Disclaimer: I do not and never have pretended to own these characters. They belong to Square-Enix. I'm a poor nobody who writes simply for pleasure. Please don't sue me!

-oOo-

: Chapter Thirteen : Vincent Valentine

Cloud didn't know whether to be surprised or frightened. Was this all a dream? Was the whole village of Nibelheim just a dream?

The man glared at them from bright, penetrating eyes.

"Who are you?" he began, his voicelow, rich and deep. "You must leave this place, now. It is not for the likes of you."

"For the likes of us?" Cloud finally repeated. "What do you mean, 'for the likes of us'?"

The man lowered his head, never taking his eyes off the three. His cultured voice replied sonorously.

"I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out of this mansion. It is the beginning of your nightmare."

"You can say that again," Cloud murmured to himself regretfully. He spoke up. "Then tell me, is this mansion really a nightmare? And why were you in that coffin? Were you having a nightmare too?"

"You'd dream about bad things if you slept in a place like this!" Aerith cried, still not quite over her shock.

The man calmly moved his gaze onto her.

"Hmph. A nightmare?" He shook his head firmly. "No. I was merely sleeping. A long sleep to atone for my sins."

"Atone for your sins?" Cloud was perplexed. There was something decidedly mysterious about this man. Why lie in a coffin to atone for his sins? What sins? Cloud looked at him closely. It seemed to him that this man had been in that coffin for a long time, perhaps years. If so, then perhaps he knew of why Nibelheim was still standing. It was a possibility. He decided to question him. "I have a question to ask. Do you know why Nibelheim is still standing?"

The man passed him a quizzical look and Cloud hastened to explain.

"Five years ago this place was burned down. Yet it is still standing, the way it was all that time ago. You said this place was a nightmare. Should that be taken literally? Is this a nightmare conjured up by Sephiroth...?"

The man cut him off, surprise on his face.

"Sephiroth!"

"You know Sephiroth?" both Cloud and the man finished together. Cloud stood back, startled. Something was going on here, something he did not understand.

"You start first," the man prompted, unfolding his body slowly and finally standing up tall and straight.

Cloud took in a deep breath. This man, he had no idea who he was, nor why he was in this room. But he knew Sephiroth. Maybe he could tell Cloud of Sephiroth's history, of who and what he was. He began to tell him his story, right through to the end.

"And that's how it was," he finished breathlessly. "And now I'm searching for him to find the truth."

The man put a finger to his lips thoughtfully.

"So," he began quietly. "Sephiroth found out how he was created five years ago. He found out about the Jenova Project and disappeared, but returned only just recently. He has killed many and is seeking the Promised Land."

Cloud nodded in confirmation.

"Now it's your turn to explain."

The man made as if to return into his coffin.

"I am sorry, but I cannot speak."

"But that's dirty!" Aerith cried, indignantly. The man ignored her.

"Hearing your stories has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me now than ever before. Now...please leave."

Cloud ran forward and stopped him from placing the lid back over him. The man glared at him, his deep eyes flashing.

"Leave me be!" he glowered, but Cloud did not let go of the cover.

"At least tell us your name!" he begged earnestly. The man passed a glance over Aerith and Red, then back to Cloud. His mouth opened, and again the soft, silky voice poured forth.

"My name is Vincent Valentine. Formerly of...the Shinra Manufacturing Department into Administration Research."

Cloud started back.

"The Turks!"

The man smiled a bitter smile.

"I must stress the formerly. I have no affiliation with the Shinra now. And you?"

Cloud took in a breath.

"Cloud Strife, formerly of SOLDIER."

Vincent's eyes brightened into two deep pools of sudden hope.

"You were with the Shinra!" He looked at Cloud beseechingly. "Tell me, do you know someone called Lucrecia!"

Cloud blinked.

"Lucrecia?" He shook his head slowly. "No. I don't."

Vincent's face seemed to grow desperate. A wild yearning glazed his handsome features as he pleaded with Cloud.

"She is the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

Cloud stared at him in astonishment. For a moment, he could say nothing. Sephiroth was born from a woman called Lucrecia?

"Gave birth?" he finally breathed. "But... I thought he was an experiment! I thought Jenova was his mother!"

Vincent smiled a twisted smile.

