A/N (1/13/13): Nothing to say here but the standard disclaimers. I own this storyline, everything else belongs to Square Enix. Though this story was initially written with the cannon storyline involved, I took a peek at the wikia page and I can only assume certain backgrounds were expanded in DoC (I don't remember much about Lucrecia's past that was explicitly mentioned in FFVII alone.) This is merely a note saying that I am aware the cannon's events now differ from my fictional history.
Heavy Edits Completed: April 10, 2013
Additional Polish: March 18, 2017
Final Fantasy VII – Remembrance
Chapter 2 – Reality and Fantasy
"Wakey wakey, Vinnie!"
A cheerful, feminine voice pierced the hazy confines of his sleepy mind. Vincent blinked sleepily, looking over to find Yuffie sitting next to him. His muddled mind clunked into life as he stared uncomprehendingly at the girl. How had he escaped North Crater? The man yawned sleepily, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Yuffie? What's going on?"
The young girl's voice changed. The voice that now spoke was a bit more mature and somewhat disappointed.
"No, silly. It's me."
He blinked several times. His vision blurred slightly and he was staring at Lucrecia again. Vincent rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"Oh. Sorry Lucrecia," he yawned.
A familiar, concerned look appeared on the woman's face.
"Dream still on your mind?"
Vincent sighed, trying his best to push the memories from a different time out of his mind.
"Yes. I can't get it out of my head."
An unreadable expression flashed across the scientist's face before she stood up from her place next to his bed.
"Well, anyway, wake up. We've got an exciting day planned!"
Lucrecia smiled at him and moved to leave the room. Just before she exited, she half-turned, glancing at Vincent over her shoulder.
"Oh, Vincent?"
The man looked up, mind still preoccupied with other things.
"Yes?"
The scientist paused for a moment, before explaining.
"Hojo is considering human experimentations once our animal studies are complete, just like in your dreams."
Vincent looked skeptical as he began dressing.
"Really?"
A faint smile appeared on the woman's face.
"Yeah. But don't worry. We won't be moving onto that until we're absolutely sure of how these special cells affect living beings. We'll be running everything according to our protocols," Lucrecia stated.
She paused momentarily, thinking, and then gave him a cheeky grin.
"I promise not to let Hojo inject me with crazy cells if I become pregnant," she smirked.
Vincent was hardly reassured. Still half-dressed, he moved closer to the doorway.
"Lucrecia…"
Whatever warning he wanted to say was cut off as the scientist turned away.
"Vincent. You're letting a simple dream get to you. Just forget about it."
With that slightly cold statement, she left the room. Vincent glanced over at the leather-bound notebook on the bedside table. After debating for a few seconds, he reached over and opened the book, gazing once more at the drawings. Finally, he put it away, finished dressing himself in the standard blue Turks uniform, and headed downstairs. At the bottom of the main staircase of Shinra Manor, a mustached man stood, bouncing slightly in anticipation.
Gast Faremis was the head of the Science Research Department and, therefore, was in charge of the experiments here in Nibelheim. In a few minutes, the various researchers and assistants were gathered in a side room of the manor. A lone projector stood in the middle of the room connected to a worn laptop. Once everyone had gathered, Gast smiled and began.
"Okay peoples! This is what we're going to do."
The professor proceeded to detail the new developments in the project. Throwing conventional genetics out the window, the science team had finally cracked the strange samples they took from that frozen creature from North Crater. Most of it was incomprehensible to Vincent, from the slides Gast was wildly gesticulating at: the DNA was some kind of triple helix mess of randomly assembled molecules, some of which were apparently unknown. The professor believed that structure to be the key to how the Ancients had arrived on Gaia. The Turk stifled a yawn as he struggled to stay awake during the presentation. After what seemed like forever, Gast turned his full attention on the small group, clapping his hands happily while addressing them.
"Now you know what we have, our first priority should be to try to culture these cells and see what we can learn! Let's mosey, people!"
Vincent's head jerked up. For a moment, he saw Cloud standing there, giving a last minute pep talk before they descended into North Crater.
"This is the final battle. Sephiroth is so close, but we can beat him. We have to beat him. Let's mosey!"
Vincent blinked and shook his head as he followed the others out of the small conference room.
'Are you real or not?!'
He cried out fervently in the confines of his own mind. The entire premonition-like dream was driving him insane! He wished there was some way to confirm or deny his experience. Surely Nanaki was alive somewhere in Cosmo Canyon? But with the way things were going, he could not leave Nibelheim. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and stormed off down the hall.
