Chapter Sixteen: The Tale of Vincent
Sephiroth strode forward into the darkness, and within that chamber, they saw coffins.
Several of them, in fact.
Many of the coffins had ancient skeletons lying in them as if writing in agony. All lay open save for one, which stood at the center, surrounded by bones. Moving forward, Tifa felt a presence, a presence telling her to go back.
But Sephiroth did not go back, and Cloud followed him. So Tifa followed Cloud.
Sephiroth grabbed the coffin lid and threw it aside. As he did, Tifa moved forward and saw who lay beneath. It was a lean man who looked to have eaten little. There were great bags under his eyes, and he had dark hair all around him. He wore red and black, with a great deal of leather, and his right band had a gauntlet on it.
His eyes opened to peer at Sephiroth, and they were red. "Who disturbs me?"
"I am Sephiroth," said Sephiroth. "Why are you lying inside a coffin?"
Sephiroth seemed to regard his name as reason enough to get full attention. Maybe it was. Certainly, as the man stood up, he seemed keenly interested. "Sephiroth?
"...That name..."
"Are you saying you haven't heard of him?" asked Cloud. "I can understand not being overly concerned with current events. But I don't see how you've never heard the name before."
"Why have you disturbed me?" asked the man.
"Well, I'm in the middle of a town full of monstrous imitations of humans. Most of whom are controlled by some sort of alien hive mind," said Sephiroth. Tifa found this remark a bit offensive since she was human. "And there is a man sleeping inside a coffin, so I was hoping to learn what was going on." He looked to Tifa. "Is he one of yours?"
Tifa was surprised he was looking at her at all. "No, Mother has no hold over him."
"Leave me alone," said the man.
"I don't have time for this," said Sephiroth. "Let me make something very clear to you. Everyone in this town is either dead or assimilated by an unknown alien parasite. Some among my companions are directly at risk of being experimented on by Hojo because of this.
"I need information, and you are going to give it to me. Otherwise, I'll place you under arrest, and you can explain yourself in a cell."
The man did not react much. Tifa thought this place seemed far worse than any cell as it was. "Hojo...
"Then you are the son of Lucrezia?"
"If you mean Hojo's former assistant, not to my knowledge," said Sephiroth. How was he so calm?
"Is Hojo your father?" asked the man simply.
"He was my legal guardian," said Sephiroth. "However, I am quite indifferent to his existence at this point. I tolerate him because I do not have to work with him. Will you answer my questions?"
The man nodded. "Very well, I'll tell you what I know.
"My name is Vincent, formerly the head of the Turks. I was assigned as the bodyguard to a scientist named Lucrezia. She worked with Professor Hojo and Professor Gast."
"Do we have to listen to all this? This is really boring?" asked Yuffie, shifting.
"You're in the minority, then, Yuffie," said Aerith.
"Can I wait outside?" asked Yuffie, whining now.
"No," said Sephiroth. "Now shut up." He turned back to Vincent. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"I imprisoned myself here in payment for my sins," said Vincent. "I have been... changed in some ways. Altered in a fashion that made existence in society impossible."
"And how long have you been here?" asked Sephiroth.
How did he go through all this unphased?
"Twenty-five to thirty years, I believe," said Vincent. "Keeping count is difficult, and I have only been out a few times since."
"Cloud, Tifa, have you ever observed anyone like this?" asked Sephiroth.
"No, never," said Cloud. "Father... President Shinra never let us come down here. I didn't even know this room existed."
"I never entered this room," said Tifa. "And never saw anyone at all. Neither did any of the villagers."
"I see," said Sephiroth. "How did you get like this?"
"I was infused with Chaos-tainted Materia by Lucrezia and Hojo," said Vincent. "It gave me powers and abilities far beyond that of normal individuals."
"Chaos?" asked Aeris. "You mean that Legendary Dark God that some say resides outside the lifestream?"
"You could call him that," said Vincent. "In any case, that was far from the only experiment they conducted. You were one of them, Sephiroth."
