*Reposted with some fixes. Sorry for errors I've had little time to write*
A/N: Another chapter done. I'm slowly revealing the elements. As usual THANK YOU for all the Reviews, Watches, and Favs. And of course thank you for your continuous read and support. Anywho review replies.
Sinfulseraph: I didn't really think of that too much, mainly due to the character's personality. You'll see more of him later..
Yuien: Glad I don't have too many errors. It was a nice idea, but for later. I need a certain development out of the way first.
Whatevergirl: Yeah, my stories tend to have a life of their own. This chapter is a strong proof of that since it wasn't in the original concept at all. Chaos is fun and always has his reasons.
Amon2: Genesis will be making his appearance soon. You'll get a bit of contact with him in the next chapter.
Chapter 7: Viridis and Injury
His vision was blurred. Things would flicker in and out of clarity. Vincent was laying on the operation table drained of his energy and barely conscious. In the corner of his vision he could see a lab coat with blood splattered across it. He could hear Hojo's grating voice, "His sample should serve the project well."
Another voice that was quite familiar, but couldn't quite place asked, "You're sure? He seems quite weak to me."
Another lab coat without any blemishes wandered into his vision when he felt a soft yet callused hand touch his cheek pulling his face away from the lab coats. His vision blurred a moment before focusing onto the face before him. Green eyes that were more yellow based than Sephiroth's eyes stared at him. He was the man at the base, but he looked the same age despite how many years this was in the past. His voice stated soft yet firmly, "He's strong. His sample should survive the experiment without trouble."
The familiar scientist's voice sighed, "We'll see. The others failed before birth."
Hojo snapped, "Just do it and I also have more instructions on Project W...how is Project W?"
"Going as you have instructed," the green eyed man commented.
He was thoroughly ignored and the scientists began to discuss in hush voice. Vincent strained to listen, but his body was too weak as well as his senses. It was disturbing how green eyes studied his face so closely. His own crimson eyes were barely opened and had trouble focusing. He could feel the man's fingers trace his face and lingered on his dry lips. Suddenly the scientist angrily asked, "Why don't you work on Project W yourself?"
Hojo replied harshly, "I have the more important Jenova Project to work on."
The green eyes flickered towards the voices before back down on Vincent's face. His fingers trailed down the Turk's neck and stopped at the collar bone when Hojo's voice stated, "I'm testing the dosage on him first. Anyways I believe you two should be going now."
The man hmmed as he moved his hands away and disappeared from his limited view. Hojo was muttering under his breath about incompetent fools before all went to black.
Vincent awaken disturbed. It wasn't like his usual nightmares. Not to forget the fact that man was in it that was very curious. Chaos? I don't have any recollection of such events. Either your mind created such a dream or a time when I was not active. Though... … What? Nothing, just thinking. If I come up with anything, I'll let you know. Chaos presence dimmed in his mind. It was odd. Almost like he was hiding something. He honestly wasn't sure how to take the dream, but he was positive that man wasn't like normal Soldiers maybe something like Sephiroth or himself.
To set himself away from lingering thoughts of the dream, he glanced over at his sleeping companion. Sephiroth was still asleep. He definitely inherited Lucrecia's beauty. The only thing of Hojo he could see in the boy was his angular face, but that was just a mere hint barely worth noting. It was a phenomena that scientists couldn't control.
Deciding there was much to accomplish. He quietly pulled his clothes over and switched his pants. He began to carefully unbuttoning his shirt. It always took a frustrating amount of time one handed. He was slowly getting better at it. The sound of the Sephiroth shifting caused crimson eyes to meet very awake green ones. He mentally winced at the face he was almost finished unbuttoning therefore his pale skin and scars would be hard to miss. He took a short deep breath as he mentally lectured himself. I have to get used to my appearance. It might as well be sooner... ...and with someone who could understand. He still wasn't comfortable, especially when the emerald eyes widen in surprise. In hopes of stopping the stare he stated, "Good morning, Sephiroth."
He disrobed his shirt being careful with his golden gauntlet. The general suddenly moved to is side helping him take off the sleeve without damaging it. The Turk carefully studied the man's neutral face trying to understand his thoughts. The only thing that hint any emotion was his eyes, which seemed to have a myriad of emotions hidden such as troubled, pleased, and others he couldn't read. Very conflicting feelings the swordsman seemed to have.