Lingering behind, Lucrecia stared worriedly at Vincent's retreating form.
…
Eleven months into the project and research had slowed somewhat. While they had isolated some of the genetic properties of these alien cells, they had barely begun to understand how they behaved within their natural environment. Animal studies were stymied by the severely fatal reactions the cells had on living creatures, making the researchers hesitant to pursue human studies no matter what the President of Shinra wanted out of this project. At the same time, Lucrecia had become pregnant about four months ago, the science team was forced to further reduce their initial excited pace, with one of their brightest now taking precautions to avoid any harmful radiation or chemicals.
"I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl?"
Lucrecia rubbed the growing lump in her stomach as she lay on Vincent's bed, having finished her work for the day.
"Boy," was the immediate response.
Vincent hardly looked up from his report back to Shinra. Lucrecia frowned at his response and dull tone of voice.
"Yes, well I haven't accepted any strange requests from Hojo either," she sniped.
When he didn't respond, she became concerned once again.
"Vincent. I thought I told you to forget about that dream," Lucrecia said gently.
The man glanced over, a calculating look in his eye.
"Apparently you haven't either," Vincent said blandly.
The scientist huffed angrily.
"Yes, well, it's kind of hard to forget a story depicting your own death."
Vincent had no response to this. Lucrecia continued rubbing her stomach distractedly.
"Even if it was only a dream, your dream at that, I can't help but worry. What if I die from childbirth? I really don't want to die yet… with so much yet to live for…"
The female scientist had a sad look on her face as she mumbled to herself. Vincent barely noticed as his response slipped out accidentally.
"You won't die, Tifa."
That familiar look of concern appeared on Lucrecia's face once again.
"What?" She asked, though it was hardly a question.
Vincent shook his head several times, one hand running through his hair in frustration.
"Sorry, Lucrecia."
She sighed in exasperation, gave him a dejected look before standing from the bed and leaving.
…
"It's a boy!"
Five months later Lucrecia gave birth, much to Vincent's consternation. The Shinra-hired physician nodded happily at the successful delivery and passed the newborn child to his mother. Then he stepped outside, giving the room's occupants a moment. Lucrecia looked exhausted but at the same time overjoyed. Vincent, who had sat with her throughout her labor, watched her with a worried expression.
"What are you going to name him?" He questioned.
The woman grinned sleepily.
"I think I'll call him Sephiroth."
The Turk blanched.
"Lucrecia, I thought you wanted me to forget about the dream."
Lucrecia grinned evilly at Vincent.
"Yes, I know. But it's so fun watching you struggle."
Vincent sighed. It wasn't as though he could forget even if he tried. He had long since given up trying to avoid comparing people he met to the people he thought he had met. Every now and then, he would still hear the voices of his nonexistent comrades in the words of others. He did, however, take comfort that things since Lucrecia's pregnancy had seemed different than what he remembered. Hojo was more mellow and Lucrecia had remained his friend. As he let his body relax, the door to the room burst open. Hojo walked in, hair tied back and face as sallow as ever. He glanced at the baby sleeping in his mother's arms.
"Good, he's born. I trust there were no complications?"
Lucrecia shook her head.
"Just tired," she said.
Hojo tilted his head, staring expressionlessly at the haggard woman.
"Interesting," he stated.
Lucrecia looked up curiously.
"What? What's going on?"
Hojo swept over and scooped up baby Sephiroth.
"Oh, I hypothesized that the treatments would kill you in the birthing process."
Vincent stilled at this. There was a loud ringing in his ears as he processed Hojo's words. Something had changed. Something was different about this situation. This wasn't supposed to happen. Lucrecia had been more cautious this time around. The baby's cries intensified, as if sensing the intentions of this sham of a scientist. Lucrecia sat frozen, her eyes fixed on the wailing child.
"Treatments?" She whispered.
"Yes, I wanted to see Jenova's effects on the unborn. Perhaps we can create a more powerful human with her knowledge," Hojo said absentmindedly while staring intently at the wailing child.
"When… when…" Lucrecia stammered, checking her arms for pinpricks.
"We found that people with Jenova cells regenerate at an impressive rate."
The haggard woman looked up blankly at the taller scientist.
"But… the animals…"
Hojo shrugged nonchalantly.
"Different reactions in different species."
Furious, Lucrecia lashed out at the man standing calmly in the doorway.
"I thought we agreed Jenova cells were too dangerous for human beings!"
Hojo shrugged his shoulders again, barely concerned.
"Yes, well, change in plan," Hojo commented idly.
