Guilt’s Cost: Part LXXV

Requisition

Vincent gripped his Death Penalty in his right hand and kept it pressed against his chest as the lab doors closed behind him. He scanned the room for any danger as he and Tifa went forward with the doors locking themselves behind them. He froze in his tracks when his eyes caught sight of Cloud standing toward the back of the room in front of the refrigeration unit. Outwardly, he showed very little emotional response upon seeing Tifa’s former husband, but inside he was bitten terribly by the fact that the reports about Cloud’s survival had been correct.

Tifa, sensing that something was wrong stepped out from behind Vincent, following his gaze to see Cloud. She brought her hands up to her face and began to tremble. "Oh God, it’s true…"

Cloud locked eyes with Tifa and broke into a wide smile. "Tifa!"

She turned back to Vincent, searching for his permission to go to Cloud. He simply nodded, knowing that she had to.

As Vincent watched Tifa run across the room and into Cloud’s arms, his heart broke. She seemed for the moment to have forgotten all about Vincent Valentine.

Tifa threw her arms around Cloud, overjoyed to see that he was alive and well. Whether she loved him or not they had been life long friends, and to see him again felt wonderful. "Oh Cloud, I thought you were dead!"

Cloud closed his arms around her tightly. He stared down into her eyes; his face showing no feeling whatsoever. "I am."

"What?" Tifa tried to step back but found herself held forcefully within his embrace. He had no intention of letting her go.

Vincent at once knew that something was wrong, but he was too preoccupied with the sight of Tifa being in Cloud’s arms to notice as Porter stepped out from his hiding place and forced the muzzle of his gun into the back of Vincent’s neck. Vincent held his arms out before him, allowing his Death Penalty to fall to the floor. He was in no position to resist. His stomach turned as Hojo’s retched stench filled the room.

Porter remained behind Vincent with his gun cocked against the other man’s neck, ready to fire if he so much as flinched.

Hojo emerged from his hiding place as well near to where Cloud and Tifa were standing. He smiled at Tifa who was struggling futilely in Cloud’s arms. "I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist coming to see Cloud."

Vincent tried to say something, but Porter shoved the gun into his beck harder, cutting off his words. "If the Professor wants to hear anything from you, he’ll ask."

Tifa continued to writhe in Cloud’s embrace unable to break free. No matter how hard she kicked him he did not respond, but she did manage to turn in his arms to face Vincent. She saw that he was being held at gunpoint and filled with fear for his safety. She screamed. "Cloud, what are you doing? Help us!"

Cloud remained perfectly still, not having any programmed response to her words.

Hojo laughed. "Save your breath, Ms. Lockheart. Cloud is very much dead. That is merely his body being run by a computer. A very intricate robot if you will; its sole purpose was to lure you here."

Learning the truth about Cloud stung her heart. After being given the hope that he was alive after mourning his death, she was cast back into misery. Moreover, she was hurt by the thought of having tortured Vincent with worry over her continued feelings for Cloud. She was brought back to the present as she stared at Vincent. "Why?" Tifa couldn’t think of any reason for the scientist to want her. She figured he was after Vincent. "What do you want with Vincent?"

Hojo scoffed. "Please, Vincent is just an added bonus to getting you."

The way he finished his last sentence sent a chill down her spine. "What?"

"You will be the mother to the new Sephiroth." Hojo walked closer to Tifa and touched the side of her face. "I was going to harvest your eggs to create the new child in vitro, but now having you here, I might just be tempted to do this the old fashioned way."

Vincent was so enraged at hearing Hojo say such a thing as he dared to touch her. Chaos raged back to life within his heart, undoing all the healing that had taken place since coming out of stasis. Try as he might, Vincent felt control slipping away and he closed his eyes.

Hojo looked over to Vincent sensing the change in him. "Porter, you may wish to step back. Mr. Valentine has a tendency to get a little nasty when provoked."

The Turk did as ordered and moved away, making certain to pick up Vincent’s gun and take it with him. He kept his own weapon trained on Vincent as he moved.

Tifa screamed when she saw the demon’s wings once again rip through Vincent’s back. "No!"

Hojo was pleased at having elicited the response he had desired from his former subject. "Good Chaos. Show yourself to me."

