When Tifa and Yuffie arrived back at the house everyone was there; including Vincent.
"Aren't you meant to be hiding in a tree somewhere?" Tifa whispered to Vincent as she passed.
"I've asked you all here because I'm leaving for Midgar tomorrow" said Barret "You're all welcome to come if you want"
"Tomorrow?" Tifa said "It's a bit sudden isn't it?"
"No" said Barret "I've gotta get back and see Marlene"
"That makes sense" said Cid "You gotta look after your own" This plan put Tifa in a difficult situation; Marlene would, no-doubt, be asking after Tifa but Tifa had already promised Sephiroth that she would continued to help him; and then there was Cloud. Tifa looked up; everyone was looking at her, wondering what she was going to do.
"I don't think I can come" said Tifa
"But Marlene will want to see you" said Barret "What am I meant to tell her? That you're away helping a murderer get his memory back?" Tifa stepped forwards but felt a cold yet strong hand on her shoulder. Tifa tried batting the arm away but the person was unbelievably strong.
"He's not a murderer anymore!" Tifa shouted at Barret "It's people like you who are going to hold him back" Tifa shrugged again but the arm remained relentless "Get off!" she said whirling around to see who it was; it was Vincent who was watching Barret with cold eyes. If Vincent had looked at Tifa like that she would have run a mile.
"Don't" he said to her in his voice which was, as always, barely above a whisper "Barret's made up his mind"
"But Sephiroth's your son!" Tifa said "Aren't you going to stand up for him?"
"Vincent's never considered Sephiroth his son" said Barret "Hojo is Sephiroth's father, the true Sephiroth" Tifa felt Vincent's grip tighten; it she had not had been so strong the grip would have shattered her shoulder. Tifa put her hand on Vincent's forearm
"Like you said to me Vincent, he's made his mind up" said Tifa. Vincent's grip loosened. Tifa walked towards the door and Vincent followed her
"Where are you two off to now?" Barret asked
"To see my son" said Vincent. Those words caused silence among the people in the room. As Vincent and Tifa walked back along the square to the Mansion Tifa looked up at Vincent.
"What made you change your view on Sephiroth?" Tifa asked him
"After seeing him with you and with Yuffie, I've seen the real him, the one who was never in Soldier" said Vincent "I see a son that can made a father proud, one that's intelligent and strong and stands by his morals"
"It's not just that, is it?" Tifa asked as she grabbed Vincent by his arm and spinning him around to face her, the two of them were now stood near the Mansion's main gate
"Sephiroth was always strong and intelligent, it's something else" said Tifa. Vincent looked down; was it embarrassment?
"He reminds me of Lucrecia" said Vincent "She could be happy and full of energy yet she was tremendously smart and professional" Tifa laughed and hugged Vincent. Vincent had been shot at, blown up, he'd jumped off cliffs and from building to building but when Tifa had hugged him it had startled him more than anything that had happened in his past. When Tifa broke away she was smiling broadly
"You should speak to him" said Tifa "He's got that air of slyness that you have, I bet you two are more alike than you'd imagine"
"How do I go about it?" Vincent asked; the two of them sat down on the wall of the mansion facing each other.
"Go about what?" Tifa asked
"Talking to him" said Vincent
"Try hello" said Tifa "It's a great ice-breaker, you're the smartest man I know Vincent, if anyone can speak to Sephiroth it's you"
"What if he blames me for letting Lucrecia die?" Vincent asked
"He won't, Sephiroth knows what happened between you, Lucrecia and Hojo" said Cloud. Tifa and Vincent looked around to see Cloud walking down the path
"How?" Vincent asked
"I told him, after all I told him I wouldn't keep anything from him" said Cloud
"What if he blames me for letting him go insane?" Vincent asked
"Sephiroth holds no blame for the past" said Cloud "He has friends Vincent, what he needs is a parent"
"I don't know" said Vincent "It would be a bit uncomfortable" Tifa shoved Vincent knocking him off the wall. Vincent landed with a dull thud in the front garden of the manor.
"Come on" said Tifa "Get up, you're talking to Sephiroth" Tifa took Vincent by his robotic arm and dragged him towards the manor. Once Tifa and Cloud had dragged the protesting Vincent into the main hall Cloud called out Sephiroth's name and an out of the front door with Tifa leaving Vincent stood in the hall.
"Yes?" Sephiroth called back and when he got no reply he came to see. Vincent was stood in the same spot, rather comically. Sephiroth smiled when he saw Vincent
"You're Vincent, right?" Sephiroth asked. Vincent nodded
"Yes I am" he said. Sephiroth descended the stairs slowly
"And you're my father, right?" Sephiroth asked. Vincent nodded
"Yes I am" said Vincent again.
"I'm guessing Tifa and/or Cloud dragged you in here" said Sephiroth. Vincent nodded
"Yes they did" said Vincent. Seeing as Sephiroth couldn't get a decent conversation started he decided an idea that seemed to have got people to open up
"Are you hungry?" Sephiroth asked
"No, thank you" said Vincent
"I'm going to make some food for myself, are you coming?" Sephiroth asked as he was about to turn and walk to the kitchen.
"Okay then" said Vincent and followed Sephiroth to the kitchen.
While Sephiroth cooked Vincent stood in the doorway and watched him.