With that he strode off, young Sephiroth's cries echoing through the empty manor. Vincent's mind was racing. Last time, Lucrecia had agreed on testing. The possibility hadn't even been suggested this time around. How had things spiraled so far out of control? Did he miss some detail hinting that Hojo was still pushing for human experimentation? Vincent turned towards Lucrecia, who was staring blankly at the empty space between her arms, where her newborn child had previously lain.
"Lucrecia…" Vincent began tentatively.
Whirling, the scientist stared at him in horror.
"He… he took Sephiroth…"
"Lucrecia… I…" Vincent tried again, only to be cut off.
"Oh my god… what has he done to me… Sephiroth… he…" she began to shake.
Vincent gripped the trembling woman's shoulders and spoke calmly.
"I'll get him back."
He stood and chased after Hojo. In the bedroom, Lucrecia collapsed against the pillows, sobbing bitterly. She had no idea what Jenova would do to her. She didn't even feel that different. But Vincent's 'dream' scared her and she feared the impending madness. Pressing her palms against her eyes, she wept.
"Vincent… be careful…" she choked out.
…
His pistol drawn, Vincent stormed into the main hall of the mansion, a churning sensation in his gut. Seeing no threat, he moved towards the basement labs they had installed. As he neared the bedroom with the stairs leading downwards, he could hear cursing through the door.
"Dammit… Just what the hell is he thinking! Taking an innocent child like that! We agreed it was too goddamn dangerous! Shit…" the voice continued to rant and rave, cursing up a storm.
Vincent held his gun at the ready just outside the room. His mind was in complete disarray and he ended up calling out unconsciously.
"Cid? Are you alright?"
There was a moment of silence as the cursing stopped.
"Vincent?" The voice called back. "I should ask you the same thing! Since when has my name been Cid?"
Professor Gast flung the door open with one hand. Vincent immediately noticed the man was injured.
"You've been shot," he noted.
"Just a graze," Gast dismissed. "Can you believe that madman actually shot me?!"
"When did he pass through?" Vincent asked in a steely voice.
"Just…" the scientist hissed as he moved in an unfavorable motion. "Just a few minutes ago."
Vincent turned to rush off before Gast grabbed his arm.
"Vincent… be careful. There's something off about Hojo…"
Of course, Vincent knew exactly what was 'off' about the madman, but nodded anyway. Down that ever-familiar spiral staircase and through rough stone tunnels, Vincent practically flew. He collided hard with the door at the end of the passage, beholding a nonchalant Hojo and a screaming Sephiroth.
"Release the child," he said in a coldly.
Hojo turned, smirking ever so slightly.
"Vincent. What a pleasant surprise," Hojo commented lightly. "I have to wonder, are you here because you think this is your son?"
Vincent blinked, mind coming to a halt at the strange question. He had always assumed the child was Hojo's, especially since Lucrecia avoided him most of the time in his dream-like memories. Had there been another shift? Some change in events to come? He thought hard. As her bodyguard, he was aware of what Lucrecia did on a daily basis. With all their conversations about his dream, he found it hard to believe she had actually bedded the deranged scientist. And he and Lucrecia shared only a friendly relationship, no more and no less.
"No, because he is not my son," Vincent called it as he saw it. "I'm here because he's Lucrecia's son. Are you saying you're not the father?"
Hojo cackled.
"Of course I'm the father," The madman said pompously. "Though it did take a bit of convincing, that silly girl actually thought I wanted a child to raise as my own! But she had been distant as of late, I was wondering if she was sleeping around with some of the other men…"
As the scientist trailed off, Vincent's face twisted into a snarl.
"Bastard. You lied to her? About something like this?"
This was not good. Despite all his warnings, Lucrecia had still somehow found it in her heart to give this piece of filth a chance. And he had taken that chance for all it was worth. Setting those thoughts aside for the moment, Vincent's face grew determined.
"Let Sephiroth go," he said with a cold calm.
Hojo pretended to consider this.
"Hmmm… I think not."
With that, he drew a pistol and fired. Enhanced by adrenaline and experience, Vincent ducked low to the ground, returning fire at the same time. But the scientist was not there. His bullet ricocheted off the back wall, clattering away into a dark corner of the lab.
"Not bad for a Turk," said a voice behind him.
Vincent whirled, firing blindly. Several beakers shattered and one computer sparked as his bullets missed their mark.
"But can you dodge this?"
