Nibelhiem...
Tifa Lockheart walked slowly through the town, getting her bearing back after being away for so long. Nothing had really changed apart from a sporty little number that sat outside the mansion. Nobody in town could afford one of them. The car looked vaguely familiar, she was pretty sure she had seen it from somewhere before and she wasn't much of a car person.
She headed over to the inn, hoping to get a room for the night before getting on with the task at gathering a few personal belongings to take back to the city. Her dark eyes wandered over to the mansion and she spared a thought to the soul who resided in the building. Would he be there now or had the nightmares that lingered forced Vincent to run for cover?
Tifa lifted her gaze higher and her vision filled with the cold and evil mountains that was so clearly evident. Rocket Town was a few hours from Nibelhiem if you took a boat but nearly a day if you travelled via the mountains.
She missed not having the team together even though the group fought more often than not. She really felt lonely now that she no longer woke up to the various different accents and tones that the members of AVALANCHE had. Everything to a drawl of Corel to the undefinable accent of Vincent.
A chocobo warked and a familiar figure elegantly got off the bird, not noticing that he wasn't the only member of AVALANCHE to grace the town with his presence. Tifa watched as the blonde seemed to make a beeline for the mansion at a bolt, was Vincent in trouble?
Tifa raced closely behind him and crashed into the back of the pilot as he stopped suddenly at the gates. Cid turned round and looked at her with a rather curious expression, his blue eyes seeming to catch the barely visiable sun.
"Hey," Tifa offered sheepishly, "um...hi."
Cid smiled at her, "Hi. What brings you here?"
"I have a house here," Tifa admitted, she pointed to a house near the well, "just stopping by to pick up some stuff. How bout you?"
Her heart skipped a beat as Cid regarded her with the same look he had done on the airship, same vunerable eyes and the same jacket Tifa had melted in when it had started to rain. Had he came just for her or was there another real reason for his presence. She was disappointed when he confirmed the latter answer.
The pilot paled a little before flashing her a smile that Tifa knew well, "Research."
The martial artist gave the house a dark look, the only thing to research in that place was death. If it was research, then why didn't he ask Vincent for assistance? Nobody in the group knew the secrets of the mansion as well as he did. He'd probably buried a few in the basement.
She felt the cold wind and the beginning of rain on her face, usual weather for this time of year but she still hated it. Cid didn't seem to even notice it but he growled as he looked at the mansion himself.
"I know what you're thinking," Cid nudged her lightly.
Tifa raised an eyebrow, that she doubted. The pilot seemed to be oblivious to everything around him and he didn't look as good as he did when they had left each other. He seemed to change when they had dropped Vincent off.
"Once I find out what I need," the captain admitted quietly to her, "I'm kicking the shit outta this house. Care to join me in melting marshmallows over the burning husk of this place?"
"Sure," Tifa found herself wanting to be held in Cid's arms again, like he had done when she thought she had lost Cloud but knew it wasn't to be.
"Gimme a couple of hours," Cid offered her a smile again, "I'll see you at the inn okay?"
Tifa left the captain and watched in concern as he walked past the gate and to the large ornate doors. What the hell could he really be researching? Was he helping Vincent out with something?
"Captain?" she called out after him.
The blonde stopped, "What?"
"Where's Vincent?" Tifa found it strange that the blonde would be travelling anywhere without the former Turk lurking nearby, infact, it was pretty unusual.
No matter where Cid went, Vincent would follow, like a puppy. A discreet little puppy but followed none the less.
"...he's..." that made Cid think about the answer, could he really say, 'cracked and out to lunch'?
"He stopped by and told me that he wanted this place burned to the ground," Cid stated with as much confidence as he could muster on the lie, "he couldn't do it due to the...emotions that stirred...in...his...ah shit. Hey, where's Cloud?"
Tifa crossed her arms, "I don't know. He came back to Midgar with me but disappeared. I think he needs time but he didn't look so great."
So Spike aint doing so hot either...Cid felt a little bit of smugness as he felt that perhaps his own theory on Jenova had been right, perhaps Vincent's current break was due to the alien cells dying away but he still wanted to be sure.
"Just be careful," Tifa replied as she walked away, "I'm gonna pass on the marshmallows, I want to get in and out as quickly as I can but it was good to
see you. Give my love to Vincent when you see him, same with Shera."
Blue eyes narrowed for a few seconds, clouding over for about the same time. Obviously something about that statement had hit a nerve with him and she wasn't sure what she could do. He had turned her down as a partner and the she was simply happy to have him as a friend.
