Anne: Hi all. Once again thank you for the favs, alerts, and reviews. It is greatly appreciated. I know it is the Valentine Season, but in the story it is August Year 2000 (or 0000 depending on the source). It looks like my updates is a chapter every 14 days. I'll try to keep up the pattern. This chapter will have two OC characters; would like opinions on them. Or should I say one (you should know which I mean when you read.).

Review Responses:

Lady of Muses: Once again thanks for all you're help. A Pm of this chapter's errors will be appreciated.

Minoki: Glad you found my story. Hope it lives to expectations.

Amon2: heh read and see. It is work in progress between them two since this is going to be a long story.

Lilia: ^ ^ another Chaos fan. He is so much fun.

Yuien: Hojo is always a bastard. Sephiroth will find out in this chapter funny enough.

Thunderstorm101: Yeah, Hojo isn't worth keeping around for long periods of time. I find it depressing how easy it is for me to get in character with him. I'm soo messed up. Anywho set up is good, but the President of Shinra...well you'll see.

Chapter 3: Questions

Vincent rejoin the Turks in the cafeteria. The day went by quickly and rather uneventful, which he appreciated since Hojo's demise had cause some stress to his mind. He wondered if he framed it right and how great of a sin it would be. It would be a sin to let the man live, but he was Lucrecia's husband. Then there was Chaos who was only half satisfied with that man's death. The demon wanted out and the gunman didn't mind, but he didn't want anyone to see or know about the demon. He was in a bind.

It became time to retire. He discovered that he would sleep in the Turk rooms of Shinra's building. He would be between Reno's and Rude's room for surveillance reasons. The room was nice and plain. It was similar to a room he had in his early Turk days. It had a wooden desk, dresser, nightstand, a small closet and bathroom. Of course, a twin size bed was near a small window: too small to crawl through, once again for security reasons.

He vaguely remembered the redhead mentioning they had gotten some clothes for him. Opening the dresser, he found some nice simple clothes. Rude must of picked them out because Reno would of gotten something bright and colorful. The gunman slipped out of his current attire and into a simple black button up shirt and black sweats. He was careful to make sure his gauntlet to not rip any of the new clothes. He laid upon the bed musing if he could request different color sheets. White reminded him too much of the labs. With a sigh he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and thought about Sephiroth. He must have gone through a lot with Hojo. Vincent felt he must help the boy in anyway he could. He just wasn't sure how much to tell him and how soon. I guess I'll just have to get to know him and work from there. We don't have to be involved with your lover's son. Hojo's gone. He should be fine now. The host sighed. What's the problem now? You know he has his blood as well as your precious Lucrecia's. He didn't feel up to arguing with Chaos tonight. Good night. He thought firmly. Fine, but this conservation isn't over. Red eyes closed as he let sleep over take him.

Sephiroth spent his evening on his laptop digging up anything he could find on Valentine. He started with his Turk record. It described him as unsocial, cold, quiet, and to the point. He was agile and precise. His shooting skills made him legendary. He never failed an assignment. That is until he went missing doing a simple bodyguard mission. He was of course listed now as reinstated, but it kept the information of him being missing in action for over 20 years. It surprised him that he was to guard a scientist named Lucrecia Crescent. Obviously; his previous conclusion was wrong. The question remained why did Valentine care for the woman. He knew Turk's don't assign them to any missions that could be of personal interest. They were strict about such things. The only conclusion for a cold quiet man who isn't know for being sociable to act in such a way was love. He was in love with her.

The swordsman did a quick side search on Lucrecia, which brought up her earlier workings with Grimore Valentine, father of Vincent Valentine. There was a lab accident that resulted in Grimore's death. It also mention her working on the Jenova Project with Hojo. Jenova...he would have to look that up later.

Sephiroth went back to Valentine and search through Hojo's personal records, which brought up the Chaos Project. It was quite large. He decided to print out the reports and watch the videos later. He didn't plan to stay up all night on this project though it did intrigue him. He had plenty of time, so no need to rush. This definitely would keep him occupied.