Vincent managed a half-turn before feeling the cold barrel of a pistol dig into is sternum. Had he been anything more than a human, he might've been able to roll out of the way. As it were though, Vincent no longer had Chaos and the other beasts enhancing his speed and he could only watch as Hojo pulled the trigger. The gunshot seemed to last an eternity, the dull ache of the bullet's entry gradually becoming a roaring flame of intense pain. As time caught up, Vincent fell to his knees, blood trickling past his lips. Looking up, he saw the sneering visage of Hojo staring down at him with triumph.
The pistol barked out two more times and Vincent was robbed of his ability to breathe.
As he laid there, blood pooling around him and vision blurring, he watched as Hojo approached the infant strapped to the operation table nearby. In his hands was a syringe filled with a pulsating green fluid.
"What will the future hold?" Hojo said cryptically, a grin on his face. "Let's find out, shall we, Sephiroth?"
The baby's screams intensified as the foreign Jenova cells burned their way through his body. With a broken roar, Vincent attempted to stand only to fall back down was a wet splash. As his vision dimmed he could make out Hojo looming above.
"Now, what to do with you…"
.
.
.
The chemicals injected into Vincent's spinal cord set every nerve on fire, forcibly dragging the man back into consciousness. His eyes darted around, noting that he was now chained to a familiar operation table.
Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.
Vincent struggled in vain, trying to free his hands from the manacles they were bound in. His wrists bloody, he slumped back in defeat.
He jumped as a horribly familiar voice spoke from nearby.
"As interesting as that is, we have a schedule to keep, Vincent dear." Hojo's voice simpered.
Vincent craned his neck to figure out where Hojo was standing. The scientist then moved into view.
"You are becoming… a liability… to our work," the man drawled. "Good thing you've volunteered to be my new test subject."
Vincent remained stubbornly silent. Hojo merely grinned.
"Shall we start out with my new line of prosthetics?"
Vincent tensed. He knew what was coming, knew what would happen. There was no preventing it, so he merely stared coldly at the scientist, now humming to himself somewhere out of his line of vision. Hojo returned with a rusty looking saw.
"Now, to get rid of the unnecessary parts."
The cold metal of the saw bit sharply into Vincent's arm, causing the gunman to give an involuntary shout.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" Hojo smiled as he worked the blunted teeth of the saw back and forth in a slow and exaggerated motion. "Scream for me."
Forcing his jaw shut, Vincent breathed heavily, but made no other sound. Disappointed, Hojo worked the blade deeper into the crook of Vincent's arm.
"Scream." He commanded again, eyes boring into the man on the table.
Vincent spat, hitting Hojo squarely in the cheek. The scientist stilled. After a moment, the saw was retracted and landed on the floor with a clatter. Vincent was in too much pain to be confused. He jerked when he felt Hojo grab onto his upper arm and forearm. Eyes squinting in pain, Vincent could barely make out the scientist standing next to him. For a moment, Hojo seemed to bulge.
Then there was a tearing sound followed by the sharp crack of joint leaving socket.
Vincent let out a fresh howl. Using brute force, Hojo had torn off Vincent's forearm. His world now a haze of bright lights tinged with darkness, the gunman nearly passed out from the pain. He could hear Hojo chuckling nearby.
"That's more like it."
Holding the mutilated limb, Hojo waved Vincent's arm around.
"Hello, Vincent! I hope you're still interested in the rest of the experiments! We'll have so much fun!" Hojo spoke in a happy and somewhat childish tone.
Barely conscious, Vincent responded automatically.
"Burn in hell, you sick son of a bitch," he choked out.
Vincent's face suddenly stung as Hojo swung the limb at him. The resounding slap echoed in the empty laboratory.
"Aw, don't beat yourself up. What's done is done." Hojo tossed the arm aside.
Casting fire on the discarded limb, he laughed as the smell of burning flesh filled the room.
"Oh, this is amazing! There's so much science to do! What should we do next?" Hojo continued on without waiting for a response. "How about demonic possessions?"
The door to the lab burst open. Through the haze of pain, Vincent saw Professor Gast rush into the room, an old pistol held in his hands.
"HOJO!" Gast roared. "You've gone too far!"
With that he raised the old flintlock pistol and fired. The bullet impacted with Hojo's chest. Blood sprayed from the open wound, but the scientist remained standing.
"Why is everyone trying to shoot me these days?" He asked casually.
"What the hell are you?!" Gast gasped.
Hojo began to laugh.
"You fool. You think you can kill me with mere bullets? You were a fool, Gast. You should never have come snooping around where you're not wanted." Hojo sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll have to kill you now."
"You're insane!" Gast shouted.
"Yes, yes. That is the common consensus…" Hojo said airily.