"I am well aware as such," said Sephiroth. "My Mother was Jenova. That is all I know about her. I fully believe Hojo may have torn her from her grip."
"That is technically correct," said Vincent. "Over two thousand years ago, a meteorite crash-landed. Out of it came a powerful organism called J.E.N.O.V.A. Professor Gast located it. After initial surveys, he mistook it for an ancient and began to study it extensively."
"You thought..." Aerith stared. "You thought that thing was one of my people! That thing might as well have been the devil incarnate! Anyone who knows anything about mythology could tell you that!"
"Scientists and laymen specialize in different areas," said Vincent simply. "Eventually, however, Gast located a real ancient, Ifalna and realized his error."
"Ifalna?" asked Aerith. "That was the name of my Mother, my real Mother."
Vincent made no sign he'd heard her. "Ifalna provided him with a wealth of data behind what he was dealing with. Gast was quick to plan to scrap the resulting experiments.
"Hojo and Lucrecia, however, had become fascinated by the creature. They insisted on continuing, and President Shinra went along with it.
"During this time, Hojo seduced Lucrecia, and she became pregnant."
"How could Hojo possibly convince anyone to sleep with him?" asked Sephiroth simply. "Even President Shinra wouldn't let him satiate that desire at gunpoint."
"Lucrezia and he both had a passion for science. They enjoyed pushing science beyond its natural boundaries," said Vincent. "They bonded over it. Hojo was very good at convincing to go one step further, and they made an excellent team.
"Often, I was called on to get test subjects. Murderers and rapists and such."
At this moment, Cloud flared up. "What the hell would you call Hojo's experiments if not rape! Have you seen the kinds of things SOLDIER has produced! I have!"
Why was Cloud so angry about this? What had he seen that Tifa had missed?
"Cloud, calm down; this isn't the time," said Aeris.
"Aerith is correct; let him finish Cloud," said Sephiroth.
Vincent continued. "Between the three of them, Lucrezia and Hojo successfully infused J.E.N.O.V.A into her body. This, in turn, passed the DNA onto Hojo's own son, Sephiroth."
Sephiroth paused and seemed to consider all this. "I see. Go on."
"That must be why Mother wants us to wait for you," said Tifa, feeling she should say something. "She must have always known you would come to this place."
"...The SOLDIER experiments. Gods among men, Genesis and Angeal," said Cloud thoughtfully. "All of it descends from Jenova."
Sephiroth said nothing for some time, seeming to struggle with some inner conflict. Tifa tried to reach out to him and felt that he was deeply conflicted. But he put it aside. "Quite a play on words."
"What about my mother?" asked Aerith. "What happened to her?"
"Eventually, Hojo made plans to merge the bloodlines," said Vincent. "He began arguing that Ifalna ought to be impregnated. That whatever child resulted married off to his own. And President Shinra, seeking to create Neo-Midgar, was willing to hear the concept.
"Gast, however, would not stand for it.
"He and Ifalna escaped, fleeing to the Northern Continent and going into hiding. On behalf of Lucrezia, I tracked them down with Hojo, killed Professor Gast, and took Ifalna back. Alongside an infant daughter who had been born during the-"
Vincent got no farther.
Sephiroth reached out and grabbed him by the neck before slamming him against the wall. Vincent remained deadly still as Sephiroth's hands crushed his neck. "You animal!
"He was the greatest scientific mind of his generation! A man who revolutionized medical sciences. He brought an understanding of the world no one had seen! And you murdered him so that Hojo could continue a depraved pet project which would help no one!"
"He was a target," said Vincent, grabbing Sephiroth's hand and removing it. Though Sephiroth seemed to let him. "Lucrecia had not specifically instructed me to kill him. However, Hojo was the command on the mission, and he ordered him shot."
"And you obeyed?" asked Cloud. "Hojo is a scientist, not a military man. Surely you could have refused such an order. It would have been a war crime. You could have relieved him of command."
