, or form, Amy had then proceeded to literally drag Vincent's unconscious body by his legs out of the office and into the cell. The bed within was little more than a mattress lying on the floor, and she'd been able to get Vincent placed upon it.
Peirte had watched this out of the corner of his eye with disgust, while sitting before his microscope. She was the most pathetic excuse for a Turk he'd ever seen, but at least he'd been spared the task of getting his office back in order after beating Vincent.
So, that done, she'd been ordered to observe her charge while Peirte had vanished for the night. Amy had begun to wonder if Vincent was going to ever regain consciousness. Jerk to her or not, she was still concerned about him, and wanted him to say something. She chose to give it one last try. "Mr. Valentine?"
Vincent opted to reward her persistence. He turned his head in the direction of her voice and glared over at her. It was the Turk as he'd more or less suspected. "What?"
"Are you all right?" she asked, only realizing afterward that she probably shouldn't have. A real Turk wouldn't have cared.
"Do I look all right?" Vincent shot back, maintaining his stare.
There was no way around it-- he didn't look all right in the least. Dried trails of blood were present at the corners of his mouth and from his nose. He sported a severe laceration above his left eye, and both of his eyes were blacked from the fight. If she'd been able to see his body beneath his tattered clothing, she would have appreciated that it was bruised as well, and part of the incision on his chest had been broken open from the repeated kicking that Peirte had subjected him to. Some of the bones in his left hand had been broken, as the doctor had intentionally stomped on it prior to turning and exiting the office. In short, he looked like hell.
Amy shrugged and dropped her gaze to the ground. "No, you don't."
Satisfied, Vincent closed his eyes again and made an attempt to suppress the pain that was tearing him apart. He was starting to break into a sweat, and he could feel his body begin to tremble. Withdrawal was beginning.
------------------------------
At five in the morning, Brad's phone rang. He delayed answering, hoping that whoever it was would just hang up or that Lilly would answer, but on the eighth ring, he gave in and picked it up. "Do you have any damn idea what time it is?"
"Yeah, too damn early," replied a voice much like his own.
Brad sat up in his bed. "Highwind?"
Cid sighed. "Yeah."
Knowing that his counterpart wasn't one to get up quite this early, Brad instantly grew concerned. "What's up?"
"Well, I was hopin' that you and Lilly could get out to Rocket today." Cid was sitting on his couch, before the cold fireplace. Jin was nestled into his side, sleeping.
"Uh, that's like a six hour flight from here. This better be important." Brad wasn't sure that Lilly would just want to take off like this.
"Would I be calling this early if it wasn't important?" Cid looked down at the woman beside him. "If you leave now, and assuming that the piece of shit you fly doesn't wreck, you can be here by noon. Get going and wear somethin' nice."
Brad didn't have a chance to ask any more questions as Cid simply hung up. "Highwind, you're a pain in the ass."
------------------------------
Charlotte woke up and began crying, prompting Tifa to stir from her sleep. She sat up and got to nursing the baby, and looked around.
Aaron was still sleeping on his bed, next to her but on the other side of the bars. Seeing him there like he was made her smile. He was on his back with his left arm straight out at his side, dangling over the edge of the bed, his right one clutching the blanket to his chest. Aaron slept in the same position as his father.
Once the baby was done feeding, Tifa got to changing her diaper and as she did so, Angel appeared, followed by Quigley and Porter. Tifa gave them a smile while she fastened the diaper onto her tiny infant. "Good morning."
Angel smiled right back. "Tifa, Quigley has the drug made."
Her eyes went wide. Although she knew that they had to do something for Aaron, the thought of him going through what Vincent had when receiving the injections scared her. "What's it going to do to him, Quigley?"
The researcher came over and sat on the bed next to her. "Hey, that baby's cute."
"Thanks, but you're delaying," Tifa said, calling him on it.
She was right, he was. "Okay, well, he'll probably react to it a lot like Vincent did, except I'm hoping that it might be a little easier on him since he's not as developed in the way of Chaos as Vincent was by the time he got it."
"He's not Chaos." Aaron opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He hadn't been asleep at all, and was just listening for anything of interest.
Everyone turned and faced him.
Aaron knew what they were thinking. "Chaos was the name of the monster inside my dad. Mine told me that I had to give him a name of his own."
Tifa reached through the bars and grabbed her son's hand. "You named it?"
"Havoc. I named him Havoc." Aaron smiled fleetingly, feeling a little ridiculous about it, but the demon within him had insisted in being named.
"Well, whatever it is, what we've got should be able to get rid of it." Quigley offered a smile.
Tifa suddenly realized the potential mistake they'd made. "We shouldn't have told him."
Porter stepped forward, also remembering the rule that Tseng had set down when Vincent was going to be cured, and what had happened when that rule had been broken. "Oh crap, you're right. He might make Aaron try to escape…"
Angel and Quigley were immediately disappointed in themselves for not thinking of this as well. Things just got dangerous.