In no way did she want to remain in the town for as long as she had to. To much pain and death had been seen and the town stank of the pain. To her, her real home, her real life had been burned to ashes when Sephiroth had discovered the truth about his creation.
Inside the mansion...
Nothing. Zip, nada, zilch. That was what his search of the mansion had brought him. Nothing but a tickly throat and numerous papercuts on his hands. He frowned as he sat at the old oak desk that resided in the underground lab. He sneezed as dust assualted his senses as he threw another book down into the pile he had classed as 'much use as a chocolate fireguard'.
Not one of the books on the desk seemed to indicate what Hojo had done to Vincent, not a solitary one. It frustrated him but he knew he would need to look harder for his answers. He didn't even know how long he had remained down in the dusty little lab for.
Cold shivers raced down his spine as he tried to ignore the big and cobweb covered operating table that could be clearly seen from where he was sitting. He could just about make out the dusty and rusting scapels and needles that Hojo probably used to screw up the heads and bodies of Cloud, that guy
who Cloud had hung out with and Vincent.
Keeping the images of what Hojo had done to one of his few close friends burned his soul as he stood up and made his way to the table in the main room. The green glass tubes had scratch marks from where the guy Zack had written the escape plan and had tried to communicate with the young Strife.
What the fuck didn't Hojo do to people? I fucking bet he was the devil, Cid thought harshly as he picked up a dusty book that resided on the operating table.
He sat himself up on the table and rather uncomfortably laid back on it, closing his eyes as he tried to imagine the fear and pain that Vincent had felt.
Anything to try and figure out why the raven haired gunman was currently going mental on him. It didn't work, all it got him was some minor back pain and some very weird feelings.
Okay...relax and let the feelings or whatever come through, Cid shifted his weight again and his booted feet brushed against the ankles straps. He chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment and slowly slipped his hands in the wrist restraints, suddenly glad yet very self conscious that nobody was around or even living in the mansion.
He must have just waited here, the pilot guessed as he heard his own heartbeat, waiting for that bastard to come and finish off what horrible shit he did.
The Shinra pilot kept his eyes closed as he tried to listen to the past footsteps of the occupants that lived in the house. It was so quiet, nothing stirred. Any monsters that normally remained in the house had disappeared, was that due to Vincent clearing house?
He remained still, not wanting to ruin the feeling that had formed in the room. Not quite calm and peaceful but neither was it painful or creepy. A strange mix between them and he found himself dozing off in the weird position he had placed himself into.
The coldness of the metal table seeped through his shirt and he sat back up, deciding that he really didn't want Hojo's ghost strolling in on his ass and deciding to possess it. The pilot shook his head at the thought, not likely to happen but the creepy feeling he had while in the basement began to grow.
He picked the book he had found up and decided to read at least a few pages of it, his eyes widened as he discovered that within a few sentences, he saw Vincent's name.
Subject's name: Vincent Valentine is being prepped and readied for the next step of the procedure, one that is intended to be used on the Jenova experiement. Infusing Mako and the alien DNA of Jenova together to make a being that is able to stand high and intense periods of pain. This will be required to allow the other alien DNA being created to place in the body of that male subject. (see vd recording 4e)
The alien cells, hereby known as 'Gallian,' 'Death Gigas', 'Hellmasker,' and 'Chaos' are violent and vicious with little regards to living creatures, if the procedure holds well then it may be possible to create warriors with the specific task of just hunting and killing. Essentially to create a super soldier just made for suicide war missions.
Day four: Subject Male Vincent Valentine: subject does not appear to be holding the form of the 'Chaos' beast. Appears to be in pain, adjusted the amount of Mako to counter but he remains screaming. When in the form of Chaos, his left arm remains human instead of the demon like limbs and like the other three alien DNA, seems to have a personality. (see vd recording 32g, 33f, 34d and 35s.)
'Chaos' is crueler than that of the other three. It has decided that the human flesh is something of a snack and has began to tear away at it. (see vd recording 43a) The subject screams in pain when he transforms back into his own form and since then, it is advisable to remove the limb to prevent infection and to replace it with a substance...
Cid closed the book, his stomach turning. Hojo's little diary of his horrors on Vincent and the sick son of a bitch decided to tape the torture as well. Had he seriously hoped to create the ultimate warrior by infecting people with the DNA of the demons that cursed Vincent?
Least I found something, Cid shivered as he slid off the table, placing the book in the large pocket in his pair of combats.
As much as he hated to admit to it, his own sick sense of curiousity had been sparked. What exactly did Hojo do the the former Turk? Cid walked over to what he guessed was where the mad scientist kept the recordings but found the cabinet empty. Everything had been moved away.
