“T-that’s Hojo?!” Kaolin gasped in horror. “How.. What…”
Malise mumbled a quick comment under his breath and moved up beside the terrified soldier Kaolin by the chamber. He pushed his long dark red hair from his eyes and shook his head in disgust of the rookie’s shock.
“Damn, kid. Don’t they tell you anything?” He sneered, placing a firm hand on Kaolin’s trembling shoulder. “Right after that whole Sister Ray and Weapon episode. The nut tried to go and overload the cannon to give power to Sephiroth…”
“What’s that got to do with it?” Kaolin asked, his voice still sounding a bit shaken. Malise shot him another annoyed look and continued on. “But…” He added softly.
“The old fool had injected himself with Jenova cells, and…well…” Malise stopped for a moment. He suddenly turned his attention to the glass chamber. The being that was Hojo weakly raised its left claw up. With an irked look in its eyes, it lifted up a monstrous claw and roughly scraped against the glass. Causing a wrenching sound that echoed through the near empty lab. The two soldier’s winced and both covered their ears.
Lanai laughed softly at the spectacle. “Watch what you say, boys!” She chuckled. A wide grin etched across her face. “He’s still very aware of what you say you know!”
“Yeah, thanks for the warning.” Malise groaned sarcastically, rubbing his ears as if that could help to end the ringing in them.
“Besides,” He continued on, trying to act unphased. “That’s what he gets for trying to-“ Again. Hojo lifted a claw up. Almost as if daring him to finish his sentence. Kaolin grabbed Malise by the arm quickly before he could try his luck.
“Just give it a rest, Sir.” He sighed, forcing a tone of respect in his words. The two both turned back to Lanai without another word. Malise quickly shot a contemptuous look to the mutated professor before doing so.
Kaolin looked over Rufus’ dead body nervously. He wondered what Lanai could possibly want with the President’s corpse. Though seeing the look in her eyes when she talked about it, plus what Hojo himself had pulled off, it gave him a vivid idea of what. Kaolin shuddered and quickly tried changed to subject in hopes to get his mind off the thought.
“Hey….uh, didn’t those Avalanche terrorists take Hojo out back then though?” Kaolin asked, uncertain if the rumors he had heard about the Avalanche at the training barracks were true. Kaolin’s gaze slowly drifted down upon the hideous form of the mutated scientist. Lanai paused from examining Rufus and looked up to him. She shot him yet another look of aggravation. It seemed as if every word Kaolin said was setting people off in some way. “Of course they killed him you incompetent idiot.” She snorted. “But I restored him, and kept him here without what was left of the Shinra knowing.” She grinned widely and turned back to Rufus. “Just like I’ll do with him….”
Malise spun around from staring at Hojo and faced the female scientist with a shocked look. “You’ll do what?!”
“Well, to put it frankly; I’ll bring him back to life.” She replied nonchalantly.
“Whoa hold on!” Kaolin objected, pushing his way between the two. “Don’t you think the Shinra should know about this. I mean, he is the President and-“
“Not anymore he’s not.” Lanai retorted, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “ Haven’t you heard? Since our beloved leader’s untimely demise… Reeve’s been put in charge as President. So they’ll be none the wiser to my little plans!”
Kaolin shook his head frantically. “B-but… what will you do to him then?” Kaolin stammered. Though he feared he didn’t want to know the answer.
Lanai laughed at the soldier’s worried question, a sound that was beginning to get more than annoying. She tossed her raven hair back in an arrogant fashion, fixing her cold blue eyes on the two soldiers like a predator with it’s prey. “Trust me. I’ll tell you… soon enough, that is.”
She grinned, moving closer to the him. “For you see.” She said in a tone barely audible, as if others would hear. “There’s a little experiment, one that was never truly finished, and I have full intention to carry it on to completion.” Lanai pulled away, leaning up against the examination table.
Though the words were still echoing throughout Kaolin’s mind.
Part III: Into the Ravaged Metropolis
They arrived at the Sector 5 gateway around noon. Vincent knew this from the blistering heat that shone down from directly above them.
“Damn, “ Barret cursed aloud. “Really makes a helluva difference without all’v Midgar’s climate control systems.” He muttered a few more words under his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Least we made it here without melting…” Cloud added in an equally strained tone.
