Tortured Soul - VII
- Rise & Shine Bloody Valentine -
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Vincent's eyes flicked open. He found himself somewhere dark, somewhere that smelled musty. He tried to outstretch his arms, but came in contact with something cold and hard. He pushed at it, but whatever it was wouldn't move. "What the fuck?" He thought as he pushed harder at the cold wood.
He stopped for a while, giving himself a chance to think. All he could really remember was Hojo stabbing something into his arm, and then.... nightmares, so any nightmares. He shook his head. Where was he? Why didhe feel so.... numb? For a seccond, he thought he heard an echo of mocking laughter somewhere in his tired, overworked mind.
His thoughts were rendered silent by the sound of a key grating in a lock. He lay still, listening to the muffled voices outside his cold prison.
As the voices drew nearer, he could recognise that they were those of a young man and two young ladies.
"I wonder what this place is." The voice of the young man said.
"I don't know, but it is creeping me out." One of the young ladies commented, her voice shaky.
"Maybe, but still Tifa, all the time we were living in this town we didn't know anything about this place." The young man said again.
Curiousity overcame Vincent, plus he wanted out of wherever he was. "To wake me from the nightmare." He said aloud, quite unsure why. He gave the wood one last hard shove, sending it flying off, to land on the floor some way from the coffin it turned out he was laying in. The two young ladies looked round in surprise, one a pretty lady who appeared to be a boxer, and the other a more delicate looking lady with a pink ribbon in her hair. Vincent looked back at them with similar surprise. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced around his surroundings.
Why was he in the crypt? Ah, Hojo, of course. This was just like something he would do. His head was throbbing. What was in that injection? His final memories of his last encounter with Hojo flooded back with force, the injuries he had inflicted on his enemy, the way it had felt, the fact that he had enjoyed it so much, his arm the intense pain.... thinking about it, he glanced quickly at his arm, wondering why the pain had subsided. He was taken aback at the sight which greeted him. The thin brass plates covering his pale skin, the sturdy bolts through his bone, and most of all, the five vicious claws where his printless fingers should be. Had Hojo done this to him as a final act of revenge?
He looked up to see the young man staring at him, more from disbelief than surprise. "You were having a nightmare?" The young lady in pink asked. Vincent looked at her for a second, before realising what she was talking about. He nodded solemnly, there was something about this lady.
He found out from the young man that these people were here because they were after Sephiroth. This was news to him, Sephiroth was a baby wasn't he? How long had he been in this place? The young man, who he found was called Cloud, grimaced when he introduced himself as Vincent, formerly of the Turks. The reaction gave Vincent the suspicion that these three had tangled with the Turks before.
Cloud's story was interesting. But to his dismay, Vincent found that he wouldn't get any news of Lucrecia out of Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER First Class. Maybe she hadn't pulled through.
"So, what's your story?" Cloud asked, folding his arms. Vincent looked confused for a moment, then it clicked. He shook his head, could he really go through all that again? even if it was just in his head or through words?
"I cannot speak." He answered, still shaking his head.
"That's dirty."The young lady in pink, named Aeris said, a disappointed look on her face. Vincent lay back down in the casket. Sleeping seemed like a better idea than facing this strange world.
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Cloud and his two companions left, leaving Vincent to himself again. Was this really so? Sephiroth, gone insane? Sephiroth general of SOLDIER? Just how long had he been in this crypt? and if it was so long, why did he look the same as he had on the night he was imprisoned here? Admittedly, his hair was long and unruly, but his bandana kept it more or less in check, so that was no bother, but everything else? This was Hojo's doing. Hojo, if that Cloud boy and his friends were after Sephiroth, perhaps they would meet Hojo at some point.
With this idea going at him, Vincent left the crypt, and caught up to the three companions in the corridor. Cloud was bent over slightly, winded perhaps? "If I come with you, will I meet Hojo?" Cloud shrugged,
"I guess so, we're after him and Sephiroth." Vincent turned away from them, and looked at the ground, keeping his stifled emotions secret, unprepared to share the with anyone. That brought too much hurt....
"Lucrecia." He muttered under his breath. Cloud looked at Aeris and Tifa and shrugged. Vincent looked over his shoulder at them and nodded once." Let's get going shall we?"
Cloud nodded back, and led the way up the stairs.
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"Our wrongs remain unrectified, and our souls won't be exhumed." - Sing for Absolution, Muse
