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Walking Out on Destiny	By : HarliqueenNight Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2575 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all things associated are owned by Square Enix and Testuya Nomura respectively. I own nothing save for the characters and places created for the sake of this fan fiction and recieve no profit in the creation of this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
A/N: i hate this chapter so i tried to make it better by making the bad parts quick. I mean i hate it cause of what i had to do just for plots sake T-T Love these characters and here I am torturing them. if it seems snippish, its because i tried to lessen heart wrenching but i don't think i did. Don't laugh but i cried all over again when i edited this. Ah well, hope you enjoy to the best of your ability and keep with the story.

Warning: character death...

Walking Out on Destiny

Episode 12: Say Uncle

"These days everyone cries, "Say uncle!"

I retrieve the memories quickly as I can

Add them to the portrait we all draw in our minds

The body gone, we shall keep the man..."

-Say Uncle by Vienna Teng-

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Five months after Sephiroth's Departure

"Tseng isn't doing very well with socializing," Nobel said watching Tseng at the range.

"Turk is not meant to be social. He's job is just to get the job done and keep moving," Vincent leaned over and pressed the speaker button. "Tseng, adjust your sight. You're two degrees off fatal."

Tseng stopped shooting to adjust it. His hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail away from his eyes. Nobel was his current teacher and she didn't approve of how young he was compared to the other candidates. She often expressed disapproval of Vincent's choice to place him in before he was at the very least a teenager. He paid her no mind since Tseng seemed content in a place where the deadly skills of his clan could be put to use and make him stronger. Though he'd gone in willingly, Tseng had refused to take up lodging in the dorms. He had decided that he rather be able to come home and tell Vincent of his exploits rather than call him or write an impersonal letter. Despite that, they each got letters from Sephiroth every week. Each of them would get six letters a piece, one for each day. Tseng enjoyed reading them while curled on the couch, though he never told Vincent what they said nor did Vincent ever ask.

Slowly, despite the death of two of their closest, the Turks began to live again. They had not been allowed to take a break and rightfully so they recovered quickly. They moved on and continued handling the massive amount of missions being used to them all the while protecting Lady ShinRa. There had been a higher death toll of younger Turks in the field as well as around Midgar, though more of them were killed during their downtime rather than on their missions. Vincent had already speculated that it was Lucrecia who was still missing. Nobel had DNA tested the hair claiming that it was impossible; it had not been a match. Vincent still didn't believe that, neither had Hojo but even he had been busy. With Sephiroth being in boot camp, he had been working on other breakthroughs and having to run Sephiroth's monthly tests and evaluations solo. This left Vincent's hunches and fears unfounded and unexplored. So, he began to focus on recruiting and training with Tseng being his number one prodigy. He'd already decided that the one who would replace him should anything happen would be Tseng.

"Tseng, calm your breathing!" Nobel said. "You're making a mess of the target!"

Tseng growled under his breath and cocked the rifle to fire again. Out of frustration he shot straight through the head of the target and threw the rifle away. Nobel looked at Vincent with a defeated sigh.

"Vincent, he hates me and I have no clue why but if he plans on advancing he needs to adjust his attitude!"

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you antagonize him?"

"Because, he's the smallest one in this academy at the moment," she spat. "The smallest one of us who knew everything we knew died! I refuse to let it happen again."

Vincent only stared at her with penetrating red eyes. "You're lying. Helena…do you hate Tseng?"

Melitta barged in before she could answer a large grin on her face. "Ya'll won't believe this shit! Ya gotta come down, boss!"

Tseng pulled out his ponytail as he walked, letting his obsidian hair fall around him like silk. He was almost thirteen and yet he was still smaller than he should've been. He was almost thirteen and he still had to fight to be noticed! Almost thirteen and he still had to fight to be noticed. Almost thirteen and he couldn't do anything about that woman. Helena Nobel was biased against him since the first day he began this training. She would talk about free rides just because he lived with Vincent and that he wasn't privileged so he shouldn't expect special treatment. Every time her voice passed through his ears, he would hear the sound of his fellow clan taunting and tormenting him because he was nothing to them. He punched the wall in frustration leaving a discernible dent in the stucco. He sighed and continued to the lounge were he could take a break from Nobel. He lay back against the plush black couch and closed his eyes. He needed to still his thoughts; Helena Nobel was not worth the trouble. Vincent was the only one he had to worry about disappointing. She was nothing to him.

"Let me go ya fuck mothering bastards!"

