Author's Notes
--------------------
This is an alternate universe story, so expect a lot of changes.
This version of AR has been censored for language. An uncensored version is available on my website which you can find in my profile.
Check back next weekend for chapter V.
If you have any questions, ask them in your review, and I'll address them as best I can in the next chapter's Author's Notes.
Luminus
Chapter IV
Bloody Valentine
Thirty-Six Years Ago
What a completely miserable way to have my life come to an end. This was the sole conclusion he could come to as he sat atop the plain wooden box that he would probably be buried in. With deep brown eyes that went well with his short black hair, he looked around the small room that he'd been confined in. Actually, to call it a room was a bit of an overstatement; it was nothing more than an alcove in the underground caves where the secret laboratories for the Omega Project had been constructed. From what he'd been able to discern from all the bones and unidentifiable, broken devices laying around the floor, this was where they disposed of failures. The heavy iron door that had been constructed to keep the alcove separate from the rest of the cave gave credence to this theory. Or, perhaps the bones here were once traitors to the Empire, like he now was?
It was strange; for years he had faithfully served Rufus without question. As the founder and leader of the Turks, he knew all to well that the Empire's world peace would come at the price of blood. No longer could he recall how many times he and his subordinates were called upon to silence some one who was standing in the way of progress; but so it was with any government, those who refused to adhere to the law and embrace the philosophies that such laws were built upon must be dealt with if order was to be obtained. Looking down at the crimson suit he wore, now tattered and stained after his capture and imprisonment, he wondered how many he had killed for the Empire who were just as innocent as Lucrecia was.
Lucrecia; that name would now be the death of him, it seemed. After finding Ilfana they had learned that the Ancients were not extinct as they had thought, but when she and the brilliant Professor Gast perished in a laboratory explosion any hope of learning more about their species had been lost. Then Lucrecia was discovered, alive and well, and the possibility was renewed. Originally he had understood why he had been asked to capture her; she was a survivor of a species thought long dead, she had to be studied as all endangered species were. It wasn't until after he'd obtained her that he realized she was not simply some animal, she was a sentient being who was every bit as intelligent as a human, if not more so. Something about this Ancient female put him at peace, as if her very presence was soothing. During their return trip to Midgar, he had talked to her and come to respect her and think of her as a friend, and despite their slightly different physiologies, perhaps even more than that. He was sure that when the young Professor Hojo, who had taken over the work of the late Professor Gast, met Lucrecia, he too would understand that she was no mere animal. Surely Hojo would treat her with the respect that her innocence and peaceful nature deserved.
How could I have been so foolish? Hojo was insane, this became immediately apparent to him when he refused to acknowledge Lucrecia's rights as a sentient being. All Hojo cared about was his precious science, and Lucrecia was an amazing find for a man such as him. Even still, Hojo was not harming her, and so he decided he would visit her and keep an eye on her, and when Hojo had learned all he needed to know, he would be sure she was set free.
What an idiotic plan that was. Neglecting his duties to visit Lucrecia one night, he arrived at Hojo's science facility at an inopportune time and overhead Hojo and Emperor Rufus himself discussing the theory for the Omega Project. He was appalled, to say the least. As demented and lost in his work as Hojo was, he could almost understand the reasoning, but how could Rufus condone and endorse such a thing? Without thinking of the consequences, or perhaps without caring, he had snuck back into the building later that night and broke Lucrecia out of her confinement chamber. Together, the two of them had fled from Midgar in the hopes of escaping the horrible plans that were in store for her.
Did I really think I could run so easily? They were captured, of course, and now here he was. The Crimson Killer himself had turned soft, and had let his guard down. Traitors were executed; not to the public's knowledge of course, but he had seen it done countless times. This small cave room would be his grave, and Lucrecia would have her body violated for the nefarious goals of twisted men.
With a loud clank and squeaking hinges, the door to his cave prison was opened, and in stepped Hojo. The young scientist stared at him and shook his head, as if in disappointment. Were it not for his weakened state, and shackles, he would have neither trouble nor regret in taking the mad scientist's life. As it was, he was helpless.
"You've been down here for several days now." Hojo said, his youthful voice inappropriate for one of his grand delusions. "Have you learned the error of your ways yet?"
"The error of my ways?" The crimson suited man asked, his voice dry from lack of water and food. "You despicable man. How can you think of doing such a thing to her?"
"Her?" Hojo asked, looking confused for a moment. "Oh! You're referring to the specimen? She isn't human, you know, so she has no rights under our laws."
"Under our laws!" He shouted in anger. "She has intelligence and wisdom beyond yours, monster!"
"Oh come now, that simply can't be true." Hojo said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Besides, it doesn't matter. Even if she was human, the plan would go ahead. If it succeeds, it will not only bring Emperor Rufus closer to his goal of world unity, but it will be a tremendous scientific breakthrough!"
"Is that all the two of you care about!" He snarled. "Peace and science? At what costs? The innocence and dignity of Lucrecia? I've killed in the name of the Empire, but I believed I was killing evil men and women, not a pure soul like her!"
"You speak as if we're stealing something away from her." Hojo chuckled. "On the contrary, she will be given a great gift! She will be the mother of one of the most powerful creatures this world has ever seen! Her child will one day lead Rufus to the tools he needs to complete his vision!"
"Lucrecia does not want a child!" He screamed with impotent rage. "You are impregnating her against her will! How can you do such a thing!"
"Don't you mean could?" Hojo smirked.
"No." His dark brown eyes went wide. "You couldn't have."
"It's already done. Yesterday, in fact. So far the project is going very well."
"You bastard!" He cried out as he tried to run forward, to kill this evil man, only to have his arms nearly pulled from their sockets by the chains they were locked to.
"By the way, I haven't told you why I came yet." Hojo said, obviously gleeful that he could taunt all he wanted in safety. "I've received new orders from Emperor Rufus. I'll be running a second project along with Omega. Rufus wants me to create powerful creatures to serve him, and he wants me to use humans as the base. I'm not entirely sure how I will achieve this yet, so I've decided I need a test subject to experiment on."
"A test subject?" He repeated as fear encroached upon his mind.
"Yes, that's right." Hojo made a wicked smile as he slid his hand into his lab coat and withdrew a reddish materia gun from one of its pockets. "Do you recognize this?"
"It's my gun." He said as the fear spread further; he had been prepared for death, but was that truly what Hojo had in store for him?
"That's right. You've killed many with this weapon, haven't you?"
Without waiting for a response, Hojo aimed the gun at his chest and fired three times. The magic powered rounds impacted hard and tore through his flesh and out the other side, finally exploding against the cave wall as blood sprayed across the room. With wide eyes, the crimson suited man dropped to his knees, looking down at the ragged and gaping holes in his shirt before he fell completely to the ground.
"It seemed appropriate that I use your own weapon on you." Hojo chuckled as he stepped over to the dying man and kicked him over so that he could see into the eyes of his executioner. "Now your body will be ready for the things I am going to do to you. I have some incredible ideas that I've never been legally allowed to attempt before, but with Rufus' personal approval, I no longer have limitations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll return for you later today."