Yet, Angel quickly thought of a solution that would keep everyone more or less safe during the procedure. "We'll just leave him in that cell. We won't move him to the infirmary to give him the injection. As long as he's behind those bars, he won't be able to do much. We'll just have him put his arm through the bars and give him the injection that way."
Remembering the violent way that Vincent's body had responded to the drug, Tifa wasn't well for the idea of Aaron being made to go through that locked in a cell. "Angel, I want to be able to hold him when he's treated!"
"I'm sorry, but we can't take any risks, Tifa." Angel looked at her younger brother. "Like Quigley said, hopefully his reaction will be less severe."
"But what if it's not and he needs help?" Tifa asked, terrified of anything befalling her son.
"I'll bring down everything I might need if there's a problem," Angel replied, placing a hand on Tifa's shoulder. "In fact, I'm going to go get things together so we can get this over and done with.
Inside Aaron, Havoc was paying careful attention to everything that was being said and planned. The demon hadn't regained enough strength yet to do much, but he was at least going to try and convince Aaron not to cooperate. Get away from the bars and sit in the middle of the cell, Aaron. If they give you whatever it is they've got, it could kill you.
Aaron's eyes went wide and he grew afraid.
The demon felt the fear, and was pleased. That's right, it could kill you, and I guarantee that it will hurt. Get up and get out of their reach!
I'm scared, you're right, Aaron thought back, but I'm not scared of the drug. I'm scared of becoming a monster, Havoc. I'm scared of becoming you.
I'm here to help you, Aaron, I've told you that. Havoc was willing to say whatever he had to.
You've lied to me. Aaron continued to sit motionless. My mom didn't stay with Cid, and the baby isn't his. You made me pull my dad's gun on my best friend! I scared L.C., and he's never gonna talk to me again because of it, I bet.
I am your best friend, Aaron! The demon was growing desperate. Get away from the bars and do it now!
Tifa looked over and saw the expression that her son was wearing. "Aaron?"
He turned his crimson eyes up toward her. "Mom, they need to give me that stuff really soon…"
Angel and Quigley realized what was happening and they turned and left, going to retrieve what they needed, leaving Porter and Tifa with the boy.
Porter, also realizing what was at stake, reached down and pulled Tifa to her feet, dragging her and the baby out of Aaron's reach.
Tifa didn't want to be taken away from her son's side. "Porter! Let me go!"
"I'm sorry, Tifa, but Aaron's fighting that thing right now. Look at him." Porter kept his gaze upon the boy.
She looked over at her son, seeing him sitting there, looking terrified and shaking slightly. "Aaron? What's going on?"
He was fighting for his very soul. "Mom…make them hurry!"
Angel quickly returned with her medical bag and with Janice at her side, and shortly thereafter, Quigley returned as well, with a loaded syringe in his hands.
Quigely turned to Angel. "Give me a tourniquet."
She reached into the medical bag and pulled one out, handing it to the researcher.
He then went over and sat on the bed in Tifa's cell, close to Aaron. "Okay, I need you to put your arm through the bars, Aaron."
You're running out of time! Don't do it!
With his arm shaking horribly, Aaron extended it through the bars.
Quigley grabbed his wrist and looked back over his shoulder. "Porter, come here."
"Don't move," Porter ordered Tifa before going to his friend's side.
"Hold onto his arm so he can't pull away." Quigley put the tourniquet around Aaron's upper arm and tightened it.
Porter braced the boy's arm at the wrist and elbow, keeping him in place.
Quigley pulled the cap from the needle on the syringe and lined it up with Aaron's vein.
Aaron bared his teeth and jumped slightly at the pain of the needle going into his arm. His terrified eyes turned from the two men before him and over to his mother. "Mom…"
"It's okay, Aaron," Tifa said back, tears in her eyes. She'd never seen him look so afraid, and it broke her heart.
Damn you, Aaron! How dare you let them do this to me! the demon screamed inside his head.
Quigley pulled away the tourniquet and injected the contents of the syringe into Aaron's bloodstream before removing the needle from his arm. He placed a finger over where the needle had been in the boy's vein and applied pressure.
Aaron waited for the drug to do something to him, but nothing seemed to happen, other than a slight burn where he'd been injected.
Having expected some sort of reaction, Quigley knit his brow in confusion. "Aaron?"
It didn't work. Time to get serious.
The boy's lips pulled up into a smile.
Porter felt like something was wrong, and he let go of Aaron's arm and got up from the bed. "Quig…what's going on with him?"
The researcher looked over his shoulder back at Porter, keeping his hold of Aaron's arm, not wanting the vein to bruise. "I don't kn--"
His words were cut off as Aaron turned his arm in Quigley's grip, and he grabbed onto the researcher's hand and pulled his arm through the bars. Quigley was jerked forward and hit the bars forcefully.
"Shit! Quig!" Porter hurriedly got behind Quigley and put his arms around him, trying to pull him free of Aaron's hold.
Tifa screamed as she watched her son change almost instantly before her eyes into the form of his inner demon. As Cid had said, he looked just like a small Chaos, the remnants of his shirt clinging to his newly developed wings. "Aaron!"
