Disclaimer: we all know I don't own anything from FF7 or square-enix/soft. No characters. No locations. No vehicles. No Chocobo. All I own is myself, and I'm not even sure about that one.

Oh well, at least this story's mine. See, I can see the silver lining to every Cloud... :-p

Sorry, couldn't help that one :-p

Don't upset the Lifestream... I want to share the fun too! Wait for meeeeeeeeeee!

Part 1: Watashi no Tenshi.

'…Gone…'

With a final look at the tracks left by a multitude of small feet, Vincent Valentine rose from his crouch. The brothers had taken the children with them. He had no idea for what reason they had subdued them, or what they planned to do with them. Kadaj was a dangerous enemy, more so because of his unpredictability. And his relationship with Shinra was curious, to say the least. Rufus was a wily man, even if he appeared to be incapacitated; appearances were rarely to be taken at face value with him, thanks to special tutelage from Veld. The latter had had a special talent for convoluted plots, counterplots and dissimulation; Vincent had no doubt that his 'qualities' had increased over the years, much like priceless old wine.

Hence, the worst was to be feared as to the fate of the children if there really was a Shinra cooperation in this affair.

…They need your help…

The silent ex-Turk moved his cape aside. He did not know if it was JENOVA whispering her intentions to him. But up to now, it had not misled him.

'…So you're innocent until proven guilty…'

…I am so sorry…

A powerful feeling of anguish and guilt accompanied those words… if this was a living creature, it was in the deepest chasm of despair and remorse. Vincent could understand its emotions as it echoed with his own; in the silent night, the feelings of the dark man and disembodied voice touched and merged, tendrils of pain, despair and torment touching and flowing together, bonding.

'…Why?…'

But it had already left him, fleeing to find solace in darkness and solitude.

Vincent looked at the path before him. Kadaj and the others had been gone for quite some time, but the children were going to impede their progress; they could not be so far ahead. He could catch up with them about half-way out of the Forest. From then, on he would have to shadow them to their final destination.

It was soon clear that they planned to go to Midgar, or Edge, using the newly launched ferry system operated by the World Restauration Organization. Moving undetected at some distance from the group, Vincent let his mind wander and thought again about the mysterious voice; was it really Lucrecia? He longed for this to be true, for it spelled out the hope that she was still out there, hiding. Could she still be in that cave? The last time he had been there, she had disappeared without a trace, leaving behind the Death Penalty and Chaos as her final gifts to him.

He had long wondered where she had gone… if she was still alive. For her, like himself, could not age or die of 'natural causes'. Him because of what Hojo had done to him... and her because of Jenova. They had both cloistered themselves in solitary confinement for thirty years without any resources that normal humans would need to survive; she in fear that she would cause harm to others, him to relive his sins, his nightmares, time and time again to punish himself for his failures.

If it was really her… then the cave was the only place she would go to. It had been her refuge for thirty years; for some reason unknown to him, it had brought her solace. But then, he did not know that much about her; when he had met her in Nibelheim, all that he knew about Professor Lucrecia Crescent was all that was written in the personnel file: she was a Class-A researcher in biotechnology for the Shinra, young, beautiful, single, assistant to Professor Gast in the current project. In fact, her entourage had mainly been a scientific one, the closest being of the same grade as herself. Nothing about her past. That had not bothered the young Turk; everyone had a past and if it was so blatantly missing, it could only mean that hers was an unexceptional one containing what one would expect from the file of a woman who had spent the better part of her life in a classroom of some kind or a laboratory.

The first time they had met, Vincent had been more relaxed that he had been in a long time. Nibelheim… such a beautiful place, so peaceful. That Veld would send him there on 'bodyguard' duty was almost too good to be true; guard a scientist in such a place was almost laughable. Who would attempt on her life here, so far from the unrest growing in the cities? So, he had decided to take it as a holiday of some sort. And the moment he had seen that incredibly beautiful young woman, so odd in her lab-coat… he had had the feeling that fate had sent him here for a reason. His heart has stilled for a moment in eternity and a smile had appeared on his lips involuntarily. Could it be…? Did she feel the same way too?

However, the beautiful young woman had reacted rather strangely upon hearing his name… but after all, she was a scientist, and must have heard of Dr. Grimoire Valentine. Or had she known his father? Had she met him? Many were those who had been surprised within Shinra that the son of such an exalted scientist would choose to work as a Turk, of all things. And his appearance had been partly to blame too.

Vincent knew that he did not look much like his father except for two distinctive characteristics: unruly black hair and ruby eyes. He had inherited his features from his mother, features so delicate as to be bordering dangerously close to prettiness. Had he been a girl, those long lashes, pale complexion and delicately-shaped lips would have been perfect.

But he was a Turk and had to command respect; the young man had been thankful for his father's legacy, for according to him, they saved him from being taken too lightly. Most of the Turks then were grim-faced men whose slightest stare was rumoured to cower a suspect into admitting his crimes. And Veld was the catch-word for 'grim'. As a bid to balance his unfortunate appearance, Vincent had built a reputation of seriousness and coldness. Everyone who had met him had been left with the distinct feeling that appearances were very misleading in some cases, and that no son could be more different from his sire.

The present-day Vincent wondered if things would have turned out differently for them all if he had kept this façade with Lucrecia…

Maybe it would; but given the opportunity to go back in time and change his attitude to his professional one... he would not have done it, if it meant that he would have not had the chance to see her smile, so sweetly, to him... for the very first time, in a halo of light…

His angel.

Author's Notes:

I did some corrections to the earlier chapters; nothing drastic, just corrected grammatical errors and cut out some repetitions. if you find anything strange, just pm me please...

So more of Vincent's past here. I have decided to depict Veld as a VERY cold man- more a machine than a human being. But the young Vincent would have met Veld just after the Kalm incident, when the latter had accidentally ordered the death of most of the population there, including that of his own wife and daughter... it kinda figured to me that any person who was still working for the same company and doing the same job would be in a kind of detached personnality, like he was in denial of what he had done. Hence, the inhuman side to Veld.

I also think that Vincent had not done much time in the Turks; so he didn't know of that affair and did not have the opportunity of getting to know Veld after the latter had grieved... the cold man behind the desk is the only picture that Vincent has of the older Turk.

As for the bit about Lucrecia being married to Hojo, it's true; read the Omega Ultimania guide, it was specifically stated that she was that slug's wife. what she ever saw in him is beyond me, but i'll try to find reasons why later on.. fact is, i kinda already have an idea.

oh, and 'watashi no tenshi' means 'my angel'... i hope :-p

20/10/06

Did some major corrections in this chapter in the light of events as revealed in DoC. This will not impact the ending, but will definitely change the way my story was supposed to flow. When replaying the event viewer of the game, I realized that I had missed some important things.. how this could have happened? maybe i should quit playing late into the night and get some rest... :-p

First of all, Vincent did not know that Lucrecia had worked with/for his father. Second... when they first met, she was still single. she later chose Hojo over him. :-(

So I snipped some bits here and there and filled in the gaps; you might almost call this cosmetic surgery ;-)

Anyway, I hope this will not happen again, I feel so depressed. Sumimasen... :-(