He could hear whispers of someone anxiously trying to get his attention, but never loud enough to understand. Whenever he was near the gunman they stopped whispering. Why they stopped he didn't know. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

It seemed that his mornings were always going to be stressful despite Hojo's death. Another memory of the past when he first change forms: the lost of control and the voices. Vincent shivered as he swiftly change into his usual attire. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the other clothes. It just these ones worked with his metal arm better.

He walked out of his room and turned to Rude's door. Something told him Reno would still be asleep. Lightly the gunman rapped the door with his claw. He could hear the heavy footsteps to the door. The bald Turk open the door and moved to the side to welcome him in. Vincent glided in and heard a murmur from the other, "Have a seat."

That was the only sign he had that the Turk was still half asleep despite being dressed perfectly to code. Vincent took a seat as instructed and watched the other bring coffee and toast to the table. He felt bad for intruding. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't realize it was too early."

Rude stared a moment before shrugging with a more coherent response, "It doesn't matter."

With a suppress sigh, the gunman went over his thoughts. He left the room because he didn't want to muse too much on Shinra's response to Hojo's demise. There wasn't any books to read in the room and he was sure they wouldn't appreciate him wandering the hallways. So, he came here to avoid the haunting memories. Not to mention the current issues besides Hojo's death. Chaos needed some freedom and he needed to deal with Sephiroth. The demon though protested any thoughts on the matter. A small noise of a plate being nudged towards him stopped his thoughts. He glanced at the plate that had toast. He faintly heard the dark skin Turk ask, "Want some?"

"Thank you," escaped quietly from the pale man's lips. He mechanically began to eat. A minute later, the door slammed open with a "Yo" from the arriving redhead. He sat down on the chair, if one called leaning across sitting. "Where's mine?"

A smile tugged at his partner's lips as he pointed towards the kitchen counter. Reno's smirk dropped, "Ya ain't going to get it for me?" The other just rolled his eyes. "Fine," Reno sniffed, "I see how you treat guests yo." He stalked into the kitchen taking a large helping of toast and jam before lounging in the chair again.

Breakfast concluded swiftly and in no time they entered the Turk offices where Tseng was awaiting. His expression was stern; Vincent knew what was coming next. "Vincent," the head Turk stated as two men walked out of Tseng's office, "They would like to talk with you."

That wasn't what the gunman expected. The Turks were in charge of investigations even when it involved other Turks. At least it was that way in his day. Now, a soldier and doctor stood before him. He could feel his insides twist at the sight of the white coat though his face stayed void of emotion. "This way, Mr. Valentine," the doctor directed.

The pale man followed them out though he could hear Reno harassing his boss for answers. Down the hall they went and stopped at the Turk interrogation rooms. The Soldier held the door for him, the suspect. Suppressing a sigh, the reinstated Turk took a seat in the far chair. Any Turk would recognize the setup. Two chairs set across one another with a table in between. He patiently awaited for them to break the silence. The doctor placed himself in the other chair, while the soldier stood by the closed door. "I am Doctor Renault and this here is first class soldier Kraden Hues. We have some questions for you."

Vincent resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just nodded firmly. Renault continued, "Yesterday, you came back from your mission and reported to Doctor Hojo, correct?" He nodded again. "When did you leave?"

Vincent knew that Hojo died around 12:15 pm and he rejoin the Turks around 12:25 pm. He responded, "around 12:10. May I ask why I am being interrogated?"

The soldier frowned, while the other answered, "Hojo is dead and you are the last to have contact with him since he died 12:17. Did anyone witness you leave?"

"Just Hojo as far as I know."

"You didn't like Hojo," interjected Kraden.

"Few do," he replied cryptically. He was going say no one does, but Lucrecia popped into his mind.

Renault seemed to pondering when he asked, "Could you put your hands on the table?"

Vincent mentally winced, but did as requested. His glove hand came up first then his golden gauntlet clicked against the table as it was set down. The soldier's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. The other seem complacent and moved on, "Does it come off?"

"Not that I know of," he replied stiffly.