The demon, being far stronger than Aaron had been, was able to keep his grip on Quigley's arm and didn't let him escape. He dug his talons into the researcher's flesh, tearing it open as he fought to keep a hold of Quigley's arm. "I'm going to teach you not to fuck with me!"
Quigley was in agony, and struggled to free himself. Porter was pulling on him for all he was worth, and they were gaining, but at the cost of Quigley's arm being damaged more and more as it was raked through the demon's claws.
Seeing that he was losing the battle to keep Quigley restrained, Havoc made one last cruel gesture and bit the researcher before letting him go, removing a good portion of tissue off of his forearm.
Porter and Quigley fell to the floor once the demon had let go. The former Turk quickly got up, but Quigley remained on the ground, clutching his severely injured left arm to his chest.
Dr. Arlin ran over, seeing that Quigley was bleeding heavily. She looked up at Porter. "Help me get him onto his back."
Porter knelt down and maneuvered the researcher so that Janice could get a look at his arm.
Quigley was groaning through his gnashed teeth, terrified to look at his injury. Janice had to force him to give over his arm, but after only seeing it for a moment, she realized that he needed surgery immediately in order to save the limb.
Once more, she turned her eyes to Porter. "Help me get him to the infirmary." She looked back at Angel. "I'm going to need your help, too."
Angel shook herself out of her shock and nodded, following the doctor, Porter, and the injured man out. Before she left the room, she called back at Tifa, "Stay away from the bars!"
Tifa was frozen in place, staring at the little blood-covered demon in the cell. She watched with Charlotte held tightly in her arms, as Aaron's alter ego continued to gnaw on the bit of flesh that he'd torn from Quigley. "My God, the drug didn't do anything at all…"
Havoc swallowed and then narrowed his glowing eyes. "That's right, it didn't do a thing to me, and the next person that tries will have something far worse happen to them."
The demon then gave her an evil smile, before submitting back to Aaron. The boy regained his own form and fell to the floor of his cell.
Seeing that her son had returned, Tifa went forward, placing Charlotte in the portable crib that had been provided before kneeling beside the bars. "Aaron! Are you okay?"
He pushed himself up from the floor, trembling and afraid. "Mom…it happened again… I thought that stuff was supposed to fix me."
"It was, Aaron." She reached through the bars toward him, wanting no more than to hold him.
Aaron saw her reach for him, but he took a few steps backward, realizing that he was covered in blood. "What happened?"
"You don't remember anything?" she asked, seeing the terror in his expression.
Tears came to his eyes. "No!"
"That demon took you over and you attacked Quigley through the bars." Tifa wanted him to come closer, but he kept backing away.
"No…no!" Aaron was horrified to hear this. "I hurt someone?"
"It wasn't you, Aaron. Come over here," Tifa begged.
"I can't, Mom! What if I hurt you, too?" The boy understood now how dangerous he was and there was no way he was going to put his mother at risk. "Just get away from the bars, in case it happens again."
"It won't happen again for a while, Aaron!" Tifa remembered having a similar conversation with Vincent seven years ago. "You won't hurt me, come here."
He just shook his head and continued on backward until his back was against the wall of his cell. Aaron then slid down to the floor and sat, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. The boy hung his head, closed his eyes, and cried. The thought that he couldn't be cured was unbearable, and he didn't want to live this way.
Tifa watched her son break down and realized once more that he was just like his father-- far too much like his father.
------------------------------
Angel and Dr. Arlin were done with Quigley after being in surgery for nearly three hours. They'd managed to save his arm, although his recovery would be a long one. For now, Quigley's arm would have to remain bandaged and in a sling, but he was alive and intact.
After getting him into a regular infirmary bed to recover, Angel went over to Reno's bedside to see him.
Porter had waited here and Rayna had arrived as well, to await word of Quigley's status, and they got to his side immediately, looking to Janice for an update.
The doctor looked at Quigley's two friends, and offered them a smile. "He's going to be okay."
They both seemed instantly relieved, and Rayna bent down to give Quigley a kiss on the cheek even though he was still sedated.
Porter frowned and shook his head. "Poor Quig, of all people for something like this to happen to…"
"I know, he's a nice guy." Janice did feel sorry for the man. "I can't understand what happened. The drug didn't seem to have any effect on Aaron at all."
"Other than pissing him off." Porter reached out and took up Quigley's right hand. "He made sure that the formulation was correct, so I can't imagine why it didn't work."
"Maybe you should check it just to make sure, Porter. Perhaps he made a mistake." Janice pushed her glasses up.
"Quig doesn't make mistakes, but I'll run the batch he made through the analyzer just to make sure." Porter met the doctor's gaze. "But I'm not leaving until he's awake and tells me that he's okay."
"Fair enough." Janice offered him a polite smile.
In the meanwhile, Angel was at Reno's side. He was unconscious still, his body no longer rigid, but rather relaxed. This was a change from the last time she'd seen him a short while before going to take Quigley to Aaron, and part of her panicked. He was either no longer posturing because the pressure inside of his head was falling, or he was beginning brain death. Knowing that the reflexes of his remaining eye would give away what was happening, she reached out and pried it open, looking closely to see if his pupil constricted as she did so.