"President Shinra would never have wanted Gast dead," said Aerith. "He was far too valuable, far more valuable than Hojo. He'd have given Gast some comfortable assignment. From there, he'd guarantee Mother's safety in case he cooperated.
"Didn't you...
"Weren't you even looking for another way? Do you think that Hojo has enough sway to order an assassination of someone so valuable?"
Vincent shrugged. "I wasn't thinking.
"Not really.
"Lucrecia always had a certain... charisma to her. I was in awe of her, and I obeyed every one of her instructions. After the experiments, I couldn't meet other people, so I obeyed her obsessively. I did everything she told me to do without question.
"I told myself I was a professional.
"But I wasn't.
"I was an animal. An attack dog she used to solve problems.
"And this attack dog went rabid.
"Lucrecia never wanted Gast dead. It nearly broke her when it happened and cut a gulf between us. She became sick and eventually abandoned the world."
"And what did you do?" asked Sephiroth, stepping back.
"I left," said Vincent. "I considered working as a mercenary, but I'd become infamous as a monster. People cowered in fear of me where I meant. Even when I concealed myself, I heard stories of things that crept in the night. Those things were all me.
"President Shinra cut Hojo's funding a great deal after Gast was killed. None of the military's other arms would take me, the things I'd done for love...
"Eventually, I decided I deserved to punished.
"I tried killing myself, but I am a difficult man to kill. So I spoke to President Shinra, and he arranged for me to be sealed away."
"Aw, this is so boring!" said Yuffie. "Why not kill Hojo and save us all a lot of trouble!"
Vincent showed a flash of irritation at that. "Because I was no better than Hojo.
"Hojo may have tempted Lucrecia into performing worse experiments. But I'd have never done the things I did for Hojo. I only did them on Lucrecia's behalf and took his orders by proxy. Lucrecia may have been tempted, but... she knew what Hojo was doing was wrong, and she went through with it.
"And me... I... I could have refuse orders. I could have questioned orders or tried to talk her out of it.
"And Hojo isn't immoral; he's amoral. He made great advances in medical fields under Gast.
"He's only as good or bad as the people he is working with him let him be. As long as he has funding and the chance to research, he can be channeled to good.
"I could have killed Hojo.
"But then I'd have to kill President Shinra, who was just as responsible. Then I'd have to kill the Shinra High Command and my fellow Turk operatives. I'd have to kill dozens of people to get back at those responsible.
"And...
"And who am I to judge them? And the world... it hated and feared me. And it right to hate and fear me. I was, I am, a monster of my own creation. You could take away all my powers, and I'd still be one.
"So I put myself in prison, locked myself in a place I could not escape, and slept."
Silence fell.
Sephiroth stepped to one side, and Tifa could sense he was wrestling with some inner conflict. As he did, Aerith stepped forward. "Maybe you did deserve to die.
"But, Vincent, there is something you should know. Lucrecia was the one who helped my mother escape from Hojo. Without her, I could have ended up far worse.
"Maybe that doesn't make up for what she did.
"And maybe imprisoning yourself doesn't either.
"But both those things are a start. I don't think you should go back to sleep. The memory of what you've done has faded. Maybe you could view this as a chance for a new start."
"I have no interest in a new start," said Vincent.
"Well, you might be interested to know that Hojo has only become worse," said Sephiroth flatly. "The experiments he has been performing have become steadily more inhumane. By your own words, he is your responsibility." Sephiroth might have said more. However, at that moment, his phone began to ring.
Sephiroth picked it up.
"You get cell reception underground?" asked Yuffie.
"I'm Sephiroth," said Sephiroth, putting it to his ear as he walked away. "Yes, Tseng, what is it?" Silence. "And you're sure." He paused. "Alright, let them through. We've got most of what we came for here anyway." Another pause. "Yes, I'm sure."
Sephiroth hung up.
"What is it?" asked Cloud.
"That was Tseng. Professor Hojo is coming," said Sephiroth. "He'll be here in a few hours with armed troops. Lightning is with him."
Tifa had the feeling that her peaceful life was at an end. She wasn't really all that unhappy about the fact.