"Your mother was a good cook" Vincent commented
"Really?" said Sephiroth "No-one around here seems to know much about her, what was she like?"
"Warm, kind, funny and intelligent; it's from her you get your intelligence" said Vincent.
"According to Cloud, you're pretty smart yourself" said Sephiroth.
"I have my moments" said Vincent
"What happened with you?" Sephiroth asked "Why are you hiding yourself? Cloud never said, I'm guessing it's an important part of your history so you don't have to tell me" Vincent thought hard about it
"It was Hojo" said Vincent "When he found out that me and Lucrecia were…together, he took her, I went and tried to stop him but Hojo shot me point blank and cursed me with perpetual existence"
"And Lucrecia?" Sephiroth asked
"He took her" said Vincent. In his mind Vincent imagined Lucrecia screaming for help. Vincent shook his head
"Is it true that you saw her? That she is still alive" said Sephiroth. Vincent nodded
"Yes" said Vincent "In a cave south-east of here, it's almost inaccessible"
"Could we go one time?" Sephiroth asked turning to face Vincent; back to the cooker.
"Of course" said Vincent "You're one of the few who would be able to get to where she is"
"So we will go sometime?" Sephiroth asked, making sure, he leant against the cooker.
"Yes" said Vincent "If you get your sleeve out of the flames"
"Sleeve?" Sephiroth asked and looked down at his sleeve. Sephiroth cursed diving away from the cooker as his sleeve went up in flames. Vincent threw out his hand and doused Sephiroth's arm in cold water.
"Water Materia" Vincent explained "Helpful around the house as well as on the battle field"
"Did you just make a joke?" Sephiroth asked raising an eyebrow. Vincent shook his head
"Of course not" said Vincent
"It wasn't very good but a good start" said Sephiroth. Sephiroth tipped his ruined food into the bin; it was incredibly burnt, the conversation time he'd had with Vincent and his back turned to the cooker was just enough time to burn the food.
Vincent and Sephiroth walked out into the sunlight that bathed the garden. Vincent looked up at the white clouds and wondered when Sephiroth and him should go and see Lucrecia.
"Do you think mother will come and live with us?" Sephiroth asked Vincent. Vincent had never thought of it; now that Sephiroth, their son, was back to normal would she come and live with them?
"I don't know" said Vincent "You could ask her when we go and see her" Sephiroth and Vincent both heard the front door open and they both turned around.
"Where'd they go?" they heard Cloud say
"The garden?" Tifa tried. Cloud and Tifa emerged in the empty garden
"No" said Cloud and the two of them turned to go back into the house when Cloud was hit on the back of the head by a small stone.
"Damn!" said Cloud rubbing the back of his head and turning back to face the empty garden.
"What?" Tifa asked
"Something just hit me" said Cloud. Tifa looked down the garden; there were no tree's they could hide in.
"A bird or something?" Tifa tried but there were no birds in the sky. Cloud and Tifa turned to walk back into the manor when a clump of tightly packed mud hit him in the back of the head with a wet thud.
"Argh!" said Cloud rubbing the back of his head. Sephiroth laughed as Vincent crouched again to pick up another small clump of dirt.
"Nice throw" Sephiroth told Vincent
"Thank you" said Vincent who hurled the clump of mud at Cloud. Sephiroth and Vincent were crouched hundreds of meters away from Cloud; far enough for Cloud to miss where the mud was coming from. Cloud ducked and the clump of mud narrowly missed him.
"Ha!" he shouted but was hit twice, once in the face and once in the chest. Sephiroth laughed loudly and Vincent smiled; it was nice seeing his son smile. Cloud turned and ran into the house and Tifa laughed; watching him go. Sephiroth threw a clump of mud at Tifa and it collided with her leg.
"Cheeky" she said smiling at the place where Sephiroth and Vincent were probably hiding. Sephiroth and Vincent dropped down and walked over meet Tifa.
"I guess you two are alright?" Tifa asked
"Yes" said Vincent.
"Sephiroth, how does tomorrow sound for that trip to the ancient forest?" Tifa asked. Sephiroth raised his eyebrows
"Tomorrow?" Sephiroth said "It's a bit sudden, we only discussed it this morning"
"The man who's lending us the Chocobo's can only spare them tomorrow or three months from now, they go into elusiveness this time of year because they'll be breeding"
"Alright" said Sephiroth raising his palms "Better stop you there before you go into detail about Chocobo's mating rituals, tomorrow is fine"
"Okay" said Tifa clapping "We have to be outside the town at six"
"Pretty early" said Sephiroth
"I know" said Tifa "Best time though, sunrise is at 6:30, I will see you tomorrow at 6?"
"Yes" said Sephiroth "Anything I need to bring with me?"
"Change of clothes, some hard-wearing clothes also, the forest isn't easy to get through and, if you really don't mind, because I know it won't be easy to bring, the Masamune" said Tifa. At the last item Tifa seemed nervous about asking.
"That will be fine" said Sephiroth nodding "Spare clothes, heavy clothes and sword, easy" Tifa nodded and left.
"Can you help me make a sheath for it?" Sephiroth asked Vincent "I used to be able to make it appear but I don't know how anymore"
"Of course" said Vincent "What are you going to do about durable clothes? All you have is, well, black"
"I do have others, I left some clothes when I came here the first ever time" said Sephiroth
"Good, good" said Vincent "Now let's go make your sheath"