Shit...probably taken to the Shinra Headquarters, the pilot cursed, mind you...headin' out there anyhow...
Cid stopped though and thought about that. Would Hojo really take evidence that he was a sick and twisted little git back home with him? No then it must mean that the evidence was still in the mansion. Which room had that man lived in?
Without thinking, he raced out of the room but not before another thought struck him. Wouldn't he want to have it hidden? If people came raiding the mansion after it had been abandoned, then Hojo wouldn't want to have any kind of link back to him. Desperate people did desperate things when it came to blackmail so maybe, just maybe the tapes had been locked away with Vincent. Locked away in that room filled with coffins and skeletons.
He slowly headed to the door that lead to the room Cloud had found Vincent in and stepped through, his heart thundering in his chest as he wondered what else he would encounter. Perhaps Vincent wasn't the only experiement...he stopped himself there. Vincent Valentine was no experiment.
He was human and had been held hostage by a lunatic who enjoyed hurting people. He was also sick and scared back home in Rocket Town, the guy needed a friend and Cid realised that he hadn't even told Vincent where he was going. Simply upped and left.
"Better head back home," the sound of his voice echoed around the corridor and it sounded so hollow to him. Not like what he did a few months back.
Rocket Town...
Vincent rubbed his eyes tiredly before deciding that staying at the Highwind household was not a very good idea. Shera had avoided him, not wanting anything to do with him. Her brown eyes filled with fear and panic when he had entered the kitchen though the woman had done a rather good job at keeping her face neutral.
He sat on the edge of Cid's bed, taking in the different knick knacks that were scattered across the room. A toy rocket rested on the floor, broken in two and Vincent recognised it as the Shinra Rocket Number 26. Photographs littered the area around it and Vincent sighed.
He leaned over and picked one up, the snapshot showing an image of a moment in AVALANCHE's little trip to save the planet. One where Cid and Yuffie were both in the huff with each other and Vincent didn't know who was trying to act up more. Cid's bottom lip was pouting and he couldn't help the look of laughter in blue eyes.
A far cry from what we have now...Vincent placed the picture down and stood up, he came to me looking for help and this is how I act. I feel so weak and pathitic...no wonder you all want to die...
We do not wish to die either Valentine, Chaos spoke up, but we don't always get what we want in life.
I can kill myself now? Vincent asked the winged beast, if I do not have your healing powers then I can kill myself without fear of being brought back can I not?
Chaos seemed to hestitate at the answer, ...you want death?
More than life, Vincent replied, I have nothing. Cid is going to be with Shera, she is going to have his child and I am a danger to all those around me. It is better for all that I die along with you.
A timid knock brought Vincent out of his conversation and Shera popped her head through the door, "Mr...Mister Valentine? I'm...I'm making some tea, would you care for some?"
Crimson eyes stared for a moment at her before he stood up, she was still offering friendship after he had scared her earlier? He nodded and felt some relief that Cid was going to be waiting at the table. Shera held a bundle of clothes to him from her position at the door, her arms shaking.
"I thought you might like to change into something a little warmer..." she whispered quietly, "I also made some food for you."
Slowly, Vincent took a step forward. Shera flinched and the action tore at his heart. Tears threatened to flood his vision but Vincent raised his head and forced a small and grateful smile to his lips.
"Thank you Shera," he said softly.
Shera nodded and closed the door after her, clear that she wasn't feeling to comfortable with the entire situation.
Vincent looked at the clothes and realised that they were Cid's. He was highly doubtful that they would fit but Cid did have long legs, maybe the sweatpants would fit. A warm and soft t-shirt was also provided, along with clean underwear and a pair of socks.
He quickly changed and he couldn't help the feeling of contentment as he took a deep breath of the t-shirt he was wearing. Cid or rather Shera had used a fresh smelling detergent, one that smelled like fresh, open air. He looked down at himself and his breath caught when he saw the metal arm.
Without thinking, he turned round to the chest of drawers and began to lightly dig through them, looking for a jumper he could pull on top of the t-shirt.
Nothing in the top drawer, nor in the middle but the second drawer from the bottom made his search fruitful. He pulled out the largest he could find and tugged it on. It smelled different, like Cid had wore it for a few hours and had pulled it off when he had went to bed, forgetting to throw it in the washing bundle.
Vincent left the safety of the room and spotted Shera in the kitchen, lightly rubbing her stomach. Her attention was drawn to it and Vincent watched for a few moments, Lucrecia had never done that. The motherly look of love that was so clear on Shera's face right now had been missing on the mother of Sephiroth.
"How far along are you?" Vincent asked quietly as he entered the kitchen, his sense of smell being taken instantly by the hot food sitting on the table.
