Okies, I am double-updating, and I realize that I am skipping a lot. Parental controls only give me time to get these up on LJ. If you want to read the other ones I have up, get the link from my profile. Sorry about this! Gommenassai! T.T

chthonic \THONE-ik\, adjective:
Dwelling in or under the earth; also, pertaining to the underworld

Pairing: None.

Warnings: Kinda long. Longer than I'd usually write. But I based it off the actual in-game dialogue, give or take a few lines.

Summary: Vincent's perspective on being found.

Dedication: For Vincent Valentine, my constant companion and muse. For all your emo scariness, you're actually pretty fun to have around.

Disclaimer: Me does not own. These people not mine. Got it? Great.

There was no sense of time. It could have been years and years, or it could have been mere minutes since I had first begun my slumber. I say slumber, and yet it brought me no rest. Every moment of existance, waking or not, was a living nightmare. The demons raged inside me, screaming for bloodshed, and, every so often, one of them would force themselves to the surface, taking control of my body and slashing at the locked coffin door.

I had no desire to escape. Lucrecia had died in giving birth to a child that grew ever stronger as it sapped her strength, using the power of the Jenova cells. A child they had experimented on before it had even been given life. A child that would most certainly grow to be one of the most powerful humans alive. A child that could be mine. Lucrecia had died, and I was to blame. I couldn't stop her. This constant, blood-filled nightmare was my punishment. I endured the horror, the raging bloodlust, the voices, all for the smallest bit of redemption.

One day, there were other voices. The demons were obviously curious as well, since they had quieted enough for me to hear. I was surprised, to say the least. I knew that Hojo would have taken extensive measures to ensure tha I was never released.

"This is all?" The voice was high and feminine, with the small inclination to roll the L's halfway into R's that indicated Wutain orgins. "We fought that crazy, rainbow-colored thing just to find a crypt? There's no awesome treasure or hordes of materia or anything?"

"Shut up, Yuffie. Hojo obviously had something to hide here." A man's voice, commanding. Obviously the leader of the group.

"This one's locked. Hey, Cloud, you think you could break it open?" This voice was closer than the others. Another woman, older than the previous, but still young. There was a definite air of warmth and kindness about her, so much that it leaked into her voice. With a pang, I thought of Lucrecia. She had been the same...

There was a loud clanging sound. Someone must have been kicking the padlock. "Doesn't look too hard." It was the man again. "Looks like the thing's just been sitting here for ages."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Let me do it!" There was the feel of magic warming up.

"Wait, Yuffie, there might be something fragile in - !" A spell struck the side of the coffin, and my Turk instincts kicked in, causing me to kick the lid off and spring out of range, hand going to my gun as I assessed the three before me.

There was a Wutain teenage girl on my left holding a glowing Fire materia, her eyes wide with awe as she stared up at me. On my right was the other young, cinnamon-haired woman, grass green eyes displaying both shock and concern at the same time. Between the two females was a man with spiky blond hair and fierce blue eyes that glowed with mako, holding a huge sword protectively in front of him.

I calmed myself, but narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "...Never seen you before." My voice sounded strange to my own ears. "You must leave."

The man lowered his blade and frowned. "You were having a nightmare," he stated matter-of-factly.

The Wutain girl rolled her eyes. "Sleep in a place like this, and that'll happen to ya."

I stared at them. "Hmm...a nightmare...?" I was almost mocking in my words. If they only knew the truth...I looked away. "My long sleep has given me time to atone," I spoke softly, mostly to myself.

The man's (Cloud, was it?) frown deepened. "What are you saying?" he asked cautiously.

Turk instinct made me instantly protective of my secrets. I glared. "I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out." I paused, calming myself. These people meant no harm. They were only showing concern for my welfare, however strange that might have been. I tried to do the same. "This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."

The leader's eyes became downcast, seeming to recall a bad memory. "You can say that again..." he said quietly.

This grabbed my attention. "What do you know?" I asked, trying not to show my curiosity.

He turned to the other two, who had yet to say anything. The woman on the right nodded. He then turned back around and spoke. "Like you said, this mansion is the beginning of a nightmare." He paused and shook his head. "No, it's not a dream, it's for real." He hesitated and took a deep breath. "Sephiroth has lost his mind. He found the secrets hidden in this mansion - "

"Sephiroth?!" The name struck like a lightning bolt. Sephiroth, dearest Lucrecia's son? Was it truly him?

My outburst seemed to surprise Cloud as well. "You know Sephiroth?!" we asked simultaneously. After a pause in which each of us assessed the other, I spoke. "You start first."

He turned to the rest of his party. The young woman nodded again, putting a hand on his shoulder in encouragement. He nodded back and started to speak. "Sephiroth came here five years ago to check on the reactor here. The monsters there caused him to question his humanity. He came here to this mansion and started reading all the files they had on him and Jenova." He paused for breath. "A week later, he burned the town and slaughtered almost all of the people here. I tried to stop him, and it was said that he died but..." Another breath. "Recently, he reappeared and killed off almost all the people in the ShinRa building, including President Shinra. He took the Jenova specimen from it's holding tank, too. He's trying to find the Promised Land, I think. We're trying to stop him." He looked back at the group again. After they had nodded in confirmation, he turned back saying, "That's how it is."

I contemplated their words. How old must Sephiroth be right now? I quickly summarized. "So Sephiroth found out he was created, five years ago? And about the Jenova Project?" I paused. Did he know about his mother, then? "He was missing, but has just recently appeared. He has taken many lives and is seeking the Promised Land."