Vincent placed his hands over his face, trying in vain to drive the demon back into submission. "No… This can’t be happening…"

Hojo walked directly up to Vincent. He had no fear; knowing that even if Chaos did erupt and tear him apart that the Jenova within him would allow him to survive. "You know you have been waiting for a chance to kill me."

Vincent collapsed to his knees, struggling in desperation within himself.

Hojo’s smile widened. If Vincent would give into the ultimate hatred of attacking him it would allow Chaos to take over completely and permanently. "Surely you need to extol your revenge upon me for the past, and Lucretia."

"No, God damn it… I can’t do this!" Vincent smashed his right hand down to the floor. Chaos was building up within him in a way that he never had before. Vincent knew that if he gave in this time it would be his last. His human hand darkened, becoming that of the demon.

"Yes! Come on!" Hojo cheered. This was the one thing that he had wanted to see happen; this was his unfinished work upon the former Turk.

Vincent wouldn’t let the demon out again, no matter what the cost. Maybe Chaos would kill Hojo, but there was also a good chance the beast would hurt Tifa as well. That was something that he could never again allow. A lupine scream escaped Vincent’s lips as he managed to grab control of the beast within him. His right arm again became his own.

Hojo’s face fell; his great experiment had failed. There should have been no way for Vincent to fight off Chaos under this sort of situation. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a loaded syringe. Hojo stooped to where Vincent knelt and shoved the needle into the muscle of Vincent’s normal arm. "Failure! Experiment terminated!"

There was a fierce burning where Hojo had given him the injection. Vincent fell forward, sprawling onto the floor feeling the demon writhe within him. As the chemical spread through his body, the genetic make up of the beast was dissolved within Vincent’s cells. Chaos was being killed.

Tifa watched helplessly, growing weak as her terror for Vincent gripped her heart. She wanted to cry out to him, but it felt as though the air had been torn from her lungs.

As Chaos died within Vincent, Hojo turned his attention back to Tifa. He walked up before her. "Don’t worry. Mr. Valentine will be fine… for now."

Mustering all her remaining strength, Tifa kicked up with her right leg, her boot meeting Hojo’s chin with a brutal force. His glasses were knocked from his face as he reeled from the blow.

Any normal human would have either sustained a broken neck or gone unconscious after stuck an impact, but Hojo was no longer normal. He straightened back up and looked at Tifa, wiping a trail of blood from his chin. "That was not very pleasant."

She spat at him. "I hate you!"

Hojo gave a signal to Porter. The Turk immediately returned to Vincent’s side and trained his gun on him. Vincent was laying motionless now as the shock to his body had rendered him unconscious.

Hojo stooped down and picked up his glasses. He inspected them momentarily before placing them back onto his nose. "Ms. Lockheart, you may want to take note that every time you anger me like that, something bad will happen to Vincent."

Her eyes grew wide.

"For instance, for kicking me like that, I will have my dear associate Porter shoot him in his good arm." Hojo said, smiling in amusement.

Porter felt his blood run cold. He had never fired upon another human being in his life. Shooting an unarmed and incapacitated man did not appeal to him, yet he knew that if he refused Hojo’s order Vincent’s fate would be his own. He aimed his gun at where Vincent’s arm was lying before him and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through the lab, eliciting a scream from Tifa. "Vincent!"

Vincent was pulled back to reality from his unconscious state by the exquisite pain in his arm. The bullet had struck just above the wrist, shattering the bones within. His only remaining normal appendage now hung piteously useless. He rolled onto his back and pulled his damaged arm up to his chest, cradling it with his metal claw. The drug that Hojo had injected into him to kill the demon had left him weak and confused. He turned his head to see Tifa still being held by Cloud. Hojo stood next to them smiling. Vincent couldn’t bear the spectacle and closed his eyes again. The pain from his destroyed arm was all he could think of.

"Good, I think I have made my point." Hojo turned back to Tifa. "Now that I have your attention, shall we get to business?"

Tifa couldn’t take her eyes off of Vincent. Her mind spun, and she feared that everyone that had come with them would by now be dead. She suspected that once Hojo was done with her, that she and Vincent would be dead too.