Shera looked at him with a closed look for a moment before allowing a smile to reach her lips, "...a few months. Not felt a kick yet, I'm feeling a little eager for it though."
"...congratulations," Vincent offered as he took his seat.
A soft snort was his reply from the mechanic, "Yeah...yay for me. Cid doesn't even know and he's gonna blow a...well...I don't know what he'll do. Probably deny it's his."
Vincent stopped as he reached for his tea, "He knows. He's not stup...I mean, he mentioned you were pregnant. He seems quite excited at the thought."
The closed look fell back over Shera's face, "That's twice you have lied to me. Stop it."
Twice...? Oh... Vincent diverted his gaze to the floor, "Sorry."
Shera snorted lightly as she gently nudged over a plate filled with food over to Vincent. He looked as skinny as the captain and looked about as happy with it as well. He looked so pale, so deathly pale and Shera wondered want kind of life he had before he encountered AVALANCHE.
She gave him the once over, noticing the jumper he had on. It was one of Cid's favorite and he would wear it whenever he felt low or had a cold or something. Strange that the dark haired male would pick that one out.
"Mr Valentine..." Shera started but was interupted.
"Please...my name is Vincent," the dark haired male replied.
Shera rubbed her bump thoughtfully, trying to word her next question carefully but she wanted to know. She wanted to know a lot of things actually, what Vincent thought he was playing at, how long he intended on staying and did he honestly think that he stood a chance at Cid?
The captain was straight, the child in her belly proved that. That kiss...that horrible thing she had witnessed was just a mistake. Vincent could have been telling her the truth but she found that a small corner of her heart didn't want to believe that. The same small part knew that the feelings were there and Cid had been acting weirdly since he got home.
"Vincent," Shera said slowly, "is there any...I mean...why did you kiss Cid?"
The fork that Vincent held in his hand stopped, "...it was a mistake. I told you."
"Stop it," Shera shook her head, "Don't try and spare my feelings. God, I'm not a child nor am I stupid."
Why did he keep trying to lie to her? It was obvious he thought more of the pilot than he was admitting to, it was clear to Shera. Her mind kept playing over the scene back in the inn, the dark haired male and the captain sharing a kiss. What bothered her was that the Cid seemed to lean into it, saw the look of surprise on his face when he realised he had been caught.
She's jealous, Chaos spoke up softly, very jealous of what you have with the pilot.
I don't have anything with him, Vincent countered back, but speaking of Cid...where is he? I haven't seen him...he hasn't left has he?
Slowly, Vincent looked around the room, hoping to encounter some sign that the pilot was still there. Nothing but Shera seemed to catch it. Her brown eyes narrowed before she nodded at the food in front of her. The mechanic as much as she hated having the man here, didn't want to see him starve. It wouldn't be very nice.
"Cid isn't here," she offered as she rose to get the now boiling kettle, "He went out a couple of hours back, shortly after you...well, you know."
When I called you Hojo and Cid Lucrecia, when I almost attacked you for being something you're not, Vincent lowered his head and nodded softly, "For that I am truly sorry. I didn't mean that..."
Shera paused as she took that in, he certainly sounded sorry but why couldn't she really believe that? Why had the man called her by the creepy name Hojo? She wasn't like that man, she cared about life and what happened to people.
"How long did he say he was going to be gone for?" Vincent asked quietly as he eyed up the plate, it looked tempting and he hadn't had anything to eat in days. His stomach growled in protest at having to wait for so long.
"No...well...he said vaguely he'd be back as soon as possible," Shera replied quietly as she dumped a couple of teabags in a teapot salvaged from the garage.
Cid had left the home, Vincent's heart raced at the thought of being left alone. He had asked the pilot not to leave him, to stay with him but he had walked out on. Not even bothered to tell him that he was going, he told Shera but that was it.
He promised...didn't he? I asked him to stay but...Vincent clenched his fist but was caught out by Shera when she asked him a personal question about his past.
"Was Lucrecia your girlfriend or your sister?" came the relatively innocent question.
He could answer that a few ways, lying, telling the truth or completely ignoring her. Somehow, he doubted that ignoring her would be worthwhile. She seemed to know when he lied and being truthful would lead the way to more questions.
"...Sephiroth's mother" Vincent stated, not exactly lying but neither was he really willing to tell her anything further.
That man had a mother? Shera rubbed her stomach, praying her own child wouldn't turn out to be anything like the silver haired war general.
Vincent stood up, perhaps he should head back into the room and sleep. That hope was dashed as he suddenly felt queasy and his stomach was going to expel the small content he had managed to eat, quickly excusing himself to the bathroom.