Reno's right arm instantly flew up and over, grabbing her wrist, pulling her hand away from his face. He'd never liked his eyes messed with.
Angel shrieked in shock and jumped back, not having expected him to move in such a way.
Over at Quigley's bedside, everyone turned around to look over at Angel, and they saw Reno holding onto her arm.
Janice excused herself and went over quickly. "Angel? He's holding onto you?"
She thought it was a little obvious with his hand dangling from her wrist. "Yeah, he scared me."
"Try talking to him, see if he's aware." Dr. Arlin crossed her arms over her chest, anxious for some sign.
Angel pulled Reno's hand from her wrist and laced her fingers through his before bending down close to him. "Reno?"
Nothing seemed to happen.
Not giving up that easily, she tried again. "Reno? Come on, show me you're still in there."
The left corner of his mouth twitched a few times, before he responded. "Babe?"
Angel instantly had tears in her eyes. "Reno!"
His left eye cracked open the tiniest amount and he focused on her. "That's me."
Not only was he conscious, but he was already using his cocky tone even if his voice was dry and tired. Angel bent down further and lay across him, crying against his chest.
Janice wanted to tell Angel to still be cautious about getting her hopes up, but even the logical doctor couldn't help but feel relief in that moment. Reno seemed to be determined to defy the odds.
Reno took his right arm and put it over his wife as she rested against him. He was aware and could feel her there, and it was the most wonderful thing he'd felt in his life. "I'm here, I told you last night that I wasn't going no where."
Angel smiled even though tears still ran from her eyes. She remembered hearing his voice in her head the night before and realized that it hadn't been a hallucination. Somehow, he'd spoken to Angel and she knew at that moment how much he really did love her. He'd fought off death to keep his word to her. "I was so scared you weren't going to make it."
"Tseng told me it was my choice," he replied quietly.
Angel straightened back up and gazed down upon him. Some of her optimism was tempered as she thought that he'd failed to regain his memory. It seemed like he still believed Tseng to be alive. "Reno, Tseng couldn't have told you anything, he's dead."
"Yeah, I know, that's why he was able to talk to me while I was sitting over there." He motioned weakly with his right hand toward the side of the bed he'd been at the night before.
She couldn't help but wonder exactly how much damage had been done to his mind. "What?"
He knew that she couldn't possibly understand what he was trying to convey. Surely pressing on with the issue would do no more than make her believe that he was nuts. "Never mind. Babe?"
"Yes?" She reached down and touched his left cheek.
"How's Dana?"
Angel smiled widely, he had his memory. "She's okay. She's been at Jessie's since this happened. I didn't tell her what was going on yet, since I didn't know…"
"You honestly think I woulda given your old man the satisfaction of killing me?" Reno's mouth contorted into a lopsided smile again. "Give me a fuckin' break, Babe."
"I would hope that your motivation for living would have been your family, not spiting my father." Angel couldn't help but play his little game.
"Yeah, you're right." Reno was already getting tired. "Babe?"
"Yes?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"What's that?" Angel leaned closer to him.
"Can you get whatever this is off my head? It's really annoying only being able to see out of one eye." Reno again produced some sort of smile.
Angel's eyes went wide and she looked over at Janice for help. "Uh, well…"
Janice decided to spare Angel the pain of telling him and she came closer. "Reno, if we take the bandage off, you still won't be able to see any better."
He honestly didn't understand. Even when he'd seen himself the night before, he hadn't gotten any real appreciation for his actual injury. "What?"
"The bullet hit you in the right eye, Reno." Janice reached down and placed a hand upon his chest.
Reno looked away from both women for a moment, trying to absorb what he'd just been told. "Oh, so…it's gone?"
"I'm sorry, but yes, it's gone." Dr. Arlin was sympathetic.
He seemed to frown for a moment, and then he looked at Angel. "Babe?"
She stroked his cheek. "Yes?"
"Uh, do I…" His voice wavered. "How bad do I look?"
Injured or not, the sheer fact that he was alive and talking made him the most beautiful sight she'd ever lain eyes upon. "You look absolutely fine, Reno."
Her honest sincerity was clear and he gave her another crooked smile. "Babe?"
"Yes?"
"Can you do me another favor?" he asked, his voice sweet.
"What's that?" She tightened the grip on his hand.
"I'm really tired and I want to sleep for a while, but do you think that maybe you could climb up here and lay down next to me?" He seemed hopeful.
Knowing Reno, she figured he was just angling for sex, despite his present condition. "There's other people in the room, Reno."
Reno sighed realizing that his usual demeanor made her think that his intentions were perverted. "No, Babe, I just want you to lay here with me while I sleep for a while. I want you close."
Angel laughed to herself, blushing. The truth was that she was incredibly tired herself and squeezing into that tiny, uncomfortable hospital bed sounded very good. "Okay, I could use a nap myself."
Reno's smile returned.