With the use of the key card Cloud had unearthed in the Bone Village of the Northern Lands, they entered the city with no problem. It was of no surprise to find the streets surrounding the entrance were deserted as usual. Despite the disasters that had struck the city, the crime rates were still holding strong contrary to them.
Pieces of debris, some Vincent recognized as once being located several sectors away, lie scattered awkwardly around the deserted dirt streets of the small sector. Barret led the way, pausing only to turn a thoughtful gaze to the decrepit looking church that still adamantly stood amongst the rubble…
“What’d ya know.” Cloud muttered in a hushed tone. “It’s actually still here…”
Tifa continued, her voice a low whisper. “Brings back memories, huh?”
“Yeah….” Cloud sighed, lowering his head. A long, uncomfortable silence followed the soldier’s terse reply. They all knew the church had once been her place. Even where Cloud had met her. Vincent looked to the large hole in the roof of the cathedral upon the thought. The details Tifa had told him long ago were sketchy at best, but he had a good idea what happened.
He would have smiled if he still had the ability to. Another side effect of that damned three decade sleep. Yet for a second Vincent wondered if it was the sleep that had caused his emotions to simply vanish… or his own will.
“We’d better get moving,” Tifa quickly announced after a while. “Elmyra’s probably waiting anyway.
The others nodded silently in agreement. It was at that moment Vincent wished he had known Aerith a little better, then maybe he could understand the church’s meaning to the others. Yet all he could rely on was the stories that others had told him of their journeys prior to his awakening. Vincent once again silently cursed himself for being such a naive fool all those years ago.
Tifa slowed her pace in the time he spent reminiscing, joining him behind Cloud and Barret. For a while she said nothing, occasionally sneaking a quick glance to him from time to time. He made no attempt to start a conversation, nor ask what her intention of walking along side him was. He made more of an attempt to avoid talking than anything else. Yet he knew Tifa could sense the immense anxiety that was hanging over him like some sick, thickening fog.
And still, Cloud and Barret talked on and on about days before Vincent’s time of awakening, thus still earning little of his attention. Vincent trudged on silently, disregarding the others with a subtle annoyance. Tifa took a few steps closer to him, so that her shoulder brushed up against him as they walked. He moved away slightly, but gave no returning gesture.
“Vincent….” She whispered. He turned his gaze to her to acknowledge. “Are you sure….you want to-“
“Tifa, I know you’re worried about this after what happened last time.” His words were fast and hushed, almost slurred together. Though still he continued, “But Hojo is gone, you were there, so it’s no problem.” He turned his gaze away again and picked up his pace. “Just don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Tifa walked on in silence, now furthest behind the group. After a short while, she ran to catch up to the others. Stealing a quick look of uncertainty at Vincent, she took Cloud’s hand. Though it didn’t matter either way, for Vincent knew they were both equally worried…
Once again, he choose to focus his attention to the scenery than to the rest of his small group. Which was what he had always done before on their previous journeys, giving little effort for support or conversation. To get revenge on Hojo was his main ploy in that adventure, that just happened to include Sephiroth due to his twisted relations to the sick professor…and Lucrecia.
Midgar had changed quite drastically since their last visit to stop Hojo’s crazed plans of using the Sister Ray mako cannon to provide power to Sephiroth. The sky was visible from the slums for once, which had resulted from parts of the upper plates being torn away in the destruction from Meteor.
Huge chunks of metal and streets lie scattered all over, making the Sector 5 and 6 roads hard to travel through. The four carefully climbed over and around most pieces, yet the wrecked sights along the way proved to be more distressing.
“Damn man,” Barret finally muttered aloud. “Hate to see what’d be like if Meteor wasn’t stopped then.”
Cloud shook his head at Barret’s remark. “But it kinda makes you wonder…” He sighed. “If Holy and the Weapon’s purposes were to destroy the forces that threatened the Planet, then would that mean this was the cause of all the suffering-?” He monitored his hands indicating all the wreckage of Midgar around them.