Tseng's eyes snapped open and he looked to see a filthy, skinny kid being dragged through the hall by infantrymen. Tseng stood and went to the window out of curiosity. He couldn't quite see the boys face but his hair stood out like a cherry on ice cream. The boy fought and struggled, managing to break off his attackers. He tripped up one of them with his lanky legs and sucker punched the other in the jaw. He broke out into a run almost getting shot and picked up the nearest thing he could find; a stapler. Tseng furrowed his brow wondering how he was going to defend himself with that. When the boy loosened it and slapped the oncoming infantryman with it, Tseng realized it was the old fashion metal stapler. The boy struck the man once more and picked up his gun, pointing at the other men.

"What now, mother fuckers? Come on! I'm right here! I ain't shit, you bad! COME ON!" he taunted.

The men didn't move and the boy began to back away towards the exit. Vincent and Melitta came into the door at that exact moment and the boy turned around and opened fire at them. They ducked quickly and Vincent yanked his gun smoothly from the holster on the way down. He shot the gun out the boy's hand. As it flew, the boy ran and Melitta ran after him. Tseng noticed he was coming his way and in a snap decision stuck his foot out of the lounge door.

"AH SON OF BITCH!" the boy exclaimed, skidding across the floor, his red mop falling over his face. Melitta ran up laughing the whole time. She put her knee in the small of his back and handcuffed him.

"Oh god, you are just a treat!" Melitta exclaimed.

"Ah!" he cried in pain as the cuffs were tightened. "Ah you bitch! Let me go!"

Vincent went around standing in front of the boy with a weary expression. He knelt down and lifted the boys chin finding bright chartreuse eyes glaring at him beneath cherry red bangs. Surprisingly, the boy calmed when he looked at Vincent. Tseng didn't trust that gaze; there was too much recognition in it.

"Name!"

"Reno!" he spat proudly.

"Last name?"

"Slum rats ain't got last names, yo!"

"Age?"

"Thirteen! Get off me bitch!" he struggled under Melitta's weight.

"Crime?"

"Which one, old man?"

"Which ever got you brought here?"

Reno smirked. "Illegal abuse of Mako, grand theft auto, armed robbery, breakin' an' enterin', premeditated murder, and successful destruction of ShinRa property!"

Vincent furrowed his brow at that last one before part of the building suddenly shook and a loud explosion was heard throughout the area. Reno took the opportunity to toss Melitta off and kick her in the gut. Reno brought his legs close to his chest and slipped his arms to the front. He got to his feet and took off in the confusion but Tseng didn't let him out of his sight. He ran after him as fast as he could, knowing that the cuffs would off balance the redhead and slow him down. When the boy cut a corner, Tseng jumped to the wall across from him and propelled himself toward the redhead feet first. He planted both Turk issued boots into Reno's back knocking the breath out of him and making him fall. Tseng then put his foot on the back of the boy's neck and pressed down.

"SHIT, YO!" the redhead growled.

"Don't move dog, or my foot snaps your neck," Tseng said threateningly.

"Figures," Reno muttered.

l

Veld, Vincent, and Tseng stood outside the interrogation room watching Melitta question a hand cuffed Reno. The young redhead leaned back against the chair with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Vincent shook his head. Too young…how often did you catch a thirteen year old terrorist.

"Look, I already told you," Reno said casually. "You plan to lock me up, do it. I'll be safer in a cell than you letting me go scot-free with just a pat on the back."

Melitta couldn't keep the smile off her face. "And you rigged that yourself?"

"Rigged, hell, I invented the EM field that helped me get in. What?" he dared her to say he didn't.

"Wow, so how didja manage to get the field to affect only the front without tipping anyone off?"

Reno arched his brow at her. "Doll, I can show you more fireworks than your man does when he gives it to ya hard."

Melitta giggled. "Ya way too young for me, red."

"I was strong enough to knock the wind out of you, bet I can do much more than that with these hand cuffs off."

Tseng made a face of disgust. "He's completely vulgar!"

"But he's smart," Veld said distractedly. "You can see it in his eyes."

"He has a high intelligence; he just makes people believe he's ignorant. If they think he's ignorant they underestimate him. If that's the case, then the people who sent him must have thought he was ignorant."

Reno straightened up and pulled his hands free from around the chair. Melitta gave a jump of surprise when he did so but the most Reno did was pull the cigarette from his mouth and flick the ashes into a tray. Tseng narrowed his eyes at the redhead through the glass. He didn't trust him yet it seemed like the Turks were interested in him, Melitta most of all.