He stopped his silent study when Sephiroth's hand strayed to touch him. The Turk quickly caught the other's wrists and stated without much thought, "Don't touch."
The general glanced at him with concern, "Do they still hurt?"
Vincent knew his reaction was strange to the other. It was honestly hard to concentrate since Chaos decided to make his presence known. Chase him away. He is too close as it is. He was glad that his demon wasn't commanding him to kill him anymore, but he still seem to despise Sephiroth. He knew the demon could care less about his scars, but he reacted because his host was troubled by them. He could hear Chaos growl in frustration knowing that the Turk wasn't planning on shooing the general away. He answered carefully as he pulled his black leather shirt close, "Not physically, it's just...ment- it is too fresh on my mind."
Sephiroth knew what the man was saying. He remember one of the last notes on the man The coffin specifically designed to force the Turk's body to be asleep, but mind awake to relive his darkest thoughts and fears. It was an amazing the man before him had as much sanity and confidence as he did.
He glanced at the pale an whose eyes were focus on a random spot on the ground. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to regain control of his emotions. His face wasn't really expressing much besides frustration. It was nice though that he was seeing this side that the Turk took painful leaps to hide. In both want to feel skin and to settle the man, the swordsman carefully put his hands on the other's face making them look eye to eye. He stated soothingly, "It's okay. I'll just help you with your attire."
He took the black shirt from the gunman's lap and carefully pulled the sleeves on and buttoned the shirt swiftly. As much as he wanted to study the other's scarred skin, it would have to be another time when the Turk was more comfortable. This though was progress and he could wait as long as there was progress. Vincent seemed to have regain his composure. As he pulled his cloak on and fastened the buckles he murmured, "Thank you."
A smile touched Sephiroth's lips as he stated, "Anytime." Knowing there was much to complete today he pulled on his clothes swiftly. They left the tent and joined in the quick breakfast. In no time, Sephiroth and Angeal was dividing the Soldiers into three groups. The general had the majority of the Soldiers, Angeal had a smaller amount that included Zack and Cloud, and Vincent got ten people. He was glad for the smaller number. The groups began to separated out. The First left with his to set up a camp point for the injured before beginning the pincer attack. Vincent was about to leave with his ten when the general tapped his shoulder. As he turned to face him the general stated, "Be careful."
The Turk rolled his eyes as he informed the other, "You're the one in the danger zone. So be careful as well."
The other had one of his secretive smiles as he stated, "Always."
The general began to rally up his troop as the gunman signaled for his group to come with him. His group followed him into the forest. Once they were a good distance from the main group, Vincent stopped and turned. "Our group is crucial to pull this off. We'll have two groups. Once that will mess with the radars and other devices of the base. The other will set up bombs to be denoted at the beginning of the battle. Once the first set of objectives are completed we will regroup to infiltrate the base carefully. I don't want any causalities, understood?"
"Yes sir," they replied in unison.
The Turk sighed, "It's Vincent, not sir. Everyone has their communicators correct?" There were nods, "Set them to 511."
They were complying, but one asked, "Why 511? It isn't any of the standard Soldier presets."
"Exactly. We are dealing with an enemy that knows our standard actions, sow we're going to be unconventional. Now we have two squad leaders, Trey and Nicolas." The two stepped forward. One just asked the question, while the other was the squad leader from the knife throw incident. "Trey, you're in charge of explosives. Nicolas, you are to subtly disrupted their signals and such. George, Seth, Zan, and Bill are to be with Trey. The rest of you are in Nicolas's group."
"What about you, s-Vincent?" Trey asked.
"I will be about helping your groups as needed," he replied simply.
With a nod they set out towards the base. It wasn't very far. Once they were in the area, he pointed out weak points to the squad leaders. Nicolas's group already messed with the enemy's radar and was setting up bigger disruptions for later. Trey and his group set up explosives in key areas. They all moved carefully to avoid the attention of the guards. The Turk switched back and forth between the groups helping things along. Something though felt off. He couldn't figure out what it was. The enemy haven't noticed them yet, so all should be well. He studied the enemies movements more closely. They were all watching for signs for Soldiers, but their fingers were on the triggers. All the enemies looked ready to attack on sight. His instinct told him the green eyed man had spotted him earlier. The enemy stiffened, the gunman looked up to notice Sephiroth and his army right on time. He had to change the plan. Before the enemy was within firing range, Vincent murmured into the headset, "Now."