Vincent casually sped up a bit from behind the others, slowing once he walked just behind cloud and Tifa. “Perhaps…” He agreed to Cloud in his usual melancholy tone, not bothering to add what he had really assumed of Holy’s purpose. For he knew, that humanity could quite possibly be what had threatened things all along. For it was the humans, once the Cetra, who had long since lost their connections to the Planet, and maybe things were destined to fall to chaos from there. Vincent quickly shook his head at the thought. Even he, in all his indifference to the subject, didn’t like the thought. Yet the thought of humans being the threat, and the chaos that had befallen reminded him….was he still human himself?
For he knew, that humanity could quite possibly be what had threatened things all along. For it was the humans, once the Cetra, who had long since lost their connections to the Planet, and maybe things were destined to fall to chaos from there. Vincent quickly shook his head at the thought. Even he, in all his indifference to the subject, didn’t like the thought. The thought of humans being the threat, and the chaos that had befallen reminded him….was he still human himself?
He felt a ripping sensation coarse through his body at the notion, as if the demon within was answering it through that. He frantically tried to hide as he walked, gripping his side tightly with his good hand. No! He shouted within his mind. Not now!
Taking a few staggering steps forward, he forced himself to try and regain his composure and continue on as if nothing was wrong. Sweat was dripping down his face from the sudden jolt, but as long as he remained behind the others, they hopefully wouldn’t notice his fatigued looks. Then again, if he couldn’t contain the surge bubbling up from inside, there would be little he could to hide what was eminent.
Vincent pushed back the demon from in his own psyche. And Chaos- having no angst, torment, or rage to feed on- fell back reluctantly. Once again, it fell dormant, though why it tried to overtake him in that instant escaped Vincent.
He shook his head sullenly as the pain slowly drained away. The being within his soul slowly returning to it’s deep ‘hibernation’.
It had seemed to him that ever since he had acquired the Ultimate form known as Chaos from Lucrecia, he had experienced more and more odd feelings from within. And the more he tried to reconcile for this, the more chaos stirred restlessly. He feared he already knew that something was hidden beyond his view, even causing the demon to grow restless, to claw into his consciousness with a persistent defiance. And what this grim secret was, he could not begin to imagine. Maybe it had made him even more unstable than he already was. Or maybe he was actually losing control.
Vincent winced at the very thought. Yet no….that couldn’t be it. There was no way. He shook his head to dismiss the thought and silently walked on. Wiping the sweat from his face he fell back a little further, just to be safe. Just to make sure. Chaos slept deep within him again, only a dull feeling within the back of his mind as it slept. Though Vincent did not know how much longer it would remain in the state.
And the more he found out, the more he thought about it, the more restlessly it stirred. So Vincent pushed the question into the back of his mind, forcing himself not to think of it and remained focused at what lie at hand. The fact that Hojo could even possibly be alive, was all he had to worry about it. Deep down he knew that wasn’t really the reason, it was just easier not to worry about it. Yes, just don’t think about it. A voice echoed mockingly. Maybe then it’ll go away, just like everything else you’ve forsaken. Vincent looked around for a moment, seeing no one there, he shook his head and walked on.
They reached Elmyra’s house easily enough, Vincent was awed by its oasis like qualities it held in the bleak city of Midgar. Flowers consisting of a spectrum of color and style flourished around the house.
A babbling waterfall and stream flowed from what seemed like out of nowhere. The sheer beauty surrounding the Victorian style house captivated him, and stranger still such a place could exist in such a drab, lifeless place such as Midgar. This was no doubt Aerith’s handiwork, Vincent realized.
“Ah, welcome!” A cheerful feminine voice greeted to them. A woman stepped out of the villa’s doorway. The look in her face appeared overjoyed, but somehow a shadowed sadness lurked beneath the woman’s carefree looks. Vincent instantly was reminded of the tragedy of Aerith, and Elmyra’s great love and concern for her.
“ Hey, Miss Elmyra!” Barret called back to her, waving broadly to her with a wide grin. “How are ya?”
The woman smiled, pushing her gray hair away from her face and beckoning them in. Even still the same subtle woe loomed over her gentle face.
“Well there’s no sense standing around here all day,” She chided with a quick wave of her hand. “I’m sure you’re tired from the trip over here. So please, do come in!”
The group all nodded in unison, heading to the door in a single file. Vincent followed last of all, stopping for a short moment to observe the serene surroundings. He smiled thoughtfully and followed the rest all in. Forgotten already? The same annoyed voice asked him. How pathetic….