Cloud nodded. "Now it's your turn."

I hesitated. I could tell them. I could tell them about Lucrecia, and about Hojo, and about my failure. Then, I realized: this was my fault as well. If I had stopped Lucrecia, if I had changed her mind, Sephiroth might have had a normal life. He would not be the madman he was now. He would not have destroyed so many lives with his actions if it were not for my failure. I shook my head. "Sorry...I cannot speak."

They all started. The young Wutain girl seemed less surprised. "Good," she said, "it was probably depressing anyway." If only she knew.

I addressed them, but, yet again, I spoke mostly to myself. "Hearing your stories has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me, more than I previously had." They seemed confused, but I didn't elaborate. "Now, please leave." I settled back inside the coffin and slammed it shut.

I heard whispers, but I didn't put in the effort to make them out. After a minute or two, someone started knocking repeatedly on the lid. I sighed and kicked it open again, sitting up and glaring. "You're still here." My tone was accusing.

The man's eyes were defiant. "At least tell us your name."

I hadn't expected that. After a moment's pause, I started. "Vincent Valentine. I was with...the ShinRa Department of Administrative Research, otherwise known as...the Turks."

They all started, each of them jerking into a defensive position. "The Turks?!"

I shook my head. "Formerly of the Turks. I have no affiliation with ShinRa now." And I never would again. "And you?"

They calmed. The Wutain girl responded first. "I'm Princess of Wutai, the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi!" she said, spinning around cheerfully. "Nice to meetcha!"

The other young woman smiled at her teammate's display before speaking. "Aerith Gainsborough," she introduced herself with a small smile. Another stab of pain raced through me. Lucrecia...

The leader spoke last. "Cloud Strife, formerly of SOLDIER."

I had guessed as much from the glow in his eyes, but I cocked an eyebrow. "You were also with ShinRa?" I thought about it before asking, figuring there was no harm in the question. "Then do you know Lucrecia?"

It was his turn to cock an eyebrow. "Who?"

I inwardly sighed. It really had been a long time then. "Lucrecia...the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

Cloud seemed even more confused. "Gave birth? But wasn't Jenova Sephiroth's mother?"

Was that what the child had been told all his life? He'd never known about the kind and loving woman that had loved him even as he sapped her strength away, who had cried for days when Hojo refused to allow her to ever see her son? I forced the thoughts away. "That isn't completely wrong, but just a theory. He is genetically related to her through her cells, but he was born from a beautiful lady. That lady was Lucrecia." I had already revealed this much to them, so I kept going. "She was an assistant to Professor Gast -" Aerith started at the name "- of the Jenova Project." I made no effort to hide the sigh this time. "Beautiful Lucrecia..." I whispered, barely audible to my own ears.

Cloud frowned. "A human experiment?"

I nodded. "There was no way to cancel the experiment. I couldn't stop her. That was my sin." I had already revealed much more than I'd thought I would, but there was no stopping now. "I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst."

Aerith frowned in concern. "So your atonement is to sleep? That's a little odd, isn't it? I'd try and do something, if it were me."

I took a long look at her. She looked back without fear, showing nothing but genuine compassion in her eyes. Compassion I didn't deserve. I laid back down and shut the coffin again, ignoring the incessant knocking. "Let me sleep..." I mumbled. After several minutes, I heard the footsteps retreat back into the hall, and I was left alone with my thoughts.

So Sephiroth was a killing madman now. Before I had gone to sleep, he had just been born, snatched away from his loving mother for tests that were undoubtedly painful. He must have suffered so much as a child at the hands of that mad scientist...With a jolt, I remembered Hojo. He was to blame. He had caused everything, all of this suffering. Aerith's words came back to me. "I'd try and do something, if it were me." If I could kill Hojo, if I could avenge her death, if I could avenge the suffering of her child, if I could get my own revenge, would that complete my atonement? Would that be my last step toward redemption? Cloud and the others were searching for Sephiroth. Hojo would undoubtedly try to find him as well. Would they eventually meet?

Without a second thought, I kicked open the coffin and rushed out the door, emerging just in time to see them heading for the stairs. "Wait!" I called. They stopped dead and turned around.

I caught up quickly. "If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?"

Cloud glanced at the others for an answer. They both shrugged. He turned back to me. "Dunno. But we're after him and Sephiroth, so I guess sooner or later."

I paused. Everything could change with this decision. I could go back to my coffin and sleep, redeeming myself by living through the nightmares filled with blood and death. Or I could go with them and find Hojo and avenge the suffering of Sephiroth, myself, and, most of all - "Lucrecia..." I didn't even realize I had spoken aloud until I noticed their expressions. I turned to them, determined. "All right, I've decided to go with you."

They hadn't expected that. Yuffie blinked and shouted, "Whoa, wait, what?!"

I ignored her outburst and chose my words. "Being a former Turk, I may be of help to you."

After turning to the others for their opinions, he nodded. "All right then. Sephiroth said to go North, past Mt. Nibel."

I nodded and followed. I didn't think about what would happen after the battle. I didn't think about the fact that we could all very well die. I didn't think about the past or the future. My only thought was that I once again had a purpose. I had a reason to live again.

Man, that was long. My little sister's friends are starting to bitch at me, so I'll make this quick.

Leave a review! Every time you don't, Vincent gets all emo and locks himself in the closet, leaving me with no inspiration except the really dark, depressing poetry that he shoves out under the door to keep me occupied. That means you guys get nothing but angsty shit like this. And you don't want that, do you?