------------------------------
Peirte arrived in the lab, and walked over to where his new Turk was sitting, finding that she was asleep, despite Vincent's cries of agony as his withdrawal ripped through him. "Uh, Abran?"
Amy snapped out of her light sleep. Although Vincent was being loud, she was exhausted after being up all night, and couldn't help drifting off. She got to her feet and faced the scientist. "Doctor, you're back."
"Marvelous. They trained you to see the obvious with amazing clarity, didn't they?" Peirte walked over to the side of the cage, seeing that Vincent was staring up at the ceiling, making animalistic sounds as his body twitched and writhed upon the floor, since he'd fallen off of the bed long before. "Enjoying the bitchier side of ferium, are we?"
Vincent heard him, but couldn't respond at all. In his mind, he was begging for help, but no words could sensibly pass his lips. He was in more pain than he'd ever been in, save the time that Hojo had cut off his arm without anesthesia. Not knowing where else to turn, Vincent made on last desperate plea in his mind. Chaos…help me.
Now you ask for my help? You've treated me like shit, you've hated me forever, and now you have the nerve to ask for help? The demon laughed. If there were anything I could do, I would be doing it, Vincent. This is hurting me just as much as it is you.
Damn. Vincent allowed his eyes to close, hoping that the pain would either render him unconscious or kill him. Either or, he didn't care which.
Dr. Methius looked thoughtful as he observed Vincent. "I've never had the pleasure of actually watching someone die of ferium withdrawal. Have you, Abran?"
She walked over to his side. "No, Doctor, I can't say I have."
"Did he do anything other than what he's doing now?" Peirte asked, looking over at her.
"He was capable of talking for a short time this morning, but then he started that. He's been doing nothing other than this for a few hours now." Amy hadn't found it easy to watch this man in such obvious pain.
Dr. Methius noticed her expression. "Does this bother you?"
She shrugged. "I've seen plenty of my friends die before, Doctor. What's watching the death of a man I don't know on any level compared to that?"
"I see." There seemed to be something slightly disingenuous about her statement, but then again, she was clearly not a run of the mill Turk. He wondered briefly about how she'd managed to get this job, but quickly racked it up to a probable case of nepotism. The last name Abran was one that he'd heard within the context of the company before. "Well, I'm going to go into my office and work on a few things. If his condition changes, do let me know."
"Yes, Doctor." Amy remained beside the cage, continuing to look at the prisoner within.
Before going into his office, Dr. Methius reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Abran?"
She turned to face him. "Yes?"
He tossed the keys to her. "Those are to the locks in the lab. I like my Turk to have spares handy. Keep those with you at all times, if you would."
Amy dropped them into her coat pocket. "I will, Doctor."
Peirte noticed her apparent level of fatigue. "Abran, if you would like to go home for a while to rest, I wouldn't protest."
That was an offer she couldn't refuse. "I would like that very much, Doctor."
If nothing else, he knew that a tired Turk wasn't necessarily an alert one. While he, like Hojo, forbade his Turk from escorting him home at night, he did travel with them when going out for other things. "Just make sure that you're back tonight around seven. I have a meeting with a Shinra executive tonight, and would appreciate an escort to the event."
She nodded. "Will do. Thank you, Doctor."
He blew her off and went into his office. Vincent would have to suffer alone for the time being.
------------------------------
Brad set the chopper down outside of Cid's house and cut the engine. He rose from his seat and extended a hand toward his wife in the copilot's seat. "Let's go see what the son of a bitch is up to."
"Okay." Lilly took his hand and they got out of the helicopter.
As they walked up to Cid's house, they saw the pilot pacing on the porch. Brad was immediately concerned-- Cid was actually wearing a suit. He wondered whose funeral they had been unknowingly invited to.
Cid saw their approach and flashed them a weak smile. "Thanks for coming."
"What's going on?" Brad asked.
"I, uh, well…" Cid scratched the back of his head. "Crap."
Lilly knit her brow. She wasn't overly fond of Cid, and wanted to know why she'd been brought here. "Spit it out."
"Well, we needed someone to go with us today." Cid leaned against the porch railing.
"Where?" Brad pried on, seeing that it wasn't going to be easy to pull the truth from his friend.
Jin stepped out of the house, clad in a simple white dress, with her hair done up and makeup on. "Are we ready?"
Brad had never seen the woman in anything other than her work clothes. Even he had to admit that she cleaned up very well. "Jingles…you're lookin' really good."
Lilly, too, was impressed. "Yeah, you are."
Not accustomed to praise like that, Jin rolled her eyes. "Sure. Thanks, I guess."
Seeing Cid in his suit and Jin in the dress suddenly clued Brad in on what was really happening. "Wait, you're not getting married are you?"
Cid shrugged and looked off into the distance. "Yeah."
Lilly was shocked. "Really?"
"I said yeah." Cid took Jin's hand in his own and walked off the porch. "Let's get this over with. Come on, L.C.!"
The boy ran out of the house, dressed in a suit of his own. He was beyond excited that his father and Jin were finally doing this.