With another kick, Hojo turned and left the room, not even bothering to shut the door on his way out; the prisoner wouldn't be escaping now. As he lay there feeling the life slowly drain away from him, he felt intense sorrow for Lucrecia; he had failed to protect the only person he had ever truly cared about.
As his eyes slid shut and the final breath of his life escaped his body, Vincent Valentine embraced the darkness and prayed to whatever true gods there were that Hojo would allow his death to be eternal.
Present Day
The Nibel mountain range was a nightmarish place that no one looked upon with joy. Devoid of normalcy, the mountains here were a hellish twist of jagged gray rocks jutting into the air like a formation of gigantic stalagmites. Barren, and unnaturally smooth, they rose up out of the ground like some sort of madman's vile sculpture. Ancient legend told tales of the mountains being crafted by the souls of the damned, but modern day scientists shrugged off such stories as superstitious nonsense, spun in ages past by those who mistook the mako energies that overflowed here as spirits. It was in this place that Nibelheim had been built and stood for many decades. Originally a retreat for those who mined the dark mountains for materia, it had evolved into a fully functional, albeit small, town. It was the place where Cloud and Tifa had been born, and it was the last place they wanted to return to since it had been destroyed.
When Cloud finally regained consciousness he had found himself and Tifa locked in a room with Jessie, Yuffie, and Jeran, where they went over the situation again for Tifa's benefit. Neither Cloud nor Tifa were at all pleased that they'd been deceived and that their traveling companion, Jessie, had been working for Sephiroth. Although they were adamant in wanting nothing to do with the man who had destroyed their families, and understandably so, they were asked to at least go to Nibelheim and investigate what Sephiroth had said before they made their final decision. It had taken many hours of discussion and a few days of cooling down before Cloud and Tifa had finally agreed to do at least that much.
As their boots crushed down on ground that was still burnt black even after five years, Cloud, Tifa, and Jessie stepped into the ruins of Nibelheim. It was the first time that either of the two natives had seen their birthplace since the fire, and it looked much like they had imagined; an ashen and ghostly reminder of childhood memories that were now stained with the blood of their friends and families. They all looked around at the site in different ways; Jessie viewed it with guarded sympathy as she recalled her own terrible memories, and Tifa hugged herself and held her head low, a look of intense pain destroying her normally beautiful face. Cloud, on the other hand, stood there with a look of cold anger, and disconnected emotions that made him seem inhuman and uncaring. Looking past the blackened husks of buildings and up a dark hill, he stared at the only structure in Nibelheim that had not been caught in the deadly flames that had destroyed everything else; a tall and imposing building that was easily suspect of being haunted.
The long abandoned Shinra Mansion had been constructed here, in the middle of nowhere, for the purpose of housing Shinra scientists so they could study the mako energies that permeated this region. For reasons unknown, it had been abandoned around thirty-six years ago, and had since stood as an eerie monument that the town had come to fear. It was said that it had become the residence of a tortured spirit longing for release, for in the dead of night unearthly screams and moans could be heard coming from the depths of the weary old mansion. Some believed that this was the reason that it had been abandoned by the Empire, and others believed it had become the dwelling place of evil men who snuck into the mansion under the cover of moonlight and did terrible things to innocent people they had abducted. No one knew what the truth about the creepy old building was, but Cloud remembered it as a place where young children were dared to venture in order to prove that they were brave; he also recalled that none of them had ever made it as far as the front door before running home in tears.
The Shinra Mansion had also been the building that Sephiroth had entered as a respected soldier, only to exit it as a raving madman. After Cloud's quaint little meeting with the Butcher of Nibelheim himself, Jeran had brought him back to the main portion of the city.
Enough reminiscing. Cloud thought to himself.
"Let's get this over with." He said out loud, walking forward again and towards the haunting old structure.
Noises? More treasure hunters looking for something of value up in the mansion? That seemed the most likely case. After all, if it was some one who knew about the secrets underground they wouldn't be spending so much time making a racket in the well built decoy above.
But what if they do know and they're coming down here? That didn't seem all that possible; no one from the Empire had dared to enter the mansion since the incident five years ago. They wanted nothing to do with this particular failed experiment any longer.
And if for some reason they have returned, I'll be ready for them. I will not be silenced again.
Hours of searching and it had led them no where at all. Sephiroth had indicated that some one was still living in this mansion, but it was clear that no one other than robbers had been here in years. A thick layer of dust spread over the floor, and anything that hadn't been stolen was covered by white sheets. Though they felt it was pointless, they had decided to search the mansion from top to bottom. Couches had been overturned, doors had been busted down, but after going over the building with a fine toothed comb, they had come up with nothing. There had been a brief moment of hope when they discovered a safe hidden in a room with an old piano, but it had been empty, probably looted long ago like the rest of the house.
"Are you sure he said to go here?" Jessie asked in tired frustration as they sat down to rest in a small room on the second story. "Maybe you just misunderstood him?"
"No. It was pretty clear that Sephiroth wanted us to come to this mansion." Cloud said in an angry tone, he still wasn't pleased about any of this, and he didn't need Jessie reminding him who had sent them here. Glancing around the room, he had a strange feeling; something about this placed seemed very familiar to him, but he had never gone inside the building before. "Besides, it's the only ----ing building that maniac didn't burn down."
"Maybe there's a secret some where?" Tifa spoke up after a moment of dead silence. "Like a hidden room, or something disguised like the Outlaw City was?"
Cloud looked up, staring at Tifa as some distant memory in his mind sparked to life.
"It'd be pretty stupid to hide in here." Jessie said. "This was an Imperial building."
"Stupid." Cloud said as he slowly stood up, his brows creasing as he looked quickly around the room, finally coming to a stop as he stared at a slightly curved section of the wall made from heavy stone blocks. "Unless it was the Empire that made it hidden."
The two girls looked at each other in confusion, not quite understanding what he was talking about, or doing. Without explaining what he was feeling, Cloud stepped over to the spot on the wall and placed his hands on the cold stone.
"What are you doing?" Tifa asked.
Cloud said nothing, instead letting his actions respond for him. With a light push against the curved stones, a loud click was heard. Silence ensued for a split second, then with a horrible grinding sound, the curved stone wall slid backwards, then to the left, revealing a hidden door; the blackness of which was only interrupted by the dirt and dust falling from the old wall.
"How did you know that was there?" Jessie asked, the astonishment in her voice quite apparent.
"I don't know." Cloud whispered. "It feels like I've seen this happen before, but I don't remember ever being here."
Giving him an odd stare, Jessie edged past him and poked her head into the darkness as she broke open a flare from her belt and tossed it through. As the stick ignited, the space beyond the door was lit up as bright as the sun, revealing a rickety old spiral staircase that descended a good fifty feet. As the flare landed on the ground, the three of them looked at each other, before Cloud slowly withdrew the Buster Sword from its sheath at his side, and stepped into the stairwell.
As the distant sound of the hidden doorway sliding open echoed down the stairwell and through the underground cave, voices could be heard as multiple people began descending the spiraling stairs. Though he listened very carefully, he didn't hear the sound of the door closing behind them.
Which means that this time will be different. He thought as he lay in wait for thefoolish souls who dared to enter here. This time, I can get out.