"So," Reno said blowing smoke. "Let's talk turkey. I got sent here on a suicide mission. Those explosives were rigged to go off before I ever escaped the area. I know, I checked the timer on them when they gave em to me but I changed it."

"To save your own skin?"

"To get an opportunity to get out the slums," he corrected. "I'm sure your fellow Turks behind that wall over there might be interested in what I have to say. I ain't stupid, I know something foul goin' on in the Turks cause you been recruitin' us slum rats like crazy."

Melitta laughed. "Yeah, times is hard for us. Ain't gone lie. But my question is if you knew we was recruitin' then why we ain't got you?"

"You can recruit all you want to, yo. Don't mean we all make it to the AR academy. You passed over a lot of us and either sent us back to the slums or put a bullet in our head. I figure if I wanted to get out of that hellhole, I needed some cold hard evidence that I'm useful. Now you wanna hear what I got to say…or do you wanna keep playin' 21 questions? Cuz I got all week but one of ya'll don't."

Nobel walked in to the observation room with Vincent and Veld. She began to murmur an apology for being late but stopped short when she saw Tseng standing with Vincent. "What the hell is a Baby Turk doing in here?"

"Pop a Xanex, Helena," Veld said trying to listen to what Reno was saying. "He's the one that caught this little bastard."

Tseng looked at Nobel out the corner of his eye and went back to watching the interrogation. She clicked her tongue and went closer to the window. "Who's this clown?"

"Our would-be terrorist," Vincent replied. "Says he knows something that we don't and with the way he's set up, I don't think he's lying."

"He's not lying. He's negotiating. He knows something of value to us," Tseng said softly.

"And what makes you believe that?" Nobel asked with annoyance.

"Because, he knows that if he lies Turk will kill him and no one will be the wiser."

Vincent nodded. "Melitta, hear him out and give us report."

Melitta nodded and turned off her earpiece. "Okay kid. Let's talk. Whatcha got?"

"Not now, yo! In private somewhere. I'll tell it to you when no one is around, just in case said bitch/bastard is in that observation room. And believe you me, they ain't the ringleader, somebody in the upper crust giving them everything they need to take ya'll out. I think you guys need to re-evaluate what you're doing and do it fast."

"And you chose to help us why?"

"I already told you, I want out the slums."

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Vincent had to wait for the report from Reno since Melitta chose to be in charge of him. That left them with nothing to go on other than to keep taking the same precautions. Nobel remained with Melitta and Veld went to guard Lady ShinRa with a few other average Turks. He sent Tseng home early and went down to the Labs. He had needed to speak with Hojo about Sephiroth's progress and about Nobel's behavior towards Tseng lately. Tseng caught up to him before he left on the elevator, slipping in before they close. Vincent looked down at him curiously as the boy pushed a floor so that the elevator began to move.

"What's wrong, Tseng? I sent you home earlier; it's not like you not to listen-"

Tseng growled and hit the emergency stop button with his fist, his head lowered in frustration. The small box went dark and was filled with the glow of the city through the glass. It illuminated Vincent's red eyes and Tseng couldn't help staring at them when he looked up. His mouth moved but he couldn't form the words properly. Vincent took a step to the trembling boy but stopped when he finally spoke.

"Nobel…she smells of a traitor!" he spat looking up at Vincent. "She is jealous of you! Of those you love! She knows what's going on, I know she does."

"Helena is a friend, Tseng. She's loyal to the Turks and to Lady ShinRa, there's no possible way she could-"

"Is that what reason tell you?" Tseng snapped. "Does it make you trust this woman as you trusted her. Or is it guilt?"

Vincent couldn't answer that. He'd been suspicious of Nobel's actions for a while, especially her adversity against Tseng and now he saw why. She knew Tseng suspected her and that Vincent would believe him if he ever said so. Tseng was saying so…and he believed it. Still, he couldn't blame Nobel because what she'd been going through. Her husband gone, a possible second gone, her best friend no longer wanted anything to do with her. It was only natural for someone to lash out at what she could. Tseng was too young to understand.

"Tseng, Nobel is a Turk and is sworn by word and blood. She's no one to be afraid of."

Tseng looked him in the eye and Vincent caught something he wasn't meant to. The boy averted his eyes away from him and gritted his teeth. His voice came out in a strained whisper betraying more than he wished to.