"That theory isn't completely wrong, but neither is it completely right. He was born from a beautiful lady. That lady was Lucrecia." Vincent's eyes strayed to the dark ceiling, peering soulfully into a long-lost past. "She was an assistant to Professor Gast on the Jenova Project." His voice lowered to a soft, longing whisper. "Beautiful Lucrecia..."

"She was...a human experiment?" Cloud probed, afraid to destroy the man's reverie. Vincent lost his dreamy expression and looked back to Cloud.

"There was no way to cancel the experiment. I could not stop her." He hung his head. "That...was my sin. I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst. I let her out of my grasp and stood and watched."

Aerith spoke, her voice sombre.

"I understand. Your punishment was to sleep."

"Isn't that a bit odd?" Red added gently.

Vincent suddenly seemed to realise that he'd said too much. He wrenched the lid from Cloud's clutch and sat back down into the coffin.

"Just let me sleep," he murmured sorrowfully. "Let me sleep."

Cloud watched as the man disappeared back into the coffin. Was it the truth? That Sephiroth was not completely the son of Jenova, but the product of a human experiment on a helpless subject? A woman called Lucrecia? It was all too much to take in.

Cloud turned to the others, still unable to believe the peculiar information this man had just given him. He was not even sure that they were true. Perhaps this Vincent had lost his mind with having to live all these years in a coffin. Cloud knew he would be if he was in the same position.

"There's nothing left to do here," he finally said, shivering. "Let's find Sephiroth."

As he walked out he took one last glance behind him. But within the coffin, nothing stirred. It was as if Vincent had never awoken at all.

Once outside the strange chamber,Cloud's thoughts reverted once moreto Sephiroth. He stared at the door to the great library. He would be in there, as he had been five years ago. Cloud knew it. He shuddered. He had to face Sephiroth, it was essential. But, as he walked over to the door, he knew he had to do it by himself. That he must face up to him alone.

Decidedly, he turned to the others.

"Red, I want you to take Aerith back out of here immediately. Don't let any harm come to her."

Aerith stepped forward, upset.

"But, Cloud, I..."

He turned on her, shouted at her.

"Look, just do as I say, okay! Get out of here!"

She stared back at him with a mixture of astonishment and unhappiness on her face. Cloud shut his mouth quickly, unable to understand why he'd just snapped at her. It was as though, for a short, sharp moment in time, something had just filled his mind with a spark of uncontrollable anger. He lowered his voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. But I have to talk to Sephiroth, and by myself."

Aerith looked back at him with a wounded countenance, but said nothing and turned to go. Red, who passed Cloud a less than friendly look, turned also to escort her out. Cloud waited until they had gone, a mixture of guilt and impatience occupying him. Then it was replaced with an overwhelming feeling of apprehension that consumed his heart. He could not remember why he had sent the others away, or why it had seemed important. It was as though something had possessed him to do so, and that force had now left him. Nevertheless, for all his present misgivings, his hand went to the doorknob and turned it. The door opened more softly than the others.

The makeshift laboratory greeted him with an airless, mouldy odour. In the corner of the room stood two observation pods, empty, with their glass cracked. Another wave of indefinable emotion filled him. He was drawn to those two chambers, though he didn't know why. Walking over to them, he had this familiar, overpowering surge of feeling within him. Looking at the misty glass, he saw that the two pods had labels fastened to them. The first read:

Clone Project

Specimen (B) code:C

Underneath this had been scratched a small sentence in a scrawled script:

'Let's get out of here.'

Cloud looked to the second pod, which was embellished with the same label:

Clone Project

Specimen (A) code:Z

Likewise, beneath this marker had been etched a reply to the first:

'Feeding time, that's our chance.'

Cloud ran his finger over the scratches incredulously. Two people had been trapped in these two tubes. Two human beings. Had they been turned into monsters as well? Or had they escaped, as they'd planned to do so? There was something evil churning in Cloud's stomach as he thought these thoughts. Perhaps he had once known those people, who'd been encased in these cruel cages so long ago...

"So," a smooth voice addressed him from behind, "you're show your face at last."

Cloud whirled round. Sephiroth was gazing at him out of glittering turquoise eyes. He smiled with a distorted expression as he stared round the room.

"Being here brings back such a lot of memories, does it not?"

Cloud did not answer. He stared back at Sephiroth, wondering why, for the hundredth time, the man did not simply kill him. Sephiroth grinned maliciously at him.