The descent down the stairs had been perilous enough, they were rather old and unstable with missing planks all along the way, but when the trio reached the bottom they felt the sudden urge to run back up them as quickly as they could. It wasn't too bad at first, while unsettlingly quiet and dark, the natural cave walls were nothing to be terrified of after all. However, after they passed a man made wall on their left complete with a barred door that had fell from its hinges, the scenery changed drastically.
Were Cloud not seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it was true. Here, beneath the old Shinra Mansion and the ruins of his hometown, was a laboratory that must have rivaled those found in Midgar at one time. The cave walls were no longer visible, hidden behind the brick walls of this hidden research facility; it was as if they had unknowingly been transported to a completely different place. More shocking than the laboratory itself, though, was the condition it was now in. Looking around, two things were immediately clear; this place had seen better days, and some one had decided that they didn't like the lab. Fairly modern equipment that was worth a fortune lay in broken bits. Pipes hung from the ceiling, broken open but long ago dried out. Glass vials and small test tubes lay shattered and surgical utensils lay around as if some one had just slung them at random. The most striking, though, was the series of large, broken glass chambers, all of which were big enough to house a full grown man; and for some reason, all of this seemed oddly familiar to Cloud.
Yet the state of the wrecked laboratory failed to compare to the condition of the scientists who had occupied it. Tifa covered her mouth in horror and disgust, Jessie shook her head in disbelief, but Cloud didn't seem phased at all. There were bodies everywhere; or perhaps more precisely, there were body parts every where. The long decayed corpses of the men and women who had worked here lay strewn about, parts of them missing, most likely littering some other area of the lab. Their shredded clothing, and the old, dried blood that stained not just them, but the lab as well, were a testament to how they had died. Whoever had done this hadn't just wished to kill them; these people had been made to suffer, to writhe in agony as they were ripped apart piece by piece.
Cloud had seen such brutality only once before in his life; on the surface, where Nibelheim had once stood.
Was this where it started? He wondered as he gazed around, scarcely able to imagine the animalistic carnage that had taken place here. Were these the first people that Sephiroth massacred?
"Cloud, look." Tifa whispered, breaking his train of thought, her voice quiet and filled with dread over the things she was seeing. The young girl pointed to a wall with one hand as the other hugged herself, not so much from the cold of the cave as the atmosphere they were standing in; it certainly felt like they were in the middle of a horror story.
Following her fingers aim to the wall, Cloud and Jessie said nothing, letting the scene sink in. There, painted in large letters with what was most likely the blood of the murdered scientists, was a single sentence.
"You're next, Hojo." Cloud read the words out loud, breaking the uneasy silence that they had found themselves in.
"Isn't that the guy you escorted here with Sephiroth?" Tifa quietly asked, not really sure what it meant, but not liking it in the slightest.
"Yeah." He nodded. "Professor Hojo is the head of the Empires science department."
Just then a sound was heard, and the three of them went absolutely still. It hadn't been much of anything, just a faint noise like clothing brushing against something. It could have been nothing, really, perhaps even a small animal that had made the ruined lab its home. However, the décor around them, and the fact that the sound had come from above and not from the ground, filled all three of them with a sense of worry as they slowly looked up.
"My god." Jessie whispered, though she didn't much believe in 'gods' anymore thanks to Rufus. "What the hell were they doing here?"
Neither of her companions answered; they merely stared at the disturbing sight above them. Chained to the ceiling, and very lightly swaying to and fro, was a long box made of some sort of strong metal. It seemed to be upside down, they could see the hinges and some sort of mechanical lock for the lid facing down. The box was held together by large bolts, and was slightly rusted from a drip in the ceiling. The thing that made it unsettling, though, was the thin slit about a foot down from one end of the lid. It seemed to be there to let some one look inside of it, or for some one inside of the box to look out Perhaps it was nothing, just a storage bin of equipment, but its size and structure made them all think of only one thing; a coffin.
"Do you think someone's in it?" Tifa whispered, her shaky voice breaking the tense silence.
"A dead person, maybe." Jessie quietly responded.
"Then what was that noise?" Tifa questioned. "Dead people don't make noise."
"And living people aren't in coffins." Jessie retaliated. "Besides, that thing's probably been up there for years, even if some one alive had been in it, they'd be dead by now."
"There's one way to find out." Cloud said as his eyes followed a series of pipes and wires that led from the "coffin" to a small lever just a few feet to their right. Without waiting for either of the girls to object, he walked over and pulled it. For a moment nothing happened, and he wondered if maybe it was broken. Then a loud creak came from some mechanism in the box, and its lock failed. With a squeal, the lid fell open and a body tumbled out. Faster than they could blink, a man in tattered red clothing fell the full twenty feet from the ceiling and slammed into the hard stone floor with a sickening thud.
Tifa's hand went to her mouth, and even Jessie and Cloud seemed shocked. He had expected the lever to lower the box, not let it fall open. None of them seemed to want to move to check on the body, the circumstances were far too unnerving. They couldn't get a good look at him as he lay crumpled on the floor, all they could really see was his hair and a strange gold colored gauntlet that covered most of his left arm. However, it was clear that he was alive; or at least, would have been had his head not hit the ground hard and twisted his neck in a fashion that it was not meant to be.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cloud began to slowly walk towards the man, but then he began to stir. With very slow movements, the man picked himself up off the floor, his bones and joints popping very loudly in the otherwise quiet area. Stepping back to where Jessie and Tifa stood with wide eyes, Cloud slowly reached for the hilt of his sword as the man lifted his hands to pop his neck back and fourth as ridiculously long, black hair fell down over his ruined red suit. A terrible feeling swept over Cloud as he watched the deathly pale man lift his head and open his eyes, revealing iris's as red as his clothing; to say that this felt dangerous wouldn't even begin to describe it.
At long last, he was free from his prison. His movements were very slow at first, as he pulled himself up off of the cold stone floor; after all, he had been confined within that cursed box for five years now. At first he kept his eyes closed, just enjoying the simple freedom of movement that had eluded him for so long. Then as he opened his eyes, he stared without blinking at the man and two women who stood before him, looking absolutely terrified.
They have no idea.
Centering his eyes on the boy, he visually confirmed the sensation that had come over him when these intruders had first entered the laboratory.
"My name is Vincent Valentine." The pale man said, his voice coarse after not speaking out loud for such a long period of time. "And you're a step down from the last man I faced. Why have you come back here? I hope Hojo doesn't think so little of me that he'd send a cheap imitation to fight me this time."
"I'm Cloud Strife." The boy said slowly, his troubled gaze never leaving the freakish man who spoke with absolutely no emotion to his voice, as if he wasn't even alive. "Hojo didn't send me here"
"No? Who then?" Vincent asked as he slowly began popping and stretching various parts of his body to get them to loosen up a little quicker. "Don't tell me you're coming here to try and prove you're just as good as the original. Hojo didn't even put a fraction of the time into you that he put into the original."
"What?" Cloud asked with confusion apparent in his voice. "You sound almost like you know me, and who the hell is this person you keep comparing me to?"
"I don't believe it." Vincent said as he rubbed the back of his neck and quietly laughed, a hollow chuckle that seemed to be nothing more than a force of habit. "You're just as clueless as he was when he came here. Honestly, how can you not feel it?"