I want you two to go down and see if you can find one of the materia cases downstairs….” Lanai had ordered them just minutes before, she had quickly waved them into the freight elevator to the lower level of the lab before either of the soldiers could ask why. Kaolin knew she only wished to get them out of her way while she plotted what bizarre experiments she could perform of the dead president Rufus. He shudded at the very idea of what she might have planned.
Malise sauntered on ahead of him and through the storage area causally. No matter how odd or maniacal Lanai acted towards them, it never seemed to phase the seasoned commander. At sometimes, Kaolin silently wished he could have the same cool composure of his superior, minus the bad attitude of course. He chuckled and continued his slow pace behind the commander, who in turn, muttered something under his breath in annoyance.
The 67th floor didn’t hold many interesting sights in Kaolin’s opinion. Besides the small storage and holding area for the lab above, there was only a small group of prison cells formerly used by the Shinra corp. Since Reeve had taken over they were never used, and thus the cells had been left to slowly fall into disrepair in the reformation.
Finding the box Lanai had asked for was easy enough. It was a light weight metal case, a thin layer of dust had gather on it from time. Kaolin picked it up, careful not to jostle whatever its contents may be. Blowing the dust from it, he notice a small sloppily hand written label was attached to it. He examined the writing indicating what was held within.
Master Level Materia:
Recovery Types
(handle with care)
Taking quick glances to the labels that each of the other storage crates the cramped holding room contained, Kaolin didn’t see anything that out of the ordinary. A few lab supplies here and there, some marked with strange abbreviations. He looked over the labels with a quiet fascination, trying to figure out what some of the abbreviations meant.
“Hey kid, get over here already and check this out.” Malise called out to him in annoyance.
Kaolin quickly clambered away from the boxes and joined his commander by the large metal tank near the room’s main entrance. Malise stared at the slightly fogged up window that was position in the tank’s center. A code was engraved on a plaque just below the window:
Experimental Project 260a
{Mako exposure moderate to high}
Subject name
Morayne, Ashan--S 3rd Class--
“Weird.” Kaolin remarked, turning to Malise for his usual snide ‘don’t act so surprised’ remark. Malise instead said nothing, he simply continued to stare at the tank, a look of sheer disbelief on his face. “I’ll be damned…” He muttered to no one in particular. “So, she’s actually continuing all this on… and with…with them….”
Kaolin look at him blankly, it was the first time he had ever seen Malise lose his cool over anything. And whatever his commander had meant by the words escaped them. Though Malise realized Kaolin’s confusion before he could speak a work. “Don’t worry about it, kid. You don’t need to know about this.”
He turned from the young rookie quite roughly, his long blond hair swiping the side of Kaolin’s face as he did so. Kaolin followed stubbornly, there was no way he was going to let Malise give him that once again. He ran after the commander, catching up ahead of him at the elevator.
“What do you mean I don’t need to know?” Kaolin asked him sternly.
“Listen, you wouldn’t understand, just drop it.” Malise spun around as he had before, doubling back towards the room’s other exit. Kaolin followed adamantly just the same.
“No way,” He retorted angrily. “Something about that tank really shook you up. And don’t try and deny it ‘cause I saw how you looked, too.”
Malise turned, standing face to face with Kaolin. He glared at the young soldier with a look of growing contempt. “This is none of your !@#$%&* business, rook. So just forget about it. This isn’t your concern, and it’s gonna stay that way.” With that, he pushed Kaolin away, using such force that the young man was sent tumbling backward into a stack of crates nearby. The breath knocked out of him, Kaolin decided it was best to leave Malise to his own troubled thoughts. He gave no attempt to intervene when the Commander stormed out of the room in a huff.
Kaolin was left alone in the lower lab’s chamber, not to mention being sprawled out across several splintered wooden crates. He groaned and put his hand to his head meekly, stroking his pounding head in a futile attempt to stop the dull pain. Malise really had a way of getting his point across when agitated. Kaolin stood up, brushing the dust from his clothes as he did so. He glanced up, his gaze catching the chamber in the corner across from him.
