Guilt's Cost: Part 196

Proof

By Kristen Gupton-Williams

 

            Tifa practically dragged Vincent back to the airfield.  By the time that they arrived, Cid was already out of the airship with his baggage and his son in his arms.  He smiled upon seeing Tifa and Vincent and walked over to them.

            Tifa immediately took the baby from him and looked him over.  "Oh Cid, he's getting heavy!"

            He brimmed with pride.  "Yeah, I'm still managing to get food into him."

            Vincent looked over Tifa's shoulder at the little boy and just smiled faintly.

            Cid looked at the other man, taking notice of the fact that Vincent was in a suit.  "What's this?  Going back to your Turks days?"

            He met Cid's gaze and cocked an eyebrow.  "No, actually, we were just at a wedding."

            "Anyone I know or give a rat's ass about?" Cid asked.
            "Porter and Rayna," Vincent replied.

            Cid looked thoughtful for a moment.  "That's great.  I'm glad for them I guess."

            Tifa caught the change in Cid's tone and looked up at him.  Obviously there was something about the wedding that upset him on some level, and she knew that it was Shera's death.  She opted to change the subject.  "Let's go put your stuff in your room."

            Once in the base, Cid dropped his bags in his room and then turned to his friends.  "So, where's this body of yours cooking?"

            Vincent wasn’t in the business of taking just anyone to the lab to see his new self, but Cid wasn't going to take no for an answer.  Without a word he just turned and began heading for the lab.

            Cid glanced over at Tifa.  "Friendly as ever, I see."

            She couldn’t help but smile.  "You know how he is.  Vincent just doesn't want everyone making a big deal out of this."

            "Oh right, no one is going to make any sort of fuss about Pinocchio becoming a real boy," Cid scoffed.

            Vincent stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing the pilot's joke.  With his nerves on end as they had been over the last few days, Cid's humor was not striking him as funny.  Instead of turning and saying anything back though, Vincent managed to calm himself down just enough as to again start walking toward the lab.

            Behind him, Cid realized that he had just struck a chord with Vincent and he looked over at Tifa and knit his brow.  "I guess I'll just shut the hell up now."

            After a short while, they came to the lab doors and Vincent pushed them open.  He walked forward, quickly discovering that for the moment, the place was abandoned and the only sound to be heard was the low hum of the acceleration chamber. 

            Cid pushed past him and went right up to the glass, looking inside.  What he saw there was unlike anything he'd ever seen before and in a rare moment, he was speechless.  Vincent's body hung there within, muscles each moving slightly every few seconds as the electrodes within them fired.  He narrowed his eyes and looked at the body's face, studying it for a moment.  It was definitely Vincent all right, but there was something odd about it.  Somehow, even with the eyes closed, it was obvious that there was absolutely no trace of a soul within the form.  Cid felt goose bumps rise on his arms and he stepped back.

            Tifa and Vincent both noticed the expression that Cid wore, seeing that he was clearly disturbed on some level.  Tifa spoke up.  "What's on your mind?"

            He glanced back over his shoulder for a second at the body, and then turned and examined Vincent as he stood before him.  "So, they're really going to put you in there?"

            Vincent shrugged.  "That is the idea, yes."

            Cid couldn't begin to understand at all how this was going to work.  If Vincent survived this at all it would be nothing short of a miracle as far as he was concerned.  "I don't know man, this… this is crazy."

            "Quigley and the rest seem pretty confident about it," Tifa interjected, more for her self than Cid.

            Again, Cid glanced back at the body.  "Fuck, I'm sure as hell glad I ain't involved in any of this."

            Vincent reached out and placed a hand upon Cid's shoulder.  He wanted to tell the pilot exactly what a big part he was playing in all this, being Tifa's support throughout the whole process, but words failed him.  The corners of his mouth pulled down slightly into a frown.

            Cid, for reasons unknown to him, reached out and took Vincent into his arms and pulled him close.  "God damn it man, are you sure about doing this?"

            Vincent, surprised for a moment froze within the pilot's embrace.  "Yes, I am."

            A little embarrassed about his display, Cid stepped back and ran a hand through his hair.  "It's your body I guess, but I for one think you're insane for going through with this."

            Not feeling any need to explain himself to Cid, Vincent turned around and walked out of the lab.

             Tifa and Cid looked at each other in silence for a moment and then Cid asked, "He's acting a little more spooky than he did there for a while, isn't he?"

            "Yeah," Tifa sighed, "he's nervous about this.  You know Vincent, whenever anything is on his mind he gets quiet and reclusive."

            "I don't know how you put up with that shit."  Cid laughed.  "It drives me up the God damned wall."

            Tifa smiled.  "It's not for long.  Soon, this will all be over and done with and everything will be all right… I hope."

            Cid furrowed his brow and looked down at her.  "Seriously, what are the chances of this working?"

            She thought for a second before responding.  "Like I said, Quigley and Dr. Arlin seemed fairly convinced that this is going to go just fine.  Even if the chance of him pulling through were only one percent, you know as well as I do that he'd go for it.  Vincent can't go on living in that body.  I know he's seemed all right more or less for a while now, but I know it's driving him insane."

            "Obviously, because he's fuckin' nuts to do this, no offense."  Cid crossed his arms over his chest.

            "I'm sure he appreciates the fact that you're so concerned in his own way, just don't expect him to show it."  Tifa dropped her gaze to the baby that was lying in her arms.

            "I'm not worried about Vincent.  I'm worried about what all this crap is going to do to you, Tifa."  His expression almost turned angry.

            "I've come to accept that this has to happen.  If Vincent himself didn't seem so damned certain that this was going to turn out fine, then I'd be out of my mind by now, but he really is confident."  She felt herself slouch a bit.

            "It's hard to believe that he's got faith in anything anymore after all that the son of a bitch has been through."  Cid shook his head.

            "I think that fact in itself is proof that miracles can happen, Cid."  Tifa smiled.

            He looked at her and shook his head.  "I think the fact that he ended up with you is proof that anything can happen."

            "Oh Cid."  Tifa rolled her eyes and grinned.  "We are a lot more alike than I think anyone ever would have thought underneath it all."

            Cid cocked his head and narrowed his eyes.  "Eh, not that much.  You don't get all creepy when you're depressed."

            "Well, you've got me there, I guess."  Tifa laughed.

            "We should probably go catch up with him, before he goes out and starts accosting virgins in their beds or whatever it is his kind do after dark," Cid said, sounding entirely serious.

            Tifa scowled at him.  "What is with you and Reno constantly finding the most bizarre statements to make about what Vincent does at night?"

            Cid outright laughed at her reaction.  "Oh come on, Tifa.  Look at him for God's sakes!  On top of that, he was sleeping in a coffin for thirty years under that mansion!  I bet you've never once seen him eat garlic, have you?"

            Tifa wasn't particularly thrilled with how people were constantly joking about her husband being either Dracula or Marilyn Manson.  "Come on, stop it!"

            Cid knew that she was about to crack under her annoyed exterior.  "Come on yourself.  You've never, ever seen him eat garlic now, have you?"

            Despite the fact that a smile was fighting to crop up, she pretended to remain angry.  "That's besides the point.  Just because he hates the stuff doesn't make him a vampire."

            Cid just grinned at her. 

            No longer able to resist, Tifa broke out into laughter.  "You're horrible, Cid."

            He patted her on the shoulder before walking out.  "If I only had a gil for every time you've said that."