"Feel what?" Cloud asked as he shook his head. "What the hell are you going on about?"
"Maybe it's because you weren't awake until long after the process was completed, it might have embedded itself in your blood so well by then that you just didn't notice it. Come to think of it, he probably never noticed because he was born with it."
Cloud didn't say a word this time, instead he just stared at Vincent as if he were speaking in another language that he couldn't begin to understand.
"Still, I can't fathom how you can't sense it." Vincent said as his lips curled in disgust, his voice suddenly filled with anger, as if some one had flipped a switch that unleashed hatred into his mind. "I can practically smell it on you! The entire cave reeks with that stench!"
"Smell what!" Cloud shouted, taking a step back as he heard the seething rage in this strange mans voice, and noticed that Jessie and Tifa had already started moving slowly back towards the path to the stairs. "I don't know what the hell you're saying!"
"Omega!" Vincent hissed, the word drawn out and the sound no longer that of a man, but the guttural voice of an animal.
In an instant, his crimson irises burst into a burning light, and with a flex of his right hand his fingernails grew into dark black talons nearly as sharp as the metal tips of his other arms gauntlet. As the three intruders lost their final ounce of bravery and began to flee Vincent let out a scream that could frighten dragons and wake the dead, and began running after them.
This trip had gone from depressing to disturbing rather quickly, and as they took off running in a mad dash for the stairs that could get them out of this hell hole, it seemed as if it had just taken a sharp turn into life threatening. It had been painfully clear that the red suited man wasn't normal the moment he'd stood from that horrible fall and began popping his bones around without even a hint of pain on his sickly looking face. Even still, nothing could have prepared them for the sudden change in Vincent's persona and appearance; he had gone from a cold and creepy pale guy to a furiously violent animal, equipped with claws and all, in less than a heartbeat. Cloud was a hardened and talented soldier, but even he wanted nothing to do with this monster.
As the three of them ran at a frantic pace, Jessie fumbled a grenade from her belt with shaking hands and tossed it behind them, hoping that it would kill or incapacitate whatever the hell that guy was. The explosion that erupted behind them as a result caused a large section of the ceiling to fall down, and they were rewarded by hearing an angered roar from Valentine as he was buried beneath the rubble. Not taking any chances, they decided it was best not to stop and celebrate, so they continued running, knowing their lives may very well depend on it.
They were halfway up the spiral stairs when they heard loud crashing as the man-thing broke free. Ignoring his better judgment, Cloud looked down just in time to see two bright red dots appear in the darkness below like the eyes of the devil. As he watched in awe and terror, Vincent took a flying leap, latching onto one of the steps a good fifteen feet up from the ground, before bounding up higher.
Cloud didn't have time to argue with himself over how impossible such leaps were, especially when everything else they'd seen of this guy so far was also quite impossible. All he knew was that they still had to go up the rest of the stairs the old fashioned way, and that was going to make their exit a very close call.
"Faster!" He yelled at the two girls ahead of him.
They didn't need to hear any more from him, or look to see why they should do as he said. Jessie and Tifa merely did as Cloud had so nicely suggested and pumped their strong legs as quickly as they could, hopping up the steps two or three at a time despite how dangerous they knew the rickety thing was. With just seconds to spare, it looked as if they were going to make it. Jessie and Tifa made it through, and Cloud was in the process of darting through into the mansion, already looking for a way to close the hidden door behind them again. Then, with one final leap, Vincent caught up with them and used the speed and momentum from his jump to slam into Cloud's back, his arms wrapping around the boys waist as he tackled him to the floor.
Tifa and Jessie jumped out of the way as Cloud struggled free from the growling man's grasp and reached for a dagger on his belt. Hearing the whooshing sound of a swipe from behind him, he rolled to his left, narrowly avoiding Vincent's fist. Vincent swung again with his gauntleted hand, prompting Cloud to parry with his short blade. Using the parry to push Vincent back for a moment, Cloud took advantage of the situation and plunged the dagger deep into the man's chest, spilling blood down his arm and onto the floor. Vincent made no sound or movement; Cloud assumed it was from shock, he'd often seen mortal wounds stun the victim into immobile silence until their life failed them.
Vincent Valentine chuckled again, that same emotionless sound from before, and grasped Cloud's wrist with his gauntlet. Despite all his physical strength, Cloud was powerless against his grip, and he watched in denial as Vincent pulled his arm back, and the dagger with it. The deep wound in Valentines chest stopped bleeding and healed in less time than it took most people to tie their shoes.
"Was that supposed to hurt?" Vincent growled as he grasped Clouds neck and effortlessly lifted him off the ground.
With a loud crash and a rain of glass, Cloud exited the second story of the mansion by way of a window. Fortunately for him, he landed on top of a large bush rather than the ground; otherwise he might very well be dead right now. Groaning from waves of pain that were washing all over his body, Cloud grimaced and began fighting his way out of the bush just in time to spot Vincent step up to the shattered window and look down at him. A light hop was taken by the freakish man and he landed on the ground, not even remotely phased by the long drop. Cloud just managed to stand up and draw his sword as Valentine began walking towards him, anger sculpted onto his face. He swung the Buster Sword as best he could in the condition he was now in, but Vincent caught the blade with his gauntleted hand and stopped it cold in its tracks like it was a cardboard tube.
Even as Cloud shook his head in utter disbelief of the mans strength, Vincent punched hard with his right hand, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying as if he'd been struck by a train. Cloud landed a good fifteen feet further down the hill, and then tumbled another ten before finally coming to stop on a large rock. Clutching his chest, Cloud coughed hard as blood splattered from his lips, his clenched teeth tinted red.
"I'm disappointed." Vincent said in his angered, animal sounding voice as he stalked closer once more. "I was expecting a challenge, but you've already lost. Where is your power? Have you not been able to tap it at all?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Cloud choked out, his now blurry vision barely allowing him to notice Jessie and Tifa exit the mansion's main doors, running towards them with weapons ready. "Why are you trying to kill me? I didn't come here to fight you!"
"It's all I can do!" Vincent roared as he lunged forward and kicked his right leg into the air, the ruined loafer he wore on it crashing into Cloud's cheek causing him to go flying again. Then, as he shouted in rage, there was a possible tinge of desperation in his voice. "You wanted a monster! A creature that had the intellect of a human but the savagery of a beast! This is what you bastards did to me, and now I'll kill every last one of you!"
Cloud rolled to a stop again, but didn't move this time. The pain from Vincent's inhuman blows was so intense that he couldn't even tell exactly where it was coming from; it felt as if his entire body was suffering, not just where he'd been struck.
"You're talking about Shinra." He coughed as the realization struck him, and his only hope for survival came to mind. Pushing the upper half of his body up from the ground with what little strength he had left, he shook his head and tried to keep the panic out of his voice. "I'm not an Imperial agent, I'm fighting against them! I hate the Empire just like you!"
"You could never hate them like I do!" Vincent shouted so loudly that it boomed throughout the area like a thunder-clap. With seething hatred triggered by those words he rushed forward, bringing his fist up to strike Cloud down and silence him once and for all.