Kraden exclaimed, "That looks like a claw he could of-"

The doctor silenced him with a single raised hand. "We'll need to make a mold of that." Vincent nodded when the door suddenly opened. He was sure the soldier locked it. Everyone stared in surprise at the unexpected guest, Sephiroth. His face seemed to be his usual stern general, except his eyes seem to have a strange glimmer.

"I had heard you were questioning Mr. Valentine. I came to testify I saw him leave Hojo's laboratory at 12:12 yesterday."

Renault questioned, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay," the doctor continued, "I still need to take a mold of his arm just in case."

Green eyes slid from the doctor to the golden claw. He nodded once. Somehow Sephiroth took the other soldier's place and came along to get the gunman's arm molded.

The doctor lead them to the 4th floor to his office. He tapped on a chair hinting for the man to sit. Vincent complied and watched the other gather up supplies. Within ten minutes they had his arm molded to Renault's satisfaction. The gunman was glad it was over with. He was tired of those green eyes studying him. As he was leaving, he realize Sephiroth was following. He stopped and faced the general. Red eyes met the analyzing green ones. Vincent questioned, "did you want something?"

He couldn't understand the other's actions. There was no way I left at 12:12. So, he either is trying to cover me or blackmail me. If he did see then why is he covering me? And how much did he see? It was probably just the aftermath. But why? Sephiroth's lips turned up into a smirk. "Yes, but we can talk later. For now rejoin your Turks."

With a slight nod, Vincent quickly left the over sterile environment and the staring mako green eyes. He felt like his secrets were laid out to be read. Your letting him order you around! Suppressing a sigh, the gunman pressed the 7th button of the elevator. Let's just call it a mutual favor that buys us time.

Sephiroth watched the elevator doors closed before walking back into Renault's office. He observed the doctor studying the mold. "Do you think it can come off?"

The man didn't bother to glance at him as he commented, "By it's weight, I would say yes. By design, I'm not so sure. If it does, my brother sure didn't want it to unless absolutely necessary."

Sephiroth couldn't help, but to smile. He remembered when he first heard Renault was Hojo's brother. He wouldn't trust the man and was overly cautious. Now that he knew him, it was hard to believe they were related in any way, shape, or form. The man may not be the genius Hojo was, but he was definitely several ranks higher than the other doctors. He could figure out Hojo's creations. The swordsman was sure of it. Sephiroth commanded, "Keep me posted."

He was about to leave when Renault asked, "Interested in Valentine? Is it because he is an experiment of Hojo's? Or is it something else?"

A smile touched the general's lips as he subtly avoided the question. "Observant as usual, dear Uncle."

"Just like I noticed Valentine was nervous to be around a doctor. Of course who wouldn't be after being Hojo's pet project for a year or two. Which reminds me if you have access to Hojo's files, can I take a look?"

Sephiroth stiffened slightly. As he asked, "Feel the need to fix Hojo's damage?"

"Sometimes, I wonder which of us is more observant." The doctor sighed as he rubbed his thumb against the mold. Dark eyes trying to understand the mechanics.

"I'll show you them in portions. You really shouldn't look at everything. It will overwhelm a good doctor such as yourself," the general informed.

Renault turned suddenly to face the swordsman. His blackish eyes concentrated the other's green ones. "Can I ask you something?"

"Technically, you already have." Sephiroth smirked as he continued, "So ask."

"Did you kill Hojo? Or did Valentine kill him?"

"I believe the beasts did," he answered honestly. After all a demon is a beast.

"I see," replied the other. His eyes turned back to the project before him. "I'll keep you updated, Sephiroth."

The swordsman hesitated before asking, "...Was Hojo married?"

The doctor turned to the man in surprise. Sephiroth hardly ever asked anything about his father. Not that he could really blame him. Hojo never really treated the boy as his son; the only mercy Hojo had for him was not testing his healing abilities or amounts of strange liquids to inject into him. Renault was sure the scientist tested these things on other subjects, so his son could be the perfect experiment with little to no testing. Maybe Sephiroth actually wants to know about his mother? I don't know who is his mother. "Once," he responded belatedly, "He didn't really announce it or say who he was going to marry."

"I see." That ended the conservation with the general leaving the doctor to ponder.