With Rocket being as small a town as it was, they were able to walk to the courthouse within five minutes, L.C. running around them in circles the entire way. Cid and Jin had come by earlier to fill out all of the paperwork and pay the fees, and just needed to actually get married.
They went in and needed to wait for the couple ahead of them to get finished. As they waited, Cid hung his head and felt a sting in his eyes, making him quickly turn away from the others. The memory of the day he and Shera had come here to do this very thing came on with a vengeance, and Cid couldn't help himself.
Jin stared over at him, noticing his shoulders heaving slightly. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back. "Cid? What's wrong? Don't you want to do this?"
"Yeah, I do." He wiped his eyes quickly to hide his tears. "I was just thinking about when I was here before, you know."
She understood. "Yeah, I wish we didn't have to do this in the same place. It would've been easier on you."
L.C. came over and grabbed his dad's sleeve. "The lady just said it was our turn!"
Cid smiled at his son. "Then let's get it over with."
Jin and Cid were led into the civil ceremonies room, where a judge was waiting to marry them. Brad and Lilly stood behind them, acting as their witnesses. L.C. stood close to his father's side, fidgeting nervously.
The wedding was short and to the point, and the judge quickly got to the most important part. "Do you, Jinnel Althea Shaefer, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do," she said, with unwavering confidence.
"And do you, Cid Augustus Highwind the Second, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
He hesitated, and Jin nudged him in the side. Cid cleared his throat. "Yeah."
The judge figured that this was good enough. "Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife."
Cid turned and gave Jin his usual smirk before kissing her.
L.C. came over and pulled on Jin's arm. "Hey?"
She looked down at him. "What's up?"
"So can I call you Mom now?" he asked, his blue eyes looking hopeful.
Jin knelt down to be on his level. "L.C., you can call me whatever you want."
The boy threw his arms around her neck, with tears in his eyes. He felt like he was really part of a family for the first time now that his father and the woman who had been there his entire life were married. "Thanks for comin' back."
She smiled, putting her arms around him in return. "No problem, L.C."
------------------------------
Tifa sat staring at her son. He'd remained on the floor of his cell in the corner now for hours on end, and she was beyond worried. Aaron had ignored all of her attempts to speak to him, just staying where he was, silently rocking back and forth slightly. The way he looked terrified her.
Porter had brought some food down earlier, and although Tifa had forced herself to eat since she had a baby to nurse, Aaron's sandwich and chips still sat wrapped in their respective packages, untouched.
Having been worried about Quigley, Tifa had sought an update on the researcher's condition from the former Turk, and he'd happily informed her that Quigley had come through his surgery fine and was awake and talking. This was at least a small relief, but this news also went by without Aaron's notice.
She had to wonder exactly how much a six year old boy could take before losing his mind, and she feared that such a line had already been crossed with her son.
------------------------------
Porter sat in a chair at Quigley's bedside alone, as Rayna had needed to go up into town for a while.
Quigley, having a good amount of painkillers in his system, was sitting up in his hospital bed, propped up by a half dozen pillows. He couldn't help but stare at his currently bound up arm, thinking of what it must look like under it's wrapping. Thanks to all of the drugs in him at the moment, he found himself able to not think about his dead brother, and it was a welcome break. "You know, I think I just realized why people get hooked on these painkillers."
Porter cocked an eyebrow and looked up from the magazine in his hands. "Oh?"
Quigley gave a lazy smirk. "Yeah, this is really, really great. I feel good."
Not being used to seeing Quigley stoned, Porter couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Quig."
"Yeah, I am." He suddenly looked thoughtful. "Hey, Port?"
"Yeah?"
"You ever gonna get another dog?" he asked, taking his eyes from his arm for a moment.
Porter sighed, thinking about both D and Virgil for a while. D had been sacrificed to save Vincent, and Virgil had passed away about a year ago due to kidney failure. "I don't know. I think about it a lot and I miss them, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to go to the animal shelter to look."
"Well, I think you should." Quigley ran his free hand through his messy blond hair. "I liked having a dog around in the lab."
"Then why don't you get one?" Porter asked.
"That's an idea." Quigley smiled faintly. "Not like I have any other companionship in my life. I ain't even been laid in like eight months."
Porter perked to attention. Quigley hadn't admitted to having any relations with anyone in well over five years. This was news to him. "You had sex? I thought you had resigned to the celibate life a long time ago."
Thanks to the drugs, Quigley didn't hold his tongue. Normally, he didn't volunteer such information. "No, I do get some on occasion…actually, that one time eight months ago had been like the first time in maybe four years or more."
"Try five years." Porter laughed. "The last one I knew of was that girl working in the cafeteria that you saw there off and on for a few years."
"Okay, before eight months ago she was the last one." Quigley sighed. His love life had always been lacking, despite the fact that he was a nice guy and cute in a slightly nerdish sort of way.
Porter couldn't help himself and he dropped his magazine to the floor. "So, who was it? Anyone I know?"
Quigley blushed slightly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
The researcher grinned. "Jingles."