Cloud began to flinch, knowing already that his life was about to end. Jessie and Tifa were still too far away to do anything, and even if they were right next to him they probably couldn't have stopped it. Then, just as he was preparing himself for death, a black and silver blur came from the left and slammed into Vincent, sending the man stumbling back. For a moment, he didn't know what had happened; he thought maybe he was just delirious from the pain he was in. Blinking his eyes hard and looking again, he saw what that fast blur had been. Standing between him and the enraged form of Valentine, was Sephiroth Kagemusha.
Satisfaction; that's what Vincent was about to receive. He would sink his gauntlet claws into the boy's neck and tear him limb from limb as he screamed for mercy, but there would be none; no one in the Empire deserved mercy. The blood would be plentiful, and the sounds of flesh ripping would be music to his ears after so long in captivity, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. Then, in an instant, that small amount of happiness was stolen from him as some one flew into his peripheral vision and landed a kick to his ribs that caused him to back peddle a good ten feet. The attack hadn't really hurt, pain was one of the many things that he couldn't feel very well anymore, but it had been powerful; too powerful, in fact, to have come from a normal man.
Narrowing his eyes, Vincent straightened himself up and growled at the man who had interrupted his game. Despite the change in appearance, Vincent knew exactly who it was. In fact, he didn't even need to look at him to figure that out, the scent from Sephiroth was far more pungent than what the boy had. Looking over Sephiroth's new attire, a black trench coat with iron shoulder guards that was open to reveal a bare chest covered only by straps that crossed his heart, Vincent couldn't help but think he looked like a cross between a ninja and a bondage queen. Kagemusha also had several weapons on him including a three foot katana, and a much shorter nodachi, both of which were attached to his belt.
"I see you've changed." Vincent murmured. "Does Rufus keep you so busy that you no longer have time to cut your hair?"
"I see you haven't." Sephiroth responded quickly, noting that Vincent was exactly the same as the last time they'd met except for his longer hair. "And my tenure with the Holy Shinra Empire ended rather soon after our first encounter."
"I'm deeply sorry if I caused you to get fired." Vincent glanced to his left as he saw the two girls from the mansion finally catch up and scurry over to the boy he'd beaten half to death. Had he retained much of a sense of humor, he might find it amusing that they were also making sure to stay behind Sephiroth. Nodding at the battered body of Cloud he added, "Or did you merely lose skill in your old age and get replaced with a newer model?"
"Charming." Sephiroth said as he looked behind him at the trio, noting with some annoyance that the martial artist girl, Tifa was her name he thought, glared at him in hatred, yet still intended to stand behind him for protection. "It's good to know that your brain hasn't completely turned to mush after all that time spent locked in your box."
"Five years, three months, and seventeen days." Vincent hissed, the red in his eyes growing a bit brighter as fuming anger began to return to him. "Have you come back to subjugate me once more, or are you merely passing through on your insane little way to slaughter another village?"
"Enough with the sarcasm, Valentine." Sephiroth shook his head with a look of disgust on his face. "You lack the emotion to make it interesting."
"I suppose you would know, considering who your father is." Vincent retaliated.
"I haven't come all this way just to argue with you and throw you back in your cage." Sephiroth stated, ignoring Vincent's last comment. "I wanted to let you out."
"You knew this crazy ass was down there!" Tifa suddenly shouted, looking as if she was about to stand up and attack the former General. "Were you just trying to get us killed!"
"I'm sure you must be angry." Sephiroth said quietly, knowing that Cloud would be the one yelling if he had the energy to do so; Jessie didn't look all that thrilled either. "My intentions were not to cause you harm. Vincent will be a powerful ally in our fight against Rufus, but he and I haven't always seen eye to eye, as it were. I had hoped that he would not attack you outright, as he has no prior history with any of you."
"Ally?" Vincent snarled, stopping Tifa from saying any more and causing her to step back once again. "You think I would fight alongside of you, of all people? You must truly be mad!"
"No, I'm not mad. Perhaps I'm the only sane person left in this world." Sephiroth spoke, with sincerity in his voice. "I turned against the Empire after learning the truth of my birth, and of my purpose from you. I wish to stop Rufus from fulfilling his goals, and for that I will need allies such as you."
"Attempting to go against your programming, are you?" Vincent shook his head and swiped his arm through the air. "You're a puppet, and nothing more. Besides that, my fight is not with Rufus, it is with Hojo."
"Hojo was the means of your curse, but Rufus was the one who ordered it to be done to you. Surely you must want revenge on him as well."
"Rufus was not the one who cut away my soul and made me more beast than man!" Vincent shouted, the rage that they'd seen earlier boiling up once again. "Hojo's death at my hands is the only thing that matters to me in this hell of a life anymore!"
"Then fight along with me!" Sephiroth's brows creased. "Hojo and Rufus work hand in hand; if we fight against Rufus, we will certainly fight against Hojo as well. We can help one another reach our goals!"
"I need no help from you, monster!" Vincent screamed, and the time for talk had then passed. With a sudden lunge, he swiped his gauntleted hand at Sephiroth's face, but the black-clad warrior was able to jump out of the way just in time.
"I see that there is only one way to proceed." Sephiroth calmly stated as he slowly pulled his katana, the Masamune, from its sheath at his side and coolly pointed it at Vincent as if to challenge him. "And if I have to beat intelligence back into your bestial mind so that you can see the wisdom of my offer, then so be it."
"This will not be like last time, Omega!" Vincent roared in anger as the talons on his fingers seemed to grow longer and his body practically trembled with rage and power as he sprinted forward. "This time I will have your head!"
Vincent sprung forward once again, prompting Sephiroth to bring the Masamune up into a defensive position. As the enraged Valentine began slashing at him with both hands, he used his weapon to deflect the blows as he took slow steps back. Though he had seen Vincent's power before, he still found himself amazed at the speed, agility, and sheer tenacity of his attacks. Had he been an average warrior, it would be impossible to leave this battle alive. As it stood, though, Sephiroth knew exactly how to counter Vincent's strength.
With a sudden swipe of his blade, Sephiroth barely nicked Vincent's arm, throwing the other off balance just long enough to leap backwards and get some distance between them. The former general muttered a few words beneath his breath as his eyes began to grow brighter, and electricity jostled through his left arm. As he brought that hand into a fist, the electric current molded itself to his will, becoming a whip. There were few in this world who could not only summon magic, but precisely command it, as he could.
"It doesn't have to be this way, Vincent!" Sephiroth shouted over the noise of his new weapon. "Join me!"
"I will join you over my dead body, Kagemusha!" Vincent yelled back as he slowly paced in a circle around Sephiroth, just out of the whips range.
"You already are dead!" He responded as he continued his plan. "You've been dead for thirty-six years, why don't you just accept that?"
"No!" Valentine roared, becoming angrier with each exchange. "I still have hate and the will for revenge! As long as I have them, then I am alive!"
"Alive, perhaps, but no longer human!" Sephiroth shook his head. "Even animals have the emotions you so desperately cling to!"
"Your masters made me this way!" Vincent screamed. "It was not my fault, you did this to me!"
"My former masters, yes. Need I remind you again, that I am now opposing them? Why will you not fight with me, Vincent? Your chances of attaining your revenge are so much greater with my help!" Narrowing his eyes and twitching his lips into a smirk he added. "Or are you just trying to get yourself killed so that you can't risk failing to avenge Lucrecia just like you failed to save her from her fate?"
