Chapter Seventeen: Nightmares
A little cottage tucked into the hills of Wutai… A perfectly clear and sunny day. Inside, a family gathered in the dining room, preparing for dinner. His family.
The scene played out before him like a movie, though it felt every bit as real as if he were present in the room. Vincent watched as his other self carried a stack of dishes to the table. His hair was longer than it had been when he was a Turk, but both hands remained his own, and his eyes were the warm brown he'd been born with. Behind him, a young Sephiroth followed with his small hands full of utensils, no more than four or five years old. His green eyes glowed with Mako energy, but a wide smile seemed permanently etched across his face.
As Vincent and Sephiroth set the table, Lucrecia appeared carrying a pitcher of iced tea. She was visibly pregnant, and wore the same expression of happiness as her son. Vincent looked up as she entered and smiled, his eyes full of love for her. He stopped what he was doing to take the heavy pitcher from her, setting it down before turning to embrace her. She laughed as she threw her arms around his neck, Sephiroth rolling his eyes at the familiar display.
It was all so perfect, so natural… the way it was supposed to be. It was beautiful to behold, but heart wrenching at the same time. He belonged there with them. The scene should have been a memory, and not a wistful longing for what could have… should have… been. This was his family, as it would have been had he not failed them…
Suddenly, it was gone.
Vincent found himself back in his own body, standing in a dimly lit room painted all in black. It appeared to be empty, until his eyes were drawn to the far corner. There sat a coffin… his coffin from Nibelheim. It's dark wood and elaborate carvings were strangely inviting. He felt drawn to it, taking several steps forward before a new but hauntingly familiar voice reached his ears.
"Go ahead… Go and see."
Vincent turned, looking into the eyes of the child Sephiroth from the cottage. His mouth was turned down into a scowl in sharp contrast to his earlier joy, anger radiating from his pores.
"Go and see what you have done," he urged, his soft voice bitter and far too mature for one his age.
Vincent knew he would regret it, but was unable to resist. He simply had to, as if driven onward by an unseen force. He turned and began to approach the coffin, Sephiroth following on his heels. The silence was deafening as he came to stand before it. Slowly, he reached out and ran his fingers across the carvings on the lid, a chill racing down his spine. This was his coffin, but he had a sickening feeling it was not his younger self who occupied it.
"Open it," Sephiroth demanded, standing at Vincent's side with his hands on his hips. "Don't you want to see what's inside?"
Vincent swallowed nervously and began to push the lid aside, briefly closing his eyes and praying that he was wrong. But if he and Sephiroth were there… it left only one possibility.
As he hesitantly opened the coffin, a hand reached out from inside and roughly shoved the lid aside. It clattered to the floor, and Vincent's heart jumped into his throat. He took a quick step backwards, his eyes wide as someone sat straight up much as he had once done. When he saw who it was, his heart stopped once more.
Lucrecia wore a smirk as she turned and looked at him with cold eyes, her gaze burning into his soul. She was naked and her skin was pale, the stitched incision of an autopsy marring her flesh like the tracks of the railway running through Midgar. Her lips were blue and there were dark circles beneath her eyes, and when she reached out to grab a hold of his wrist her touch was as cold as death.
"Vincent, my love," she said, her soft voice sarcastic. "It's a good thing I had you to protect me. Look at what a good job you did!" She looked down at the Y-shaped incision that ran the length of her torso, slowly running a finger along the thick stitches.
"Yeah, 'Dad,'" added Sephiroth, tears running down his cheeks. "You killed my mother, and I hate you! You can try all you want to make it up to me, but you can't. You will never be my father. I wish I was Hojo's son!"
"You were the biggest mistake of my life," Lucrecia continued, shaking her head sadly. "What was I thinking? It's no wonder your own family didn't want you. You're worthless. Now I'm dead, and my son will live a life of suffering… All because you are weak and pathetic."
"No," Vincent managed to reply in a whisper, desperately reaching out for her. "I tried, Lucrecia! I tried to warn you, so many times. I wanted you to leave with me… I wanted to raise Sephiroth as my son even before I knew I was really his father. Even after your death, I tried to rescue him. I did the best I could, but Hojo knew about us and was waiting for me. I tried, I swear to you!"
Lucrecia shrugged away from his touch as laughter echoed through the room. It was a laugh that had haunted Vincent for over thirty years, and his skin instantly began to crawl. Though he did not want to, he was forced to turn around and face the man who had taken everything from him.