The teams complied even though they thought it was too soon. It set off a series of explosions catching the enemy off guard. Key power grids were cut such as the security, defense, and weapons. Sephiroth and his troops seemed to march quickly into the chaos. Angeal attacked from the side earlier then originally planned upon seeing the explosions.
The plan was working despite the change. Enemy numbers have been cut down and forced to fight defensively. Vincent talked into the headset, "Meet at South side 2nd entrance."
The gunman jumped down from the third floor roof to second. Since most of the guards had wander off due to the attack, he was able to eliminate the remaining swiftly with his Quicksilver. It was an entrance for those on break to get feel of nature and the outside without risking the security of the base. Of course, the Turk made sure his team had equipment to climb the wall and with the guards now eliminated it would be an easy climb. Within a few minutes, all ten gathered by the entrance. The gunman explained, "We're going to take control of the base from the inside. Most should be busy due to the attack. But be cautious."
They entered the base swiftly and traversed the hallways carefully taking down any enemies they saw. He had Nicolas's team head up for the control panel while Trey's will head down to the lower levels to help the main groups. Vincent trailed Nicolas figuring they would have the most trouble. There were surprisingly few people in the way, but the Turk felt like this was a trap.
They entered a medium size hallway when gunshots were fired. The gunman moved faster than his comrades could to deflect the oncoming bullets with his metal arm. Due to the number of bullets he had one glaze past his arm and another bury itself into his upper arm. Nicolas watched in surprised, while the others were still trying to comprehend what just happened. He didn't pay much attention to their reactions; he was focus on the man who calmly walked out of the shadows with a smile on his face and a gunsword in hand "Well," the voice that was exactly the same as the dream, "if it isn't the one and only Vincent Valentine."
His crimson eyes met the man's green ones. He whispered to Nicolas, "Take the stairs to the left. I'll keep him occupied."
He could sense the boy wished to argue, but he didn't and complied with the order. He carefully watched the man as the others went upstairs. The man did not even try to go for the soldiers. His posture was relaxed as he stated, "I always knew you would be the the first to disrupt our plans, but they didn't listen." His eyes for the first time strayed from the Turk watching the last Soldier head up out of sight. "Now that they are out of the way shall we talk?"
Vincent had his quicksilver drawn, but pointed down like the other's gunblade. He asked, "How do you know me? Who are you?"
The man smiled, "I'm not surprised that you don't remember me after all we never met when you were... coherent. I'm Viridis. I would rather not fight you, Vincent. I believe you should join us."
His eyes narrowed. He was surprise how silent Chaos was being. It was odd, especially since he was making a proposition. The demon had been odd ever since that dream. He stated flatly, "Why would I do that? I don't even know who 'us' is."
"A pity, but I don't really have the time to explain. You can come with me willingly or I will take you anyways. So which will it be?"
This seemed to finally stir a reaction from the demon. Let me handle this, Vincent. I will show him he isn't in a position to make such decisions. The host frowned in thought. He was sure if he trusted the demon on this. He was acting rather strange. No, Soldiers are too close. I can handle this. Chaos growled and tried to force his way out. The gunman winced as he strained to push him back. He could see Viridis looked concerned, but that didn't stop the Turk from raising his gun to fire.
The man dodged. He was quick probably as fast as Sephiroth. Forcing the demon into the back corner of his mind, the Turk barely blocked the incoming sword strike with his claw. The man was obviously better at close quarters making the gunman on the defensive side. Once Chaos was more subdued, he began to use his speed to try to get a hit in. They both moved swiftly trying to catch the other off guard. Vincent knew he was running out of time. His arm stung with the bullet that was still inside his arm and Viridis was making sure he didn't have a chance to raise gun. He decided there was only one way to catch the other off guard. When the man swung his sword, the Turk purposely let it sink into his upper arm. He only had a moment before the other would pull out the sword; he fired three shots into the man's abdomen.
The other had pulled his sword free and was using it as support. His left hand covering the wound. He heard a rather cheerful chuckle before the man stated, "I never expected you to injury yourself in order to attack me. I underestimated you..."
His green eyes glowed. The gunman swiftly fired more shots only for it to hit a shield. He cursed under his breath, he should of realize the man had materia. Viridis smiled as he activated his transport materia. "I'll see you later, Vincent."