"Don't you say her name!" The words erupted from Vincent like an explosion, the anger in his voice booming through the sky. "You are the cause of all of this! You have no right to speak her name!"
"Of course I do, Vincent." Sephiroth calmly stated, expecting this to be the last thing he would need to say. "She was my mother, after all."
At those words Vincent reared his head back and howled at the sky, the sound no longer even remotely human. Sephiroth grinned as he stepped back and prepared himself, as the change began. As the trio of newcomers watched in astonishment, Vincent fell to the ground on his hands and knees. With his chest heaving, animal growls and roars ripped from his throat, and his eyes turned solid yellow. Adding to the plethora of unnatural things about this man, his skin began to bubble, expanding and changing from pale white to deep purple. The red suit he wore began to rip. A strange mane of fur appeared that went from red, to orange, to deep blue, extending from the top of his head to the small of his back. His hands and feet began to change into large paws, and the golden gauntlet altered its size and shape to accommodate this. The end of his spine began to grow, slowly forming a tail tipped with a dangerous looking fin that lashed about in the air. Vincent's face elongated into a muzzle containing rows of deadly fangs, and two sharp horns extended at least a foot from his forehead. With a final shake, much like a canine would do if it were wet, the tattered clothing he had worn was thrown off and Vincent stood back up on his hind legs. Gone was the man, replaced by an intimidating beast that could easily be a miniature Behemoth.
"Fascinating." Sephiroth breathed out. "No matter how many times I see it, I will never fail to be impressed."
In response, the beast merely roared, a hellish and echoing sound.
"What the hell is that thing!" Jessie screamed.
"That is the Galian Beast. One of the many experiments conducted on Vincent was a DNA splice with a Behemoth. When angered enough, his body transforms into what you see now."
"You made him do this on purpose!"
"Of course." Sephiroth said as he raised his sword again and began walking slowly towards the creature. "His increased strength comes at the loss of intelligence. He's a mindless animal now, and no matter how powerful, that is always easier to deal with than a dangerous man."
Yet again, the beast merely roared in answer as thick strings of drool dripped from its gaping maw. With a howl, it lunged forward, pumping thick muscled legs as it brought its heavy arm up to strike. With a jerk of his hand, Sephiroth sent the electrical whip into action, striking the Galian Beast's arm. The voltage band wrapped around the beasts muscle, jolting currents into its body, but the creature didn't seem to be phased very much. With a hard pull, the whip was yanked free from Sephiroth's grasp, the spell dissipating the moment it lost contact with its summoner.
Grimacing at the quick loss of his spell, Sephiroth touched his fingertips to a small red orb crafted into the hilt of his katana, with a whisper of words the materia sparked to life, sending flames licking up the blade. Another roar and the Galian beast leapt towards him before he was ready to attack. Throwing his weight back, Sephiroth flipped backwards, pushing off of the ground with his palms as they came down to launch him a good twenty feet away. The beast growled at him, apparently angry that he was making this so difficult, and began running towards him again. Bringing his sword up near his face in preparation, Sephiroth waited until the beast leapt once more, intending to tackle him. Just before it would have hit him, Sephiroth dropped to the ground and brought one leg up, slamming his foot into the beast's chest and kicking hard to the side, sending it tumbling out of its jump and onto the charred dirt.
Not wasting a moment, Sephiroth flipped to his feet and ran forward just as the beast stood up. Spinning, Sephiroth kicked his leg once more, intending to catch the monster in its jaw, but his leg was stopped in mid air by the strong grasp of the Galian Beast's gauntleted paw. Thrown off balance, Sephiroth barely managed to kick his other leg up, catching the monster off guard and hitting it hard in the neck. The beast stumbled back, letting go of his leg, allowing Sephiroth just enough time to kick the beast once more, giving him the momentum to flip backwards in the air and land on the ground in a crouch.
Without pausing for even a second, Sephiroth darted in and slashed hard to the left with the flaming Masamune, catching the beast across its chest. It howled in pain as the flames cauterized the long cut in its chest, momentarily slowing down its regenerative powers. Immediately, Sephiroth spun, bringing the nodachi from its sheath as he did so, and used the speed of his movement to send it plunging into the beast's chest just where its heart would lie. With a terrible roar, the monster fell to its knees, grasping the nodachi as Sephiroth muttered another spell and sent a current of electricity into the wound. The small blade was pulled free as the Galian Beast was thrown head over heels, rolling to a stop near Jessie, Tifa, and Cloud, all of whom became noticeably worried at its proximity to them. Then, with a whimpering sigh, the beast curled up into a fetal position and its muscles relaxed, as they watched, the strange transformation reversed, leaving the pale, and now very nude body of Vincent Valentine panting on the ground.
Stepping up to him slowly, Sephiroth sheathed his nodachi and twirled the Masamune to extinguish the flames on it before it too was put away. Vincent turned his shaking head up towards his opponent and coughed up blood, but made no move to fight back.
"Finish it." Valentine said. "Put me out of my misery."
"I told you before," Sephiroth said as he unlatched his trench coat. "I did not come here to fight, you gave me no choice in that matter. I want you to join us. Together, we can put an end to Hojo, Rufus, and the Empires treachery so that they cannot do to others what they did to you."
As Vincent glared, Sephiroth removed his long coat and draped it over him.
"I don't want your pity, Sephiroth." Vincent said, his voice becoming steadier as his breathing began to even out again. "You're a monster."
"Many could say the same thing about you, Valentine." Sephiroth responded. "At least you were able to try and stop them from turning you into a monster. They made me into one before I was even born. I never even had the chance to resist."
"Perhaps." Vincent said as he coughed and pushed himself into a sitting position as he slid into Sephiroth's coat. "But I still hate you."
"Then hate me if you must, but assist me nonetheless." Sephiroth said as he offered his hand to Vincent to help him stand. "And together we will bring hell to the Empire."
It was a long, tense moment before Vincent reached up and took Sephiroth's offered hand, using it to help him stand before he let go; the open chest of the black trench coat revealing that his wounds had already healed.
"Fine then. I will join your merry little band of rebels." Vincent then pointed his gauntleted finger at Sephiroth's face. "But know this, after I have dealt with Hojo and perhaps Rufus, you will be next. I'm not very happy about being locked in that box."
Sephiroth didn't respond to that threat, instead he only turned to the others and motioned for them to come. Tifa and Jessie looked at each other with no small amount of concern in their eyes before helping Cloud to his feet, and together the unlikely party began the trek back to the Outlaw City, Corel.
Nearly three days of healing spells and rest since they had first loosed Vincent from his prison and Cloud had finally recovered from the injuries he'd sustained. Now he sat at a table in a small room at the top of one of the taller buildings in Outlaw City. To his left and right were Tifa and Jessie, and across the table was Vincent, who he stared at with much contempt.
"Alright, we're here." Cloud said to Vincent with not a little agitation. "Unless you're planning to kick my ass again, why don't you start explaining what it is I'm supposed to hear from you?"