"Did someone say my name?" Hojo asked. He looked exactly as he had the night he caught Vincent trying to remove the infant Sephiroth from his laboratory… But there was blood already splattered across his white lab coat, several drops dried onto the thick lenses of his glasses.
Lucrecia rose from the coffin, stepping out to rush into the waiting arms of her husband. Hojo grinned at Vincent over her shoulder as they embraced, running a bony hand through her hair.
"Did this monster hurt you, my love?" Hojo asked, his voice sickeningly sweet. Lucrecia nodded wordlessly as she stepped away, tears in her eyes. Sephiroth ran to her and clung to her hand, still glaring hatefully. "Should I punish him for his failures, then?"
"Yes," Lucrecia replied. "Make him pay for what he's done!"
"No! You don't understand!" Vincent exclaimed, backing up several paces as Hojo approached him. "I love you, Lucrecia! I did my best!"
"Your best has never been good enough… and certainly not for me."
Lucrecia and Sephiroth turned and left the room through an invisible door, leaving him alone with Hojo. Vincent found himself suddenly naked above the waist, and a large knife had appeared in the professor's hand.
"Shall we begin?" Hojo asked with a smirk, echoing his words from the night he'd begun altering Vincent's body. A jolt of agony ran through his left arm, and when he looked down it was flowing blood onto the floor, amputated just above the elbow. He opened his mouth but was unable to scream, staring at the missing limb in horror. This time, when Hojo laughed, the voices of Lucrecia and Sephiroth joined him.
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Vincent bolted into a sitting position, a cold sweat coating his body. He was breathing hard and shaking from head to foot, his heart racing in his chest. His skin was crawling and there was a burning sensation in every cell of his being, his vision already sharper than usual and his mind filled with desires that were not his own. He had been having another nightmare, and Chaos was thoroughly enjoying his suffering... So much that the demon was about to break free.
He looked down at his right hand, revolted to find it slowly twisting into a claw. His flesh had taken on a distinct purplish tone, sharp fangs forming within his mouth. It was too late… Chaos had already begun to steal his body, and his emotions were too volatile to fight off the foul creature. When he was at his most vulnerable, the demon was quick to take advantage, and by now it knew his every weakness. The increased frequency of his nightmares over the last few weeks were delightful to Chaos, and Vincent remained so exhausted that he had lost their latest battle before it even began.
He glanced to his right, relieved to find Lucrecia sleeping soundly with a slight smile on her lips. He reached over and tucked the blankets more snugly around her, then quietly slipped out of their bed. He quickly pulled on his shirt, his entire body trembling as he grit his teeth against the pain. With a last glance of sorrow and regret at his sleeping lover, he stumbled from the sanctuary of their bedroom and into the main room of the apartment.
He made it half way across the living room before he doubled over, a sharp bolt of pain tearing through his insides. He bit back a tortured cry and gripped his stomach, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to continue. He had to make it outside and into the night… He could not allow this to happen there. He would rather die than endanger Lucrecia or have her witness a transformation. Determined not to fail her, he forced himself toward the door, quickly slipping into his boots before exiting.
He had barely closed the door behind him when another wave of crippling agony descended upon him, and he fell to his hands and knees at the base of the stairs. He moaned pitifully, his vision tinted red and the muscles of his body straining as they expanded and warped into the twisted form of the demon within. Chaos' desire to break free and fly off into the night to hunt for prey clouded his thoughts, and he knew he must get outside immediately. Vincent dragged himself to his feet, crawling up the steps one at a time as he lost control of his mind and body inch by inch.
When he reached the top, he was unable to contain a cry of pain… the sound a mixture of white hot agony and furious bloodlust. Vincent dragged himself several feet before he collapsed in the empty room on the main floor of the building, unable to make it to the door and out into the freedom of the night. His last thought was of his sleeping lover, praying that she would remain blissfully unaware of what was happening just above her head.
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Lucrecia had been sound asleep, but suddenly her eyes snapped open, her entire body tense. Something had startled her awake, and she remained frozen in place staring at the ceiling. She was terrified, and had no idea why. When she finally turned to see if Vincent had been awakened as well, she knew.