“Don’t see what the big deal is anyway…” He muttered, taking a step closer to it. A dim light was emanating from the glass window in the center of it’s sealed door. The glass was fogged from what appeared to be a cold frost. Blowing his breath to his hand to warm it, Kaolin rubbed a circle clear in the window.
He bent down slowly, peering into the window with an uncertain caution. The sight that met his eyes was incredible.
A creature, almost human in appearance, was strapped inside tightly. It’s closed eyes were clearly large and grotesque in their size. Its nose and mouth were pulled outward into a thin muzzle obviously filled with sharp fangs from its appearance. Its skin seemed normal enough. If not discolored with shimmering scales lining it’s face and humanoid chest in an eerie accent. Translucent wings, almost resembling an insect’s, extended limply from its back. They fluttered and tense from time to time; which each movement a prismatic reflection shone upon them. Yet oddest still were gill-like slits in its neck, opening in closing in a shuddering rhythm of breathing.
“So it’s actually alive.” Kaolin mused aloud.
“Of course it’s alive.” A familiar voice sighed. “If he wasn’t alive then there wouldn’t be any reason for them to keep him here. Hell, they’re probably just waiting for him to die as it is.”
Malise emerged from around the corner once more, a solemn look was on his face. Very slowly, he walked to the metal tank. It seemed as if the mere sight of the chamber pained him. “He has a name, I hope you know…” He said, touching a hand to the window of the creature’s prison.
He lowered his head against the cold metal and closed his eyes tightly. Kaolin heard the low sound of Malise grinding his teeth in anxiety. Kaolin moved closer to his commander, touching a shaky hand to his shoulder in an effort to comfort him somehow.
“T-this is all my fault, Kaolin.” Malise groaned, still not looking up. Kaolin nearly withdrew his hand in surprise, it was the first time Malise had ever addressed him by name before. It must have been really serious for him to let down his normal tough appearance he assumed. Kaolin took a reluctant step closer to his troubled companion not sure if offering sympathy was the way to go with someone like Malise.
“Why though….” Kaolin had begun to say, though the words just didn’t seem right. “Er, I mean…well, uh-”
“Because,” Malise replied softly before the soldier could finish. “He was one of my men.”
Kaolin pulled away sharply no sooner had the words left Malise’s mouth. The mere thought that the creature within in the tank could possibly be human shocked and terrified him beyond belief. How? How could a human being, a person, become such a thing? It was unreal.
Malise’s sullen looks were slowly replaced by his usual mocking sneer as he noticed young Kaolin’s confusion. He grinned slightly at him and turned away from the tank, taking a seat on a nearby crate. Though Kaolin could tell he was forcing the whole act that nothing had bothered him.
“It’s so hard to explain…” the commander muttered. “It was my failure that caused all this.” He slid his fingers along the cold, smooth glass of the window and his eyes gained a gleam that appeared more distraught than ever.
“I…I…I’m sure that’s not true.” Kaolin stammered, tugging on Malise’s uniform sleeve. He only jerked away roughly in return.
“You’re the last person to tell me that, rook.” He hissed.
“I’m sorry, I was just tryin’ to-“
“Save your sentimental crap for someone who cares.” It seemed Malise’s mood dwindled somewhere between saddened and enraged, whichever it was Kaolin couldn’t tell.
“Well, what is all this about?” He sighed, kicking a nearby crate out of frustration.
Malise laughed softly. “I might tell you.”
Kaolin rolled his eyes, cursing himself for thinking he could get anything out of the commander. “Agh, of course.”
“Heh, in the mean time.” Malise said in a singsong tone. Kaolin grimaced, Malise had a damned odd way of dealing with his own pain. Of course he just had to act like a loon in a serious situation. “Let’s go see what Lanai has in store for I dearly departed president.” He yanked the carton of materia shards out of Kaolin’s hand and trotted forward.
“Hey!” Kaolin called out, glancing back to the tank. “What about-“
Malise spun around quickly, his eyes darted back and forth in a split second. “Tonight.” He replied tersely. He quickly spun back around and to the elevator at the far corner of the room. “Huh?” Kaolin muttered in bewilderment. Malise sighed and pulled the grate back from the elevator shaft passage. “Just wait till then.” He whispered quickly. A wry grin crossed his face in the seconds that followed. “Till then, leave me the hell alone with all this.”