"As you wish." Vincent said, his voice once again emotionless. At least he'd taken the time to clean himself up somewhat. After some time in the sun, he wasn't quite as pale anymore. Rather than a suit, he now wore solid black clothing that somewhat resembled a soldiers riot gear, and over that a long red mantle with a high rising collar that hid the bottom of his chin. In fact, if it weren't for him keeping the gold tinted gauntlet over his left arm, his long hair, and the crimson eyes, he could have passed as a completely different person.
"Before you start," Jessie broke in. "Are you the Vincent Valentine?"
"I'm sure the name is not unique to me, so you'll have to elaborate more than that."
"Okay." Jessie said in a quieter tone, obviously a bit embarrassed at her self. "I've read about a criminal who died over thirty years ago. His name was Vincent Valentine, they called him the Crimson Killer."
"So that's the story they wove for me." Vincent scoffed. "I was known by that title, yes, but I was no criminal. I was the founder of the Turks, and led them for many years."
"That's fascinating." Cloud said flatly. "Now, where the hell do I come into this?"
Jessie gave the obnoxious blond a dirty look, but with her question answered, she sat back and let Vincent tell his story.
"You come into the story five years ago." Vincent said as he looked to Cloud. "Up until that point, I had been in some sort of glass chamber in the laboratory. The fluids in the chamber kept me sedated so that Hojo and his team were free to continue their experiments without worry. One day the chamber malfunctioned, and I escaped. The scientists tried to drug me, but with the chamber broken, my regenerative power was too strong for their medicine. I broke out and killed them all, but not before one of them sealed the door to the mansion, and so I was trapped."
"You were the reason we were sent to Nibelheim, then." Cloud pieced that much together easily. "That's why the mission was classified, and why Hojo and Sephiroth came along."
"Yes." Vincent acknowledged. "Sephiroth entered the mansion and came down to the laboratory to fight me."
"What about Hojo?"
"Hojo is a coward." Vincent snarled. "He hid, but he probably chose a place where he could watch our battle. I'm sure the notes he must have taken made him ecstatic."
"And Sephiroth was able to lock you into that box we found you in?"
"Again, yes." Vincent's lips twitched. "But not before I revealed things to him that he wasn't supposed to know."
"About his origins, I know. I heard you two babbling about it during your fight. What is that about?"
"Sephiroth is the result of a project Hojo ran called Omega." Vincent quietly stated. "A half human, half Ancient imbued with immense magical powers from the infusion of raw mako, as well as a Jenova sample, directly into his body from before he was born up until he was seven years old."
"An Ancient?" Tifa gasped. "I've always been told that they went extinct centuries ago!"
"That in itself is not so much a lie, as a misjudgment." Vincent clarified. "They were believed to be extinct until a female of the species was discovered. It was considered a fluke until a second female was found several years later."
"So, you're saying that the Ancients still exist out there?" Jessie was awestruck.
"In some capacity, yes." He nodded. "But no one knows how many or where. Or, at the very least, they didn't when I was a Turk. I don't know what the Empire has learned since then."
"Okay then, I have a question." Cloud said, remembering what he and Zach had witnessed in Midgar. "I've seen the Empire infuse processed mako into demons in order to make them stronger, but what's this Jenova?"
"All I know is that a sample of it was given to Hojo by Rufus for use in the Omega project." Vincent replied. "What it is, precisely, I don't know. It was never mentioned in the documentation. The purpose of all this was to create a perfect soldier to lead Rufus' army, but there was also another agenda." Vincent continued. "He was designed from birth to be capable of leading Rufus to two great sources of power that would make Rufus unstoppable."
"What power?" Cloud asked.
"I do not know. It was not documented, and I never overheard the scientists speak of it. I don't believe most of them knew."
"How do you know all of this?" Tifa spoke up.
"I was…friends with the second Ancient female, the one who was to be used as the mother for the Omega project." Vincent said, a slight hint of pain in his words. "I tried to help her escape, and became another of Hojo's projects as a result. I also watched the project proceed for many years from my chamber."
"Why'd you tell Sephiroth about all of that?" Jessie inquired.
"I expected the information to make him turn against the Empire, and I had hoped he would set me free as a result." Vincent shook his head, remembering. "It didn't work out that way. After confining me in the box, he went through the lab and found documentation to confirm what I had told him. He read through the reports and logs of the Omega project for days. Eventually, the things he read made his mind snap. He began babbling, and stalked out of the laboratory."
"So it was your fault he destroyed Nibelheim!" Cloud shouted, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood from his chair. "You're the reason all those people died!"
"Settle down, Cloud." Tifa soothed as she placed a hand on his. "You can't blame him. He didn't know that would happen."
"And I guess I shouldn't blame Sephiroth either because he was just having a bad day, huh?" Cloud yelled at the girl.
"I don't know." Tifa said quietly as she shied back into her chair and looked down at the table. "Maybe we shouldn't."
"Tifa," Cloud said as that 'we' made him remember that he wasn't the only one who'd mourned for the people of Nibelheim. He sat down and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you."
"It's okay." She said, looking back to him with a weak smile, and teary eyes. "I know, you're just angry in general. I'm used to it."
"Continuing on." Vincent spoke up, bringing that little scene to a close. "From my box, I saw Hojo come into the laboratory a day later. He was a bit worried, as Sephiroth had apparently ran off. He feared what would happen if he returned to Midgar and told Rufus that his precious project was gone."
"So," Cloud sighed. "What did he do?"
"He decided," Vincent paused and looked directly into Cloud's face. "To make a replacement."
"What?" Cloud asked quietly as his blood went cold.
"Hojo brought the body of a Shinra soldier into the ruined laboratory." Vincent said, watching as Cloud's face grew pale. "The boy had apparently been killed trying to attack Sephiroth."
"No." Cloud whispered. As flashes of those nightmarish memories came back to him, once again the question resounded in his head. Why can't I remember what happened after I ran at Sephiroth? "That just can't be."
"Hojo experimented on you." Vincent continued, ignoring Cloud's denial. "It took him several months, but he was able to create a makeshift duplicate of the Omega project by using many of the same techniques he had for the original. You were kept in some sort of suspended animation during the procedures so that you wouldn't decay."
"Shut up!" Cloud shouted, once again slamming his fists into the table. "You're lying!"
"Why would I lie?" Vincent asked, his voice cold but honest. "I have nothing to gain from it."
"But, this just can't be true!"
"I'm sorry, but it is." Vincent insisted. "Hojo knew you wouldn't be even close to Sephiroth's power simply because the circumstances were severely different, so he decided to try something new."
Cloud said nothing this time; he merely stared at the table as he clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"Using samples of blood that he found from our battle, Hojo tampered with your genetics." Vincent said. "Through magic and science, he merged you with a sample of that blood. The result was somewhat of a clone of the original Omega, at least on a genetic level."
"Oh my god." Tifa breathed out, her voice trembling. "Sephiroth?"
"Yes." Vincent nodded. "Of course, you weren't half Ancient like he was, but his blood corrected that. With his work finished, Hojo reanimated his makeshift replacement using the same methods he used on me."
"No!" Cloud shouted again, suddenly grasping the table and throwing it over, prompting everyone to jump up and away. "I don't believe you! This is bull----! I'm Cloud Strife, not some damn clone!"