Vincent reached the cafeteria. The whispers were worse than usual with Hojo's death. People already heard about him being questioned. He blocked out the chatter and gather a small, but sufficient meal. His crimson eyes spotted Reno and Rude. They were sitting with Zack and some blonde dressed in an expensive white suit. He cautiously sat down between the Turks. The redhead smirked as he teasingly asked, "So they released you from 20 questions, eh?"

"It wasn't 20," the gunman stated with a hint of a smirk.

The other chuckled as he stated, "And they say you don't have a sense of humor."

"So," the blonde drawled, "This is the man that the Turks admire so much."

Vincent sternly watched the boy. He seemed familiar, but he wasn't sure why or how. The boy was obviously born during his long sleep. He asked stiffly, "and you are?"

"My apologizes, I forget you've been out of touch. I'm Rufus Shinra." He held out his hand to Vincnet who just looked at it strangely.

Reno leans over and whispered, "Don't ya know you're suppose to shake it?"

The gunman blinked before doing so hesitantly. It wasn't that he didn't know about handshakes; it was the fact the boy was the president's son. The president never seemed to like him for some reason. He couldn't help feeling uneasy with the boy. He slowly commented, "I didn't realize Seneca got married."

"Funny enough," Reno interjected, "That was right after your disappearance."

"Though she died from child birth," Rufus added, "I didn't think anyone would dare call my father by his name." His blue eyes watched the red ones with interest.

"He never did like me much," Vincent replied nonchalant, "And I didn't care either way."

The boy seemed to absorb this information with a smile, while Zack seemed stiff. He was like a puppy not wanting to make the wrong move and be punished. His expression though suddenly brighten as he yelled, "Angie, Seph, over here!"

The gunman watched Sephiroth and another first class Soldier sit down. The black hair Soldier sat by Zack who looked thoroughly pleased. He quickly said hellos to everyone. To Rufus he commented, "I see Mr. Shinra let you come back."

With an indignant snort, "School was easy. Since I graduated with honors, he had no choice."

The Soldier nodded before turning his attentions to the gunman. "You must be Vincent Valentine of the Turks. It's nice to meet you. I'm Angeal." He held out his left hand, which meant he was suppose to shake with his left. He bit his bottom lip thinking. They already molded his claw. Coming to a decision, he carefully shook the others hand with his golden gauntlet. Angeal looked surprised along with the rest of the table. The Turks knew about it, but it tend to slip their mind since Vincent hid it all the time. Sephiroth was the only one who didn't seem surprised, just deep in thought.

Rufus muttered, "So that's why you were a suspect."

The gunman just shrugged as he slide his arm back under his cloak and continued to eat. Zack's curiosity finally got the better of him as well as a need to end the uncomfortable silence. "Does it hurt?"

"No," the gunman responded. His brows furrow in thought. It never had hurt now that he thought of it. Maybe at that time he didn't care or was it the fact that he was unconscious for that portion of the experiment? He wasn't sure. He never really thought about it. It only caused him emotional pain and readjustment from using his left hand to his right.

"Can I touch it?"

Vincent rolled his eyes. He knew he could refuse, but then the boy would pester him about it. He was sure about it from the conservations he had heard about the young Soldier. He brought the claw back up onto the table. He warned the boy, "It's sharp."

Zack carefully touched the metal with his fingers. A smile was plain to see on his face. Rufus and Reno join in, while Vincent leaned his head against his right hand. He just watch the others study his arm in fascination. It was interesting piece when it wasn't attach to you 24/7. Sephiroth's gloved hand traced the metal fingers and points. That made his crimson eyes focus on the general. His green eyes were solely focus on the man's arm with a small smile pulling at the general's lips. Vincent was beginning to feel uncomfortable with all the attentions on his arm. He gently pulled away his arm from the others. Rufus used the moment to dismiss himself. "It was a pleasure to see you all, but business calls."

Soldiers and Turks were finished with their meal as well and left in their groups. Vincent was surprised that Sephiroth didn't make an effort to talk with him, but it just meant more time to figure things out.