“Of course…” Kaolin quickly followed him into the small steel elevator car. “But promise you’ll give me a straight answer then?”
Malise pressed the button marked ‘up’ and slid back against the car’s back wall. “Maaaybe.” He laughed. This was insane, it seemed the more uncomfortable Malise got, the more stupid and trivial he acted. It was a pathetic attempt to veer away from the subject at hand, the least he could do was just not be so idiotic. That... Kaolin thought. Or he’s just a friggin’ psycho.
Kaolin rolled his eyes once more as the elevator slowly lurched upward.
The house was deathly silent that evening. Barret had escorted Elmyra into town to buy a few things, leaving Vincent, Cloud, and Tifa alone in the villa.
While Tifa and Cloud sat in the den, chatting about thing things that held little meaning to Vincent, he had quietly gone upstairs. The two seemed to take no notice as he trudged up the wooden stairs without a word.
Vincent pushed the door of the bathroom open, though the whine of it’s dry hinges loudly announced his action. He ignored it anyway unfastening the clasps of his cloak and tossing it onto a chair that sat alone and forgotten in a far corner as he stepped in.
He ran water in bath tub, he could still hear Tifa and Cloud talking from below, their words still clear within to his ears even though of the distance. He silently finished undressing out of the rest of his clothes as the tub slowly filled with water.
Turning the water off, he stepped in. Sliding carefully into the water, Vincent uttered a low sigh.
He slunk down further into the soothing water, closing his eyes languidly as the water washed over him. His raven hair billowed up around him from underneath the water, clinging back to his face the instant he arose up. He pushed it back automatically, leaning back against the tub’s edge with a wan lament.
The tranquil silence of the room gave his mind a chance to wander through several thoughts, most of which he had pondered over many a time before. Though as he lie there, perfectly still within the water, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
All at once, a high pitched whine filled his ears, growing in intensity as the second back. Vincent put his hands to his ears on impulse, but the screeching noise within his head continued. He reeled from the horrid wrenching of the loud whine. It seemed that just when the loud resonance it had in his head would never cease, it stopped altogether without warning. Again, not a sound met his ears.
It’s odd really. The strange voice hissed, it’s warped tone loud in his mind even though nothing had been said out loud.
You’ve become so good at fooling them all….even yourself. Another laughed desolately from somewhere above. He looked around, though no one else was there in the room with him. For a moment, only the soft dripping of the faucet met his tired ears.
Oh, don’t bother looking. It crowed airily. All that matters is what has to be said.
Yes, yes. It had to be said! A second agreed jovially.
Such a fool. Thinking you can hide it…Heeheehee-!! Another snorted, giggling insanely.
“Listening to reason with a voices in my head….” Vincent muttered, resting an arm over one side of the tub. “Now I know I’ve lost it…”
You think so? The first said, sounding on the verge of laughter. Now why is that?
Don’t you know? Don’t you know?!? Is it true?! Is that it? Is it?! The other cackled in a mad chant.
“Why should I care?” Vincent whispered, slouching down further. “It’s my own business to know that.”
Haha. Well, answer this. The first voice cooed. What face lies….behind the mask?
Yes, what? What is it?
You know! Just say it-!
“Mask?” Vincent repeated, sitting up. “What is that supposed to mean?”
The voices all broke into gales of harsh, contorted laughter at once. You don’t know?! Ha! You’re better at it than I thought!
And all at once, the voices spoke at once; their voices slurring together into a dull roar of taunts and musings.
Yes, so true! To fool even yourself!
So well! So good! Heehee!
Will you realize when it happens? Will you know then? And then what-?
Haha! Your own secret prison!
Your own secret conflict!
It’s too sweet! It’s too good! I love it!
Ooh, if the rest only knew! What would they think of you then?!
Vincent narrowed his eyes with annoyance, flickering from corner to corner in hopes of finding the mounting number of unseen accusers.
Heh. Why don’t you just admit it?
Yes, say it!!!
“Admit what?” Vincent sneered, turning he head the wall in hopes of shutting the crazed noise out.
That you are….
The door swung open quite suddenly, the familiar loud creak announcing the arrival. Cloud walked in, though he jumped back in the exact instant he stepped into the room. At once, the voices all stopped. Once again there was silence again for a split second, before Cloud took notice.