"I fear for you, Vincent. Ill omen after ill omen and you have somehow managed to survive. How many more time before that's it? I think of when you held me the day your friend Kid died. That embrace haunts me; I both reveled in it and hated it. I reveled in it because no one had ever held me as though I were so precious, as though I were cherished. But I hated it…because..I…" He looked at Vincent, his gray eyes old and worn as though they did not belong to the little boy that owned them. "Vincent, I am still just a child to you aren't I?"

Vincent was thrown off by the question and the implication behind it. Tseng didn't allow him to answer. He reached out to push the emergency button once again. He missed the softening of Vincent's garnet gaze and the sound of him moving forward. He was suddenly backed against the glass and was captured by those red eyes that had been his sanctuary. Vincent tilted his head down at him so that his hair fell to one side and there was a gentle smile on his face.

"Tseng, there's so much more to love than just me. You're twelve," he said gently. "You may believe you have lived but even though months pass like years for you, there are still real years to get through. Affection of lovers, friends, brothers, and guardians will come to you if you let it. You can't let me be the only thing real in your life."

Tseng felt his eyes burn but didn't let the tears fall. He burrowed into Vincent's arms and found comfort there. Vincent held him, not with the desperation he had before, but with a gentle reassuring hold, one that said I won't let go as long as you won't. Vincent went to his knees so that he could hold the boy better and allowed Tseng to bury his face in the crook of his neck.

"You have the worst fate among all people," Vincent whispered. "You are an adult trapped in the body of a child. Knowing this, you can only grow older and endure more hardship. But Tseng, you have something that most do not have. You have people who love you and most of all, you have me. I love you Tseng and no matter what happens, no matter how much blood is on your hands, I will always love you."

Tseng the tears he'd held began to fall staining Vincent's collar. He slowly let go and wiped his face a bit before looking at the man as he got to his feet. "You're the only thing worth protecting in my life, Vincent. Please, just take care when I am not there to do it for you."

Vincent smiled a little and pressed the emergency button. "I saved you, remember?"

They smiled at each other and when the ShinRa labs came up, the elevator stopped. The doors opened and Vincent stepped out leaving Tseng inside alone. Tseng wrapped his arms around himself and slid down to the floor, his head bowed against his knees.

"Why does it matter that my body is merely a child," he whispered. "Why does it matter when what I feel is more than what your lovers ever felt for you? Why does it matter when I love you, Vincent?"

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Vincent walked into the labs with a sigh. "Hojo, perhaps I need to take you up on your offer and get some therapy. I'm starting to need…it…"

He found himself staring at the ruins of Hojo's work station. Things were carelessly strewn all over the floor and the professor lay with a small pool of blood near his head. Vincent cursed and immediately pulled his gun. He scanned the area slowly and took cautious steps forward. He made it to the body but didn't look down. Instead, he held his gun with one hand and checked Hojo for a pulse while keeping his eyes keen. The professor was alive and had a steady pulse as if he were only asleep, which was strange judging by the amount of blood near his head. Vincent heard a sound to his right and pointed the gun in that direction. He rose while pressing his ear piece to. It would alert all Turks in the area of his location and that he was in danger. He continued to clear the area, following the random sounds and flinching every now and then from sparking wires. Who ever had done this had torn the place to pieces and he didn't want to think that the cages had malfunctioned. A shadow passed in front of him and he shot, clipping the stranger in the leg. He ran up to them only to find a regular Infantryman.

"Dammit," he knelt down. "Can you hear me!"

"She did something to us! She did something to us! All of them, they got injected with that crap! HELP US PLEASE!"

Vincent jumped back when the man began to mutate, his limps turning sickly pale and his muscles bulging. He quickly cocked his gun and shot the man in the head, halting the transformation. More sounds and strange calls echoed around him. He shot one that tried to attack him while he was kneeling and rolled out of the way of its collapsing body. Rising, he dodged a swinging arm and ran from the sudden influx of mutations. He pushed his earpiece again, wondering why this place wasn't filled with Turks by now. Fuck it, he needed to get Hojo out of here and seal off this lab before those things got out and caused some real damage. He ran back to where he'd left the unconscious doctor and tried to pick him up, finding him surprisingly light. He paid it no mind since he needed to get his hands empty as soon as possible. Then suddenly, a sharp pain entered his neck. He dropped Hojo and pulled a needle from his neck, glaring down at the scientist. He heard laughing and looked down at the professor as he slowly stood. The mass of black hair slid off and to the floor revealing tied up chestnut hair. Lucrecia looked at him with a placid smile on her face.

"Hello, Vincent."