He was gone…
Tears burned her eyes as she immediately realized what had happened. Chaos. The demon had come to torment her lover once again, and he'd left her side to protect her. He'd gone off into the night to suffer alone, a kind, gentle man haunted by a violent creature. She reached out and gently touched his pillow, biting her lip and feeling sick to her stomach. She'd hoped that after they'd talked about his transformations, he might be able to find peace, at least for a while. He deserved a break from his endless struggle, to be able to spend a full night at home in his own bed. But life was often unfair, and his had been more so than most…
She was about to lay down again, though she was certain she'd never be able to sleep, when there was a heavy thud on the floorboards directly above. She froze again, looking upward as if to find the source. There was a tense silence, but a moment later a scraping sound reached her ears. It was as if something heavy had fallen, only to be dragged across the floor. Someone, or something, was in the building… and she was alone. She swallowed hard, battling her terror and forcing herself to act.
Lucrecia climbed out of bed, slipping into her robe and quickly locating her glasses and slippers. Every few seconds, she could hear movement above. She considered calling Sephiroth, but after a glance at the clock decided not to disturb him. It was probably nothing… perhaps a stray cat or dog seeking shelter for the night. Even so, she paused before the nightstand, staring at the drawer where Vincent kept his gun. She hated them and was afraid to even touch one, but she opened it and looked down at the three-barreled weapon for long moments. She began to reach for it, then stopped half way. The very sight of the thing was terrifying, and she couldn't make herself do it. With her luck she'd only end up shooting herself.
She closed the drawer and slowly crept into the living room. Moonlight streamed in through the small windows at the very top of the far wall, the main room empty and the door closed… but not locked. Her heart began to race as she approached, intent on securing it and settling in to read until Vincent returned. Her hand was on the knob when she heard it.
A loud, guttural sound, somewhere between a scream and a roar, cut through the stillness of the night. It was the most horrifying noise she'd ever heard, and it seemed to originate just above her head. The worst part was that it almost sounded like Vincent…
She stood frozen with her hand on the doorknob, her pulse pounding at her temples and her body trembling with fear. Could it be…? Something had awakened her and drawn her from the safety of the bedroom, and she was certain the demon had drawn Vincent from their bed just before. He could be suffering upstairs… and she was not about to let him go through it alone yet again.
Lucrecia forced herself to open the door, staring up the tall, dark staircase that led toward the sound. She had never been so frightened in all her life, not even during Sephiroth's birth when things had begun to go terribly wrong. She knew she was heading toward danger, and that what she was doing was reckless, but she felt she had no choice. If there was a chance that Vincent was still there and in pain, she had to go to him. He needed her.
She forced herself up the steps one foot at a time, tightly gripping the railing. Her legs were weak with fear, her stomach alive with anxiety. There was nothing but silence now, a worrying stillness she could feel in every pore. A warning sounded in her mind, repeatedly ordering her to turn back. But a louder voice urged her forward, for him.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she quickly scanned the room, largely relieved to find it empty. She exhaled sharply, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead. She moved into the center of the dimly lit room, glancing out one of the dusty windows but finding nothing amiss. She was about to turn and head back downstairs when a flash of red caught her eye.
In the far corner of the room, a pair of glowing red eyes watched her from the shadows. Her mouth dropped open, but she found herself unable to scream as the creature stepped into the moonlight. It was most definitely not a stray animal…
The creature was so tall its head was less than a foot below the ceiling, thick leathery wings spreading out from its back. Its skin was a purplish gray, long fangs peeking out from beneath its lips. Horns adorned the top of its head, adding to the appearance of evil. It had pointed ears and clawed hands and feet, and its glowing red eyes were hauntingly familiar… yet so different. They were full of danger and predatory desire, and they were focused directly on her. The creature growled deep within its throat, tilting its head as it studied her.
"Chaos," she whispered, watching with wide eyes as the demon took one step toward her, then another. She found herself backed into the opposite corner, the demon continuing to approach. It seemed very interested, licking its lips with a thick black tongue. She closed her eyes tightly as Chaos stopped just a foot away, praying that this was only a nightmare of her own.
((Author's Notes: Less than a week this time, despite a horrible migraine. Go me! So there you have it, people who kept wanting to see Chaos and/or have him confront Lucrecia. You know how there are days you never should have gotten out of bed? Well, this is hers. I wrote all of this today, once I finally had the idea for Vincent's nightmare. And I left you with an evil cliffhanger! Mwahaha. Haven't done one of those to readers in ages, haha. Fun. Anyway, as usual I'd love to hear from everyone. The next chapter is one of the first two scenes I thought up which led to this fic, so I am excited about that! It's cool to get to those 'big' chapters that start off as movies in my mind, and see them actually turn into part of a story. I hope I did it justice. Til we meet again! ~ JenesisX ))