“Whoa!…Vincent….!” He yelped. “S-Sorry.” The startled mercenary bolted back out into the hall, the door still hanging wide open.
Vincent dimly acknowledged him, reaching blindly for the towel left lying in the floor.
“It’s alright.” He said mechanically, grabbing the rough cloth quickly as stood up from the tub, wrapping it around his waist as he stepped out. “I was just leaving anyway.”
He knocked the bath’s drain open with his foot, the water quickly receding away as he turned for the door.
He glanced around again, searching one last time for the unseen voices’ owners in vain. There was nothing. With an annoyed scoff, Vincent left and walked towards his room. Cloud withdrew back a little further as he passed, thinking the action was intended towards him. As Vincent walked past the stairwell, Tifa emerged from below suddenly. Apparently not noticing he was walking by, she slammed into him quite roughly as she clear the stairs and rounded the corner.
She was sent reeling backwards onto the floor, though Vincent was left unscathed. Tifa winced softly and turned her gaze upwards.
“Oh! Vincent!” She cried out in a tone somewhat louder than it needed to be. Quickly, the woman recomposed herself and got back up to her feet, brushing the dust from her skirt she turned to face him.
“I’m really sorry!’ She apologized briskly. Her cheeks flushed a bright red with anxiety as she spoke, though the fact that Vincent wore only a towel most likely could have been the reason also. Vincent paused for a moment, though quickly continued on down the hall and past her. Tifa turned as he did so, uncertainly looking him over as she had probably expected a response.
Vincent gave her barely any attention as he brushed past her, walking by as if in some deep trance. As he turned the door handle to his room, he stopped abruptly. Slowly, he cocked his head back. “Tifa,” He said listlessly, his voice was low and monotonous.
“Y-yes?” She replied shakily.
“…Just don’t worry about it.”
He slammed the door before she could utter another word.
Vincent was left alone with his thoughts again, a position he found he didn’t want to be in judging from the episode with the voices. He stood behind the door for a while it seemed, his hand still pressed tightly to the brass knob, and his head leaned against the thin wooden frame. He could hear Cloud and Tifa exchange a few quick and uneasy words to one another, which was followed shortly after by the sound of footsteps going down the stairs. Again, the silence was his only companion, and he now had little concern for it either.
Almost without thinking, he reached into the small bag he had back and pulled out a sleeveless shirt and a pair of pants. He paused for a moment, studying the fabric in his hands with a hallow interest. They were black of course, as all of his clothes were. He had never cared for colors since he had been awoken by Cloud and his companions that night several months ago, they just didn’t seem necessary.
Black was dark, and cold, devoid of any emotion or reason. It was the night, and the darkness, two things he knew all to well. Why did it matter anyway, the colors were cheerful, and stood out as if with some bold voice. They defined things in ways Vincent was more content to hide than anything else.
“What the--?” He muttered, surprised at where his thought were leading him. He shook his head quickly and put on the clothes. As he pulled the tank top on he wonder what compelled him to ponder such a concept of colors. Black? He asked himself again, as if to receive some explanation why it had arisen. A cold sweet broke out across his face as he stood in the darkness. The thick, black darkness that seemed to brush against his skin, and whisper in his ears.
“Ah yes, Now I remember.” He whispered aloud, his eyes flickering with a grim look. “Black is the color of it…of it’s skin, and it’s wings….and it’s claws. And red is of….the blood….dripping from those claws as it tore into the flesh….of so many.” He grinned, his eyes no tracing listlessly along the walls of the room.
Vincent took a few faltering steps forward and lay back against the bed. The soft sheets seemed to pillow up around him as he weight fell against them. He stared up the ceiling, his back flat against the bed. He laughed softly, not knowing exactly why. “Heh, heh… yes.” He whispered, agreeing with his own words. “That’s what it is. That’s what it means...”
A ringing suddenly filled his ears once again no sooner had his finished. The noise was much louder than it had been the time before. It screamed within his head this time, as if his head would explode from the sheer intensity.
He clutched his hands to his head again. He was nearly compelled to start clawing into it madly. Though that would be a foolish and futile attempt to stop the unbearable noise. He cried out, how loud, he could not tell. The ringing drowned out all noise save the constant screeching. He staggered up to his feet, his hands still pressed firmly against his own ears. His hair hung limply around his fingers as he did.