"Since you have proved yourself by turning up so conveniently, I must ask you: will you be participating in the Reunion?"

Cloud was finally able to burst in sudden rage.

"I don't even know what the Reunion is!" he spat.

"Oh?" Sephiroth seemed mildly amused. "Am I to believe you?" He walked slowly forward, looked at Cloud closely, who jerked still in repulsion. "Jenova will be at the Reunion, Cloud," he continued softly, "Jenova will join the Reunion. She will be there, a calamity from the skies."

"Jenova, a calamity from the skies?" he questioned Sephiroth, confused. "Jenova is a calamity from the skies? What are you talking about?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him.

"...I see. I don't really think you have the right to participate. Your little demonstration of ignorance has proved this to me."

Cloud moved away from him, unable to grasp his words.

"What are you talking about!"

"I would have thought Hojo would have told you all the details, just as he told me. Unless..." He chuckled a little to himself, and looked back up at Cloud. "Even though you have established yourself as unworthy, Cloud, I am inviting you to join us. I will travel north, past Mount Nibel. If you wish to find out, then follow."

He walked to the door and opened it slowly. Cloud tried to follow, but found himself unable to move. He was stuck fast, he could not put any motion into any part of his body. All he could do was stand and stare at Sephiroth leaving the room. And as soon as he had disappeared, Cloud found himself thaw out of his frozen state. He stood, trembling, his limbs like jelly, his forehead dripping with icy sweat.

"Sephiroth!" he managed to call out weakly, "Sephiroth, come back!"

There was no answer. Dragging his quaking legs toward the doorway the doorway, he pulled at the handle. The door swung open. Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.

"Sephiroth!"

As Cloud pulled himself into the corridor, he knew he would get no answer. Sephiroth had gone. He had begun his journey over Mount Nibel and would take part in an event called the Reunion. He had invited Cloud, and Cloud must follow. And this time, he would not let Sephiroth slip out of his grasp. He would find out the truth behind Sephiroth's existence. Then, he would kill him.

Cloud put a hand to his head. Why all these questions, why all this hate and vengeance? Could there be a way to put it all aside? He did not want to hate. He wanted to love. Yes, he would give it all up if he could love. He felt himself sway in sudden nausea. He would have fallen to the floor if someone did not suddenly grasp him from under his arm and hold him up straight. Gazing up with his head spinning, Cloud saw himself looking up into two deep magenta eyes.

"Vincent?"

The mysterious man wordlessly helped him back to his feet and let go of him, his face serious and unsmiling.

"Was that Sephiroth you were talking to?" he asked, not waiting for any words of thanks. Cloud nodded. Vincent turned away, looking as if he would go back into his room. He stopped, looked up at the ceiling pensively, then turned to Cloud slowly.

"Since you told me your story," he said softly, "I have been thinking. I have been thinking that maybe, instead of lying in that room for a tortured eternity, I should search for an answer so that my sins may be absolved." He looked down at the ground sorrowfully. "If you are after Sephiroth, then maybe I may find what I seek."

He looked up at Cloud again, an intensity in his eyes.

"Suppose I went with you? Do you think that I would meet Hojo?"

"Hojo?" Cloud thought for a moment. Why all this sudden reference to Hojo? What had Hojo got to do with it all? Yes, Vincent was a mysterious man: there was something he knew that Cloud did not. But why did he want to see Hojo? He decided not to ask. "I don't know. But since he's part of the creation of Sephiroth, I suppose we may meet him, sooner or later."

Vincent closed his mournful eyes momentarily.

"Lucrecia..." he whispered softly to himself, before looking up with determination. "All right. I've decided to go with you."

Cloud looked at him suspiciously.

"Isn't that a bit of a quick change of heart?"

Vincent's expression became voracious.

"Being a former member of the Turks, I may be of help to you."

Cloud gazed steadfastly at him in the eye. Vincent returned the glance unflinchingly. There was something in that elegant face that, though cold and distant, seemed to suggest to Cloud that a deep affinity lay between them.

Making up his mind, Cloud nodded.

"All right then. But mind, it's Sephiroth we're after."

"I understand," Vincent answered firmly.

Cloud turned. It was time to set off to Mount Nibel.

-oOo-

Next: The team meet a certain surly captain...