"You are both." Vincent said coolly. "Just accept it and stop running from your past."
"But I don't remember any of it!" Cloud yelled, even as he thought of the many flashes of recollection he'd had in the mansion and the laboratory that gave weight to Vincent's claims.
"You were dead." Vincent bluntly reminded him. "You would have no actual memory of what happened until you were revived; only fragmented images and brief moments of insight. Hojo also erased the memory of your death itself so that you wouldn't be able to recall that either."
"It's not possible." Cloud shook his head in firm denial, even as Vincent's words rang true in his ears. He simply couldn't accept this.
"It is, and I can prove it." A voice came from the doorway and those gathered in the room turned to see Sephiroth standing there with his arms folded over his chest. "Just like me, you were meant to bring Rufus to the prizes he sought, and just like me you seemed to lack the ability. Until recently, that is."
"I don't need to hear anything from you!" Cloud barked, but it was clear from his tone of voice that he was shaken. "I've had enough of this!"
Cloud began to march towards the exit, clearly not interested anymore now that Sephiroth had made his presence known, but Tifa grabbed his hand and stopped him from leaving with a heartfelt look of sorrow. She didn't enjoy being around the man any more than he did, but she wanted to hear what he had to say about all of this.
"Several weeks ago I had a vision of a forest covered in snow, and felt an intense pull on my body." Sephiroth said as Cloud grudgingly stopped his attempt to leave. "It lasted only seconds. You saw this as well, didn't you?"
Cloud only stared at Sephiroth with an intense look of anger and confusion on his face. He remembered the pain he'd felt in his head, and the vision flashing through his mind when he, Zach, and Tifa had sat in her bar the day before this mad journey had begun. He simply didn't want to answer the question because of who was asking it.
"I thought as much." Sephiroth said, able to read Cloud's thoughts rather easily. "That was what Hojo had not expected. Apparently, the only time we can sense the power, and thus be led to it, is when it is used. With this in mind, that purpose for us is now obsolete as Rufus too can sense this power when it is used. He claims that this trip he is currently on is for him to visit his loyal subjects across the Empire, but that is a lie. The truth behind his journey is that he now knows where his long sought after prize is located, and he is going to claim it."
"I..." Cloud faltered, not knowing what to say. There was no denying it. Vincent and Sephiroth's story clicked perfectly, making all the pieces fall together. This was why he couldn't remember the months from when he'd attacked Sephiroth to when he returned to Midgar, this was why he'd caught up to Zach's level of skill so quickly, this was why Rufus hadn't wanted to kill him, and this was why Sephiroth had said that he had been drawn to Corel. Somehow, because of Hojo's genetic splicing, they were connected, causing him to be drawn to wherever Sephiroth was.
Knowing that he was obviously in terrible mental turmoil, Tifa slowly placed her hand on his arm. She didn't know what to say, exactly, learning the truth of what had happened to Cloud during the months he'd been missing was horrifying to her; she couldn't begin to imagine what it must be like for him.
"I have to go." Cloud said quickly, turning and briskly exiting the room before anyone could argue.
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted, worry filling her eyes as she ran after him.
Running quickly, Tifa caught up to Cloud before he'd managed to get very far. Grabbing his arm, she brought him to a stop midway down a set of stairs that would lead him outside.
"Leave me alone, Tifa." Cloud said without turning to look at her.
"No," She said sternly. "You need some one with you right now."
"Why should I? I'm just a damn monster, like Sephiroth and Vincent."
"You're not a monster." Tifa quietly stated. "Even if it is true that Hojo did all those things to you, you're still Cloud."
"I'm not even human anymore, Tifa." Cloud said, his voice beginning to break. "I'm not the person you grew up with."
"That's not true!" Tifa quickly said, her lower lip trembling slightly. "Maybe they did things to your body, but not your mind! You're still just as funny and stubborn as you always have been! You're still my best friend!"
"You don't want to be friends with a dead man, Tifa."
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted as she broke down into tears. "I don't care about any of that! You're here now, and that's all that matters!"
"No, it's not all that matters!" Cloud yelled as he slammed his fist into the wall with enough force to leave cracks. "I'm a freak, and I'm a ----ing lie! That's what matters!"
"But I love you, Cloud!" Tifa yelled letting those words come out for the first time, as she hugged herself and continued to cry. "Doesn't that count for anything?"
"Tifa." Cloud said quietly as his head dropped, he'd known that one day she would break down and outright say it, but why did it have to be now? "You shouldn't love me. I can't be what you want me to be. Not now."
Tifa took a step back at his words, her beautiful face contorting with pain as her lips shook. Then, without another word, she ran past him and out of the building with her hands to her face to catch the tears streaming down her red cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, Tifa." Cloud whispered to no one as he slumped down to a seat on the stairs and anguish washed over his face.
As Cloud and Tifa left the room, Jessie turned to follow them, but then thought better of it. They could probably use a moment alone.
"Your name is Jessie, correct?"
Startled, she spun around to see Vincent standing directly in front of her.
"Y-yes." She stuttered, intimidated by both the power she'd seen him display before, and his sheer height.
"I have heard that you're some sort of mechanic, is this true?"
"I'm an engineer." Jessie said with confusion evident on her face. "Why?"
Not saying a word, Vincent reached into his mantle and withdrew an object from it. When Jessie saw what it was, her eyes went wide. It didn't look the same as the modern incarnations, but it was clearly a materia gun.
"This was the weapon I used as a Turk." Vincent said. "It's called a gun."
"Yeah, I know." Jessie said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. She'd never seen one this close before. "All the Turks have them."
"Really?" Vincent asked. "This was the only one that existed when I led them. Hojo removed the materia and a few other components from it so that it wouldn't work, and then dropped it into my box. He enjoyed tormenting me like that. I was wondering if you might be able to repair it?"
"I don't know." Jessie honestly replied. "But I can give it a try."
"Very well." Vincent extended his hand to her and placed the weapon in her all-to-eager palms. "I leave it in your care."
With that, Vincent silently walked towards the door and opened it to leave.
"Vincent." Jessie said suddenly, causing him to stop. "What happened to your friend, the Ancient girl?"
"Lucrecia." Vincent said, going silent for a moment afterwards. "When the experiments first began, Hojo was able to control me. After Lucrecia was no longer needed for the Omega project he locked her in the room with me and released me from my chamber."
"What happened?" Jessie whispered, though she was sure she already knew the answer.
"He made me kill her." And with that, Vincent walked out the door.
The room went silent again, and Jessie stared after him in shock. It came to her all at once, Vincent was no monster, he was a victim; perhaps the worst victim in this entire mess. Just like her parents, he had learned things that cost him his life, but that hadn't been enough for the Empire; they brought him back, and made him suffer worse. In her quest for revenge, she'd shut out her emotions, believing that they would only interfere and cause her more pain. Now, she felt utterly ashamed of herself for doing so. She had shunned the privileges that made her human, yet here was a man who hadn't been given that choice; his emotions, his humanity, had been stolen from him, she could imagine nothing more horrible. Jessie glanced at Sephiroth, wondering what he thought of it all, but he continued to silently stare out the window. Looking down at the broken gun in her hands, she let out a heavy sigh and left the room to go get her tools.