He opened his eyes meekly, praying that in doing so he could see it was all in his mind. Yet the walls, they were slowly dripping with a thick red liquid. They were dripping with blood, flowing outward as if from a fresh-torn gash. Slowly the streams of crimson began to overcome the drab walls. Staining them, splashing onto the floor as if pouring from some faucet left running. He nearly cried out, but the words were stuck in his throat as though held there by and unseen force.
And still the streams of blood that ran down the walls endlessly continued to multiply, spilling out onto the floor and ever growing closer to where he stood.
“W-what is this?!” Vincent shrieked, sweat dripping in beads down his face. “What’s happening?” No answer came, and the blood continued to pour down in greater and greater amounts. The trail was nearing him now, though he didn’t know what he could do to stop it.
Vincent fell down to his knees, the cold floor below seemed like ice through the thin fabric of the pants he wore. He looked upwards at the rives of blood, as they fell like some waterfall of gore, twisted faces seemed to form in the red tides. The grinned at him with distorted mouths, and hollow eyes, like skulls that beckoned his demise. “What does this mean?! What do you want of me?!” He cried from within his mind, his tongue still held by the uncertain fear the gripped him. Vincent Nearly expected an answer to his hysterical questions as the insane phenomenon of the blood continued to spread.
His only reply, as he almost saw coming; was a small voice, barely even a whisper. Don’t you see…? It laughed, amused by his suffering. Can’t you see? This is the blood. The blood that you’ve shed. The blood that you have brought forth through all your carnage.
That is all you are really. Another added solemnly. So it’s only natural right? Don’t you know what you are, Vincent? Don’t you know why you never tire of the bloodshed?
“What?!” Vincent cried, enraged by the sing-song tone of the voices that taunted him from everywhere and nowhere at once. “What am I then?!”
Ha, ha, ha. Don’t you know? Don’t you know? Another chanted.
A demon within a human shell. It seems you’ve managed to hide it well. Yet another more joined in, speaking in a coarse rhyme.
The experiments were not a curse, but an enlightenment. Another announced in a matter-of-fact tone.
The blood began to flow faster as the accusations continued to mount once more. It spread closer and closer, trickled towards him as if reaching out with greedy hands to catch him. Vincent backed away, the sweat dripping down his face in torrents. He pushed himself up against the bed to avoid in, pressing self close in a futile attempt to escape from it.
That’s all you were. All along! The voices continued to cry out. Some in unison, others shouting loudest. They all pressed together, slowly blurring into a mindless chorus of taunts and blames. The loud ones still crying out in an effort to grab his attention above the rest.
Cold and Stoic, to all those that met their death at your hands.
And sea the blood continues to grow.
“No,” Vincent objected softly, his mind swimming in from the confusing onslaught of accusations. And his dreary eyes still fixed on the flow of blood that loomed ever closer. “That’s….That’s not it…”
The voices seemed to ignore him, continuing on undauntedly. All four walls were covered in the downpour of thick plasma now, slowly invading every corner of the room. He was surrounded by blood, everywhere he looked. The space he lie frozen in slowly being taken over by it. And the voices continued to shriek….
Did you care?! No!
Ha, ha. You were just a soulless demon all along!
Why bother with hiding it?!
You know that you are! You know!!!
“I’m a…..a…?” Vincent gasped, to weakened to finish.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Yes! Yes! That’s it!
“Yes…….” Vincent agreed weakly. “I am…..”
Say it!! Say iiitt!!!!!
He couldn’t finish his sentence. Instead, the horrid delirium that gripped him was overwhelming. His eyes feel shut, his consciousness slipping away.
Thus, he fell forward to the cold floor blow him. As he lay there in a heap, unable to move, or to call out to anyone. The ocean of blood suddenly faded away, revealing the room he sat in was untouched and surprisingly… normal.
A thin smile crossed Vincent’s pale lips, and he closed his eyes once more. They did not reopen.
This series is by Rebecca McKenzie. She has an ongoing Final Fantasy series on my page that I hope will be ongoing. She may have some Parasite Eve fics later on. Email her and let her know what you think!
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