Then he began to change. His body expanded and thickened, lengthening until he was grazing the roof. His face deformed into a horrendous gaping maw as his arms melted into thick tentacles. His skin grayed and bulged with the muscles beneath. When the transformation was complete, Gast found himself face to face with something out of a nightmare. The beast leered at the now cowering man.
"Behold the power of Jenova!" It screamed.
Gast could only stare at the monster before him. Suddenly, a tentacle shot forward, impacting with the scientist's arm. Gast was sent spinning into the wall, where he screamed in pain as he clutched his shattered arm. Struggling feebly to his feet, it was all he could do to dodge the second strike, this time aimed at his head.
As the last vestiges of his courage failed him, Gast fled.
"Enjoy that, Vinnie-poo?" Hojo mocked as he transformed back into his normal self.
He found that Vincent had already passed out from blood loss.
"Oh." Hojo commented. "At least we won't need to knock you out for this next part now."
…
The next week passed in a haze of biochemically induced hallucinations and pain. The few times Vincent was lucid, he wondered fervently about Lucrecia and Sephiroth, but the next set of experiments would ultimately push him into unconsciousness once again. This blissful ignorant state would always be quickly interrupted by massive bursts of pain, which would again lead him back into the darkness.
Hojo didn't believe in anesthetics – he claimed they interfered with proper physiological functions.
Sometime in those days, Hojo had replaced Vincent's arm, subsequently replacing the normal shackle with a thicker one after he broke free and attempted to strangle the scientist. Vincent found himself wondering if the four beasts would be bound to him this time around. However, before he could test any new connections in the confines of his mind, he was violently shocked awake.
"I've really enjoyed our time together, Vinnie…" Hojo's smiling face loomed above Vincent's. "But the President issued orders to return to Midgar. Our experiments here are complete, for the time being. Looks like he wants to chase down that deserter Gast."
Vincent found himself hoisted up by a superhuman strength. The frail looking scientist lifted the heavy Turk as if he were a sack of potatoes, all the while continuing his end of the conversation.
"You should thank me you know? I took the liberty of filing a death certificate and cleaning out your room for you." Hojo said casually as he made his way down the dirt tunnel.
Vincent froze, mind racing, trying to remember where the notebook was last placed.
"I'm a bit disappointed in you, Vincent. I didn't think you to be the kind to keep a diary."
Vincent's heart nearly stopped. Did Hojo know? What would happen if the scientist knew everything to come? It would only speed up the end of the world, of that he was sure. But the scientist kept rambling, not noticing the man's inner turmoil.
"Feelings are weak, Vincent my boy. I'd have sooner burned such a thing. But I imagined you might cry." Hojo chuckled at his little jibe. "I'll tuck your precious little diary somewhere. Maybe if you ever wake from stasis, you can angst all you want about our little adventures."
As Vincent was deposited in the coffin that served as a stasis chamber, Hojo continued as he set things up nearby.
"Nevertheless, you've been too much of a problem to keep around, as fun as that would be. Don't think I didn't notice all those looks you gave me during the duration of the project. I can't have you running back to Midgar to ruin things in some half-assed attempt at revenge."
The madman spoke one last thing to the paralyzed gunman.
"I envy you, you know? Perhaps by the time you wake, it'll be a whole new world with a stronger race dominating the Planet."
With that, the lid was shut and Vincent was left in the darkness; left alone to his own thoughts.
He had failed.
Events were now on track for Meteor. Even though both he and Lucrecia had the knowledge of things to come, they had utterly failed to prevent the outcome.
What would become of the easy-going woman now?
His head was growing hazy from the chemicals now being pumped into the stasis chamber. Vincent realized, as his consciousness was slipping away, that changing the future was going to be an impossibly difficult task. If he wanted to prevent any of it, especially his own fate, he would need to try harder.
Much, much, harder…
…
A/N: Once again nicely fleshing out the chapter. I changed a few minor details that I found were problematic with the original story. Apparently, at age fifteen, I wasn't one for poring over story flow and looking out for plot holes. Hopefully, now I've addressed most of them.
…
Omake 2:
"What are you going to name him?" Vincent questioned the tired Lucrecia.
The woman grinned sleepily.
"I think I'll call him Cloud."
Vincent blinked.
"Huh?"
…
Years later it would be a confusing scenario where Cloud chased after Cloud who was threatening to destroy the world only to discover that Cloud was manipulating Cloud and that Cloud was probably a clone of Cloud. It turned out that Cloud wanted Cloud dead because Cloud burned down Cloud's village and killed Cloud's mother under the orders of Cloud's Mother.
Needless to say, Vincent was not very amused.