With that he was gone, the Turk was about to holster his gun when he heard someone approaching. He turned with gun pointed at the stairway, but he promptly put it away when he realize it was one of his teammates. The purple eyed boy asked, "Are you alright?"
"Fine," the gunman muttered stiffly. His right hand was digging into his wound seeking the bullet. Once he had a firm grip on it he pulled it out and tossed it aside. "Where is Nicolas?"
The Soldier replied promptly, "He is control of the main computer room now. He only needs Ray with him, so I'm the squad leader of the other two."
"You're Heath, right?" The boy nodded and Vincent continued, "Alright then come with me."
He led this group towards the main floor. They were technically still on the second floor, but there were stairs leading down to the open room. It was large and it seemed to be the center of the battlefield. He could easily spot Soldiers from the enemy, so far the Soldiers had the upper hand. He signaled Heath to join with the Soldiers of the battlefield. He moved over to the pillars of the second floor studying the scene before him before drawing his gun. The enemy was still trying to win despite the odds. They had snipers set up on the opposite wall 2nd floor. He noticed one was aiming for the general. He swiftly eliminated that sniper with a bullet to the head. He fired two more spots before he quickly reloaded his gun.
His crimson eyes noticed Sephiroth had glanced up and flashed him a smile before returning to his general facade. Vincent blinked at the display that was confident one, but childish. He really wished he knew what the general expected of him and how the man viewed him. Who cares? Especially since he's Hojo's spawn. So you are deciding to be civil again? I was being- grrr. It doesn't matter. He isn't to be trusted. And Viridis is? … … Chaos seemed to refuse to answer anything to do with that man.
He turned swiftly when he heard someone approaching him from behind. He found himself face to face with a First. He recognized him being the Soldier from questioning. To confirmed he asked, "You're Kraden, rig-" He raised his golden gauntlet just in time to block the sword. He informed the First flatly, "I'm on your side."
The Soldier smiled evilly as he stated, "Who said I'm on that side."
He blocked another strike. If he didn't heal as fast as he did he wouldn't have been able to block any attacks, but his wound was still there and bleeding. He was in trouble. Kraden was stronger, while he was injured, and had very little space to maneuver in. The Soldier kept striking without a pause keeping the Turk defensive. The gunman squeezed the trigger to injury the other's foot, but he didn't even react. Are the boots made out of metal instead of leather?
He blocked the next set of attacks slowly backing up. The railing was within a foot of him now. The Soldier seemed to be impatient. He struck the claw to the left side and drew his second blade to strike out with. Vincent barely blocked it with his gun. He fired it into the man's arm, which made him drop the second blade. The Soldier brought the other sword inward cutting into the gunman's side. Kraden smiled victoriously, but it was soon dropped as bullets were fired. The Turk shot the other several more times in the other arm, legs and upper chest. He purposely avoided the man's vitals. The Soldier fell upon the floor in a heap for his legs couldn't support him with those wounds. The sword clattered upon the floor along with some blood. He could faintly hear the Soldier muttered, "Monster."
Vincent leaned against the railing. His crimson eyes focused on the injured First to be sure he wouldn't attempt to escape. He knew further battle would be bad for him for he was already light headed from the wound. He almost didn't notice Sephiroth approaching him. His red eyes meet the familiar green ones. The Turk kept his face expressionless as usual as he stated stiffly, "Kraden here probably knows something about the strange attacks. It seems to be an inside job."
The general frowned when he looked down upon his fellow First before turning his gaze back the the gunman with a smile on. "Thanks for keeping him alive. We'll be able to get a lot out of him."
He placed his hand on the other's shoulder. Vincent visible winced before quickly composing his face neutral. The swordsman's smile disappeared. He wanted to tear apart the injured First, so there was nothing left for hurting his pale beauty. That would have to come later after someone else gets information from him. He should of realize there was too much blood to be from the other alone. The general noticed the second wound which was upon his side. He stated despite it being obvious, "You're badly injured. You need a medic."
Sephiroth placed his arm around the Turk's waist carefully to support the man. He could hear him mutter, "I'm fine."
Why was this man so stubborn? He acted like the injury was something to be ignored as if it wasn't serious or he isn't worth anything. He ignored the Turk's insistence of being fine. He spotted Angeal who just got up the stairs. He walked over with the gunman. "Angeal." The man looked surprise to see the Turk injured. Sephiroth continued, "Question this man here about this terrorist actions." He pointed over to Kraden. "Have Zack and a few others cheek the basement for the prisoners. And have someone check on the base's status."