Shera crossed her arms, she sighed softly as she looked over to the clock. What in the name of the planet could be so fascinating that the captain just had to go and check it out straight away? She wanted things to go back to the way it was, back to the good old days.
The back door opened slowly and Cid slipped in, a little surprised to see that people were actually still awake. His entire town was quiet and peaceful, everybody settling to bed and the captain had just got back into town.
He looked over to see Shera standing at the kettle and offered her a smile, "Fantastic, ya making a brew?"
A nod was his answer and Shera was going to give him the cold shoulder. Harshly, she slammed a cup down on the table and shot him a dark look. Cid dropped his gaze, unsure about what he could say. He wanted to sleep, curl up and enjoy a few hours blissful sleep.
To enjoy a world where nobody asked about things or asked things of him. Where in the little dream world he could find peace and enjoy life. Shera looked at him and snorted slightly as she saw the state of the clean clothes the pilot had left in where no longer clean. Dust and dirt had been ground into the combats and Shera couldn't place the grim on the shirt.
Cid pulled out a few slender black cases and Shera recognized them as video recordings, she's done enough of them when she had to do reports for the blonde captain back when the rocket launch was happening. He also pulled out a battered looking book but he placed that on top of the vd's and then put his hand protectively on it.
"Going to bed?" he asked softly, he was eager with dreaded anticipation to learn about what the video's held but he wasn't looking forward to it.
"Yeah..." Shera replied, "but uh...Vincent is in the bathroom. He isn't feeling so well."
Cid frowned as his gaze wandered over to the bathroom, hearing the painful sounding retching Vincent was trying to fight again and his heart went out to the man. Back in the inn last night, he had held back the long hair and had tied it into a ponytail.
"I still don't want him in the house," Shera stated softly as she headed to her bedroom.
"I aint throwing him out," Cid whispered back, "Shera...come on. Vincent is sick, he needs our help."
The female mechanic sighed softly but said nothing as she retreated into the safety of her room. The mayor of Rocket Town spared the door a glance before returning his gaze back to the items he had brought back with him.
They turned his stomach, even just to imagine that they were real images. Real scenes that Hojo had performed on the helpless and battered form of
Vincent all those years back. Could he really sit and watch through the horrible images that he was going to see?
Shit...he thought as he picked up the first recording and walked over to the couch and the tv.
Hours later...
Shera crept quietly out of the bedroom, her footsteps light and almost unnoticable against the wooden flooring of the hallway. The tv in the living room hissed quietly with static and she heard Cid shift in his sleep on the couch. What had he brought back with him from that wherever it was that he had disappeared to?
He was more willing to help a potentially dangerous man than to listen to her. Vincent was suffering from something and as kind as Shera was, she didn't want him near her or the captain. What would happen if Vincent lost control and attacked them? Would the captain really be ready to stand up for him again? Tell her that it wasn't his fault?
Shera moved to the couch and looked at the sleeping Cid. His sleep was troubled, his features twitching and his eyes fluttering as he dreamed something that she could only imagine. She leaned over and gently brushed a stray look of hair from his forehead, smiling at the action as the blonde leaned to the touch.
"...he's been like that for about an hour now..." came Vincent's whisper from behind her, "I've never seen him move about so much. He's fell off at least twice."
Vincent watched the captain, ignoring the sound that came from Shera. His eyes drifted from the captain to the bump on Shera. Pregnancy seemed to suit the woman, a maternal glow bathed around her. She would be a good mother.
Shera turned round to face the former Turk, he looked stronger than what he did a few hours back but he seemed unsteady on his feet. The female mechanic nodded slowly, Cid was never one for remaining in one place for any length of time, even when sleeping he tossed and turned.
"You look better," Shera stated quietly as not to wake the sleeping captain.
A small one sided smile graced pale lips, "It's best I leave. This way, when Cid asks where I am, you can lie with a clear conscious."
That took Shera by surprise but she found she welcomed it. It gave her a chance to be cruel back. Lie with a clear conscious indeed, if he wanted to leave the home then who was she to stop him. It wasn't as though she wanted him in the home in the first place.
"Fine," she almost spat the words out.
Vincent moved towards the front of the house, his heart plunging into his stomach as he thought about leaving the home of someone who wanted to help him. Who had done nothing more than open his home to him and extend the hand of friendship.
"Out of curiosity..." he asked softly, "what will you tell him?"
"That you left when we were sleeping," Shera answered, "doesn't have to be any complicated than that."
He paused as he reached the door and he risked a look back to the living room before closing the door without a sound behind him.