Porter raised his eyebrows. How Quigley could have managed to nail the Ice Queen Supreme was beyond him. "Are you hallucinating?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm completely serious!"
"How'd that happen?" Porter settled in, wanting the details.
Quigley closed his eyes. "She'd just come back from Highwind's place and was down here in the cafeteria. It was pretty late and I came down here too, looking for a midnight snack. When I spotted her there, sitting alone crying, I couldn't help myself and I took up the place across from her and asked her what was wrong. They'd had some hellacious fight, I guess and she said she was over him. Since I'd never seen her show any sort of emotion other than her usual horrible bitchiness, I knew that she was really upset. I just sat there and let her talk it out, seeing that it was helping her on some level. Then she did something that surprised the heck out of me."
"What was that?" Porter leaned forward, knowing that it was getting to the interesting part.
"She told me right to my face that the only way she felt like she could get back at him for all of the time he'd spent with Tifa was to just fuck some random guy, and that I happened to be that guy." Quigley chuckled to himself quietly. This was not something he ever figured could happen in real life.
Porter laughed as well. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah." Quigley's expression betrayed the fact he was being honest. "She stood up and leaned over the table, grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulled me up and kissed me. I couldn't believe it."
"That's crazy." Porter tried to picture this event taking place, but it was such a strange concept that he couldn't quite get his mind around it.
"I know!" Quigley flipped his free hand. "So, she grabs my hand an pulls my out of the cafeteria and to my room. We went inside and she started kissing me again, and then she shoved me back onto the bed. It was insane. She stripped out of her jumpsuit really fast and then sat on the bed next to me, and undid my pants. I was too shocked really to do anything, I mean, nothing like that had ever happened to me in my life. Jin then laid down and told me to quote, 'fuck her brains out'."
Porter broke out into a full on laugh. This was easily the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "And you agreed, right?"
"What could I do? She asked!" Quigley was as red as he could get. "I mean, I am a man, Porter, and she's kinda hot, you know."
He'd never found the female mechanic attractive, but that had always been more a result of her crappy attitude. "Damn, Quigley, you're right. That was insane."
"You know what's really funny?" Quigely met Porter's gaze.
"What's that?"
"The next night, I guess, she did damn near the same exact thing to Ericson!" The researcher shook his head.
"I'll be damned." Porter never ceased being amazed by the little social dramas that unfolded within the base. "She went after the two loneliest guys here."
"Hey, I guess she knew us losers would be desperate enough to give in. But hey, I'd never been with a woman that was that demanding and forceful. I have to admit, I liked it." His dark eyes narrowed mischievously. "I know that if Mr. Highwind ever found out, though, that I'd be a dead man, so don't go saying anything, okay?"
"Your secrets are safe with me, Quig." Porter couldn't stop smiling.
Over on the other side of the room, a sly grin came to Reno's lips as he listened in on the entire conversation while feigning sleep, filing it away in his mind to use in jest at a later time. He sighed, feeling Angel adjust the way her arm was draped across his chest. Life was still worth living.
------------------------------
Sephiroth decided to go check on his little brother down in the prison block. Having been in his room all day with Jeanine, he was presently unaware of all that had occurred that morning. Since his wife had decided to take a nap, Sephiroth had supposed that this was as good a time as any to go see Aaron.
As he walked down the corridor to the cells, he noticed that there were spots on the concrete floor that hadn't been there before. He stooped down out of curiosity, and saw that they were dried blood.
When he stepped into the detention area, he spotted Tifa sitting upon her bed with the baby in her arms, and Aaron huddled in the rear corner of his cell. He walked over to Tifa, noticing that there was a large bloodstain upon the floor close to her bed, and he became concerned. "Tifa, what happened here?"
She brought her tired eyes up to meet his gaze. "Oh Jaras, this morning, Quigley came to give Aaron the drug to get rid of the demon within him, but it didn't work. Then, Aaron…changed and almost tore Quigley's arm off. Now, Aaron won't talk or move from where he is. I'm so worried about him, he's never been this upset in his life."
Sephiroth looked over at where his brother was sitting, still rocking back and forth as his eyes stared down blankly at the floor in front of him. Knowing that he and the boy had a special connection, he decided to try something. "Tifa, why don't you go out and do something with the baby for a while, so that I can try talking to Aaron, alone."
Although she wasn't eager to be away from her son, she figured that she'd give Jaras the chance to try getting through to Aaron. "All right."
He watched approvingly as she rose from the bed and slowly walked away. Once she was gone, Sephiroth turned his attention to Aaron. "Little brother?"
Aaron didn't seem to hear him at all. His mind was devoid of thought at the moment, and he had the outside world tuned out completely.
Sephiroth frowned. He realized that the only way he was going to get through to his brother was to go into the cell. Making up his mind to do that, he turned and ran out of the prison block.
He went into the infirmary, figuring that he'd find Angel there. Sure enough, he saw her lying beside Reno upon his small bed. Sephiroth went over to her and gently woke her. "Angel?"
She opened up her eyes and looked over at him. "Hey."
"I need your key to the prison cell that Aaron is in," he said simply.