The rest of the day went by swiftly and the gunman retired for the night. He awoke when he heard the door unlock. He grabbed his trusted gun, Quicksilver, and pointed it at the door. The door opened to reveal silver hair and glowing green eyes. What the...? "Sephiroth," his voice dryly asked, "What are you doing here?"

The general chuckled, "I told you we'll talk later." With a sigh, Vincent set the gun back on the nightstand and sat up against the bed frame. Crimson eyes watched the other quickly analyzing the room before seating himself on the bed. He wished he was in his usual attire rather than the button up shirt and sweatpants. He felt rather exposed without the cloak covering his face. He kept his face devoid of emotion and awaited for the general to begin. "I saw you kill Hojo."

Vincent didn't respond pondering whether that meant the entire thing or just the aftermath. Sephiroth frowned as he try to encourage a response, "You became a demon."

The gunman could hear Chaos growling. "I see," he said flatly, "and you're telling me this because?"

Green eyes studied him. "I was curious about it. I hear it is called Chaos."

"Yes that is his name," the Turk responded ignoring the demon's angry chatter.

"Are you separate beings or is it a case of multiple personalities?" A smile found it's way back onto the general's face.

Vincent winced trying to keep the demon in control. Let me show him what I am. No! Be patient, he doesn't know. He should. "He is separate from me," he replied tiredly, "and he doesn't like the implications of your statement."

Sephiroth's curiosity was piqued. "So he is talking with you right now and can hear everything that I say?"

"Yes," the gunman said exasperatedly.

"There are more than one demon isn't there? After all, Chaos did say 'demons'."

Stupid observant brat! "Four," he informed since there was really no point in lying about it, "three weaker beasts and Chaos who is a sentient being."

"Interesting," the swordsman commented despite already knowing about them from his earlier readings on the Turk. He wanted to double check since he didn't completely trust Hojo's reports. Not to mention, he wanted to see how much the man would talk.

The gunman was truly interesting with his demons and experiences with the madman. He found out the man was a favorite test subject of Hojo. If the scientist wasn't sure about anything, he would try it on Valentine first. He wasn't sure if it was because the madman hated Valentine or if it was the Turk's resilience to the procedures the scientist constantly put him through. Hojo had a tendency to kill off his test subjects on a regular basis. Either way, the pale man before him was fascinating to observe. He had an ethereal beauty to him and a strange grace. Not to forget the fact that the voices stopped whispering when the general was near Valentine.

They had a connection of sorts. The general knew that Hojo would use the gunman to test mako dosages and such before giving it to himself. In a sense, he was spared from a worse life as a test subject and became a precious experiment. On the other side, the Turk knew who Sephiroth's mother was. This led the swordsman to ask, "Earlier, when we first met, you mention that I looked like my mother. Who is she?"

Vincent's demeanor change from cautious and stiff to sad and regretful. "Lucrecia... Lucrecia Crescent was your mother. She passed away shortly after giving birth to you." He vividly remembered the day Hojo informed him from Lucrecia's passing. He wanted to know more, but the scientist wouldn't say anything more than it was the Turk's fault that she died.

The general had a feeling that would be the answer, but it didn't sit well with him. The idea that both of his parents were scientists was not comforting. He would have to do more research on her. Vincent's low voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Are you upset with his death?"

Sephiroth's green eyes widen as he stare at the other in stunned silence. Within a few seconds, he stammered, "Wha... w-why would I be? The man may have been my father, but I had planned to kill him myself." The gunman watched in slight amusement as the swordsman continued to babble. "Of course, I am slightly disappointed that I didn't get to do it myself. None the less, he is out of the way, so I don't have to worry about him messing with my Soldiers."

A smile touched the gunman's lips. He cares for his Soldiers. He just wants an able army instead of a dead one. You always doubt him. He is too interested in us. I don't like that. Sephiroth frowned slightly at his slip of tongue. See, he was caught of guard. Hmph. "I better let you get some rest," commented the swordsman who got off the bed and was now at the door. "Goodnight...Vincent."

With that he closed the door behind him. Vincent swiftly locked the door and collapsed back onto the bed. He shifted trying to let sleep overtake him.