The First nodded after a moment of hesitation. The general continued to guide the injured man through the door down the short hallway to an elevator. The medical rooms were on the 3rd floor and Angeal already sent Soldiers with medic training up their to treat the injured. He pressed the button trying to be patient. Vincent looked a tad paler than before and his breathing was a bit shallow. It was making him anxious. He almost rushed in when the doors finally open. Luckily he didn't, it was filled with Soldiers who were injured and they were surprised to see their general and the Turk there. "General, the elevator is full, but if you like one or two-"
"No," he stated firmly, "it's fine go on ahead up."
"Yes sir."
With that the doors closed. He knew there were many injured on the first floor waiting to get help. Out of impatience and practicality he lifted Vincent into his arms. He seemed much lighter than he should be. He couldn't suppress the frown of concern, but at least he knew the man was still well with his light struggle. The Turk protested, "I can walk just fine."
"Not up stairs," the general stated in a tone that clearly said 'Don't argue'.
And to his surprised the Turk didn't argue and remained still. The swordsman took stairs two at a time. Reaching the top, he caught a lot of Soldiers staring in surprise. It was not often one would see the general carrying someone yet alone not trying to pass the task to someone else. Sephiroth stalked pass them into the medic rooms. There were people being treated and all seem to glance up at the general before returning to their tasks. A Soldier came over and said, "Set him on the bed there. What is the extend of his injuries?"
Vincent realized the Soldier was Nicolas. Before he could say anything, Sephiroth answered, "His left upper arm is injured and he has a serious wound on his left side. There might be other wounds though."
Vincent frowned slightly as he stated, "It's just the two, but they'll heal."
He was thoroughly ignored as the medic glanced over the wounds. "We need to remove the clothes to treat the wounds."
He was about to touch the cloak when the Turk's head turned swiftly to face him glaring with blood red eyes. Nicolas froze unsure what to do. The general ignored the man's reaction and began to unbuckle the cloak. The gunman's human hand grabbed the other's wrist and hissed, "Don't."
Sephiroth was fed up and stated firmly, "Cooperate or you will be sedated."
He could hear the Turk murmur curses under his breath, but he did release his hold. The swordsman tossed off the cloak and quickly unbuttoned the shirt. He removed it carefully for the wound was sticking too it. He allowed his hands to feel the firm pale skin as he did so.
Nicolas studied the wounds wondering how the Turk manage to stay conscious. He took note of the scarred skin, but wisely didn't comment on it. He began to clean the side wound with antiseptic. The gunman's expression was strain, which told the general it stung. Seeing the claw clenched tightly, he took a hold of Vincent's human hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. The medic paused a moment unsure what to do. The general stated, "Treat him as you would me."
It was his way to imply how much Mako the Turk had in his veins. He could see the other's eyes widen a fraction before nodding. He took out a cure materia casting the spell lightly on the wound before bandaging it. He turned his attentions next to the arm wound. He could tell a bullet had penetrated the skin. He gently probed at the wound. Vincent coldly informed him, "I took the bullet out."
Nicolas suppressed the urge to hide as he disinfected the wound. In no time cure was cast on it and tightly bound. He than picked up a syringe and filled it with something green. Crimson eyes glared at the needle as he asked harshly, "What is that?"
He didn't realize he was squeezing the general's hand. Sephiroth noticed the reaction as the boy explained, "It is antibiotics with Mako to speed up the healing."
"I don't need it," Vincent stated firmly. Nicolas glanced at the general who just confirmed the Turk's no. With a sigh, the medic put it down and said, "Well he should stay here for-"
The Turk's expression darken. "No need," the swordsman replied swiftly, "I'll take him to my quarters."
He lifted the man into his arms. For once the gunman didn't protest as the general carried him away. They went down a hall and and stopped at a door which the general carefully opened. It was kicked closed behind them. Vincent was set upon the bed gently. The Turk muttered quietly, "I would have been fine. It wasn't anything to be concerned about."
"You'll heal faster this way," the general replied promptly.
"Hmm.." His eyelids felt heavy. Maybe my injuries were worse than I thought? No, healing materia always made me a bit sleepy. He quickly fading on the comfortable king size bed. He felt silk sheets being placed on him before darkness took him.