"No, you can't let him out. I know Tifa's worried but--"
He cut her off. "I'm not going to let him out. I am going to let myself in."
"You can't do that." Angel kept her voice quiet, not wanting to wake Reno.
"Angel, be realistic. What can he do to me?" He narrowed his eyes. "I think I can handle some small demon, don't you?"
Sephiroth had a point. Still, she was reluctant. "I don't know…"
"Angel, my little brother needs me."
To hear the level of concern in his voice touched something within her. Angel reached down into her pocket, fished around for a moment, and then pulled out the prison keys. "Don't lose those, and I want them back the second you're done."
He accepted them graciously. "Thank you."
Sephiroth quickly got back to the cells and went to the door of Aaron's. He slipped the key into the lock and opened it. Once he was inside, he reclosed the door. Sephiroth went over and sat on the ground directly before Aaron. "Little brother?"
Aaron blinked a few time and the looked up at him. "Jaras, what are you doing? Get out before I hurt you, too."
He smiled. "I assure you, you cannot harm me, Aaron."
"I really hurt that Quigley guy this morning, Jaras." Aaron began shaking, partially due to his emotions, but more due to the fact that it was cold in the cell and his shirt was lying on the floor, destroyed.
Upon seeing his brother's arms prickle with goose bumps, Sephiroth quickly pulled off his tee shirt and held it out to Aaron. "Here, take this."
Aaron reached out and took the shirt into his hands. "Are you sure?"
"Go ahead, keep it. I can get another. You need it." Sephiroth gave him a smile. His feelings for his younger sibling were coming up full force as yet another part of Jaras' personality fused with Sephiroth.
The boy put on the shirt, appreciating anything that he got from Jaras. He had looked up to his much older brother all of his life. His mother and father had never told Aaron about Jaras' past, but the boy was sharp, and he'd noticed that his brother bore an amazing resemblance to the legendary Sephiroth. Now, looking at him without his shirt on, Aaron noticed how much stronger Jaras seemed. He couldn't help but ask, needing something to take his mind off of his misery. "Jaras?"
Pleased that he had gotten through to him, Sephiroth smiled. "Yes?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything." He scooted over so he was sitting beside Aaron, and put his arm around his shoulders.
"Uh, don't laugh, but are you and that Sephiroth guy I've seen pictures of on television the same guy?" Aaron felt a little odd for posing the question.
Sephiroth laughed and rested his head back against the wall. This whole mess had begun when he'd been approached about this very thing in his bookstore not so long ago. "What do you think, little brother?"
Aaron turned his neck and looked at him. He'd always known there was something special about Jaras, he just seemed to exude a certain vibe that Aaron had picked up on. "I think you are."
"Can I tell you a secret?" Sephiroth held him tighter.
Aaron just gazed back at him with his crimson eyes.
Sephiroth smiled. "Aaron, I am Sephiroth."
The boy smiled as well. "I knew it."
"Well, you've been correct." He rested his head back against the wall again. "You know about Meteor, right?"
"Yeah, I've watched things about it on T.V. before." The boy nestled into his brother's side.
"Well, after that happened, I was pulled down into the Lifestream and I eventually washed up in Mideel. Jeanine's father found me and nursed me back to health over the course of several months, but I had no memory of my past at all. I lived there, blissfully unaware of the past for years, until ASRIO sent your mother down to Mideel to identify me. I stayed here in this base for a while after that, and helped your mother and our father through some things, during which I regained my memory. Afterward, I went back to Mideel, got involved with Jeanine, and the rest you know." It felt good to tell the truth to the boy.
"Can I ask you something else?" Aaron requested quietly.
"Absolutely."
"Why did you try to destroy the planet? You're so nice, I can't really believe that you were evil like they all say." Aaron turned his neck so he could look into his brother's eyes.
"That's a fair question." Sephiroth hung his head. "I wasn't evil, per se, but all of the Jenova that had been pumped into me made me crazy for power. I can't really explain it. It's as though I was addicted to strength, and getting more of it was all that I wanted, but that wasn't really me, it was the Jenova. I understand that, now. I have always been the same person, memory or not, it's just a matter of how much I was being driven by the amount of Jenova in my body. When I was kidnapped and taken into the lab a while back, they put some into me again, and once more, it took over my mind, wiping away my emotions and making me crave power. I even began calling myself Sephiroth again. My real personality seems to be winning out this time, though, and despite the fact that my body has continued to change from what was injected into me, my mind…my personality has fought through the Jenova."
"So are you Jaras or Sephiroth?" Aaron cocked his head to the side.
"Honestly?" He smiled. "I don't think there's really a difference any more. Somehow, those two parts of myself seem to have come together over the last few days leaving me…just me. But, as for going by one name or another, I have to say that the name Jaras doesn't carry around the same…baggage, if you will."
Aaron moved slightly and put his arms around his brother tightly. "Well, I don't care what name you go by. You're the coolest person I've ever met and the fact that you're my brother…I love you."
Jaras smiled, embracing him in return. "I love you, too, Aaron."