"Lucrecia? I knew it," he growled pulling his gun to shoot her. A gun went off but he never pulled the trigger. He grunted when he was suddenly pushed forward by unknown force and he went to his knees. His brain told him he'd been shot, but the Turk in him didn't allow him to focus on it. He whipped around and caught his shooter off guard with a bullet to the chest. He didn't actually "see" who it was until the body dropped to the floor and sharp breathes of air were heard.

"Dammit Vincent," Lucrecia said as if he'd spoiled dinner. "Look what you've done to my friend."

Nobel lay there struggling to breathe. Vincent's .45 had torn a mean hole through her lung and it was slowly filling up with blood. She reached up for Lucrecia and gasped a shaky "Help me."

Lucrecia put a hand to her ear as if she hadn't heard. "What was that dear? Help you? Oh no, no, see the President doesn't want any Turks not under his heel. I have to get rid of all of you and then I get my son back. Sorry old friend, but you were useful while it lasted." She dug her red heel into the bullet wound pulling a pained scream from the dying woman. She then pulled a scalpel from her coat pocket and knelt down. "Let's help you breath better?" She slit the woman's throat and licked the blood from it.

Vincent reloaded his gun and fought to stand with his wound but could not. It had hit him somewhere vital and it was becoming hard for him to breath. Not to mention there was something strange in that syringe she'd stabbed him with. He pointed it to where Lucrecia was, only to find her gone.

"You should've done right by me Vincent. You should've never interfered. You know I actually loved you right."

"You never loved me! You would've done to me what you did to our child!" Vincent's eyes darted all around; searching for Lucrecia's location but the echoing was making it hard to hear

"You're still on about that?" a laugh. "You realize that the child never died?"

"What?"

"Oh no, your DNA mixed with Hojo's was a complete success. Why do you think I kept sleeping with both of you?"

Suddenly, something slimy and warm wrapped around his limbs and lifted him from the ground. His gun fell uselessly to the floor along with his phone as he was slammed against the wall off his feet by disgusting pale tentacles stemming from Lucrecia's arm.

"You see, Vincent? I am the Mother," she said her voice becoming distorted. "The Jenova said did wonders for me and because of them I am immortal. Once I have Sephiroth, we will rule this world as God and Goddess." She used her other arm to pick up Vincent's side arm and pointed it at him. "I had such things I wanted to show you, Vincent. Things I wanted for you, things you would've been perfect for. But…that's life for you." She pulled the trigger…repeatedly.

A well of blood burst from Vincent's mouth when the initial three hit his torso and the pain was near unbearable but when she reached the eighth bullet, he couldn't feel anything anymore. His eyes were glazed with coming death and his body was limp. His vision was blurry but he was still able to see that candy sweet smile on her face that he had fell in love with. He didn't understand what she meant. She claimed the child had never died. Did that mean the poor thing was alive somewhere, alone? His mind drifted to what it would've been like if he had been able to meet the son or daughter she had carried for him. Would've they have had that candy sweet smile. Would they have smiled at him just like that while driving slug after slug into him?

"Good night, Vincent," she said sweetly. "I will take good care of Sephiroth." She raised the gun and pointed it at Vincent's head to put him out of his misery but never pulled the trigger. She heard Hojo's voice shouting orders on the other side of the sealed door and cursed. "Shit…well it looks like you will have to suffer and then die. Shame, you can blame Kanaye for your slow death."

Vincent wasn't unresponsive. He didn't even see her retreat. As Hojo and other infantrymen burst in and took down the mutated men, Vincent stared at his glowing cell phone screen with an almost smile coming to his face. What he saw brought back all the fond memories he had created in the past few months. He could see Genesis's crazy antics and Angeal's scolding stare. He could feel Veld's nails racking up his back and submissive kisses as he tried to say "I love you" without appearing weak. He smelled the scent of Cid's cigarettes as they lay beneath the skylight of the Isolde talking about everything and nothing. Tears managed to leak from his eyes when he felt Sephiroth's hair between his fingers as the boy lay in his lap after his one night stands would leave and hear Tseng's soft declaration of love to him in Costa de Sol. He could feel their embraces and see their beautiful eyes filled with a love and caring that only he got to see. He loved them so much and now his own stupidity had taken him away from them. He let out a slow breath as his body grew cold. The picture on his phone kept a soft warmth in his heart, even as he slipped out of life and his eyes no longer saw.

Hojo went to Vincent's side hoping he was still alive but found no pulse, He turned the gunman over hoping to feel for a heartbeat but found his chest had been reduced to so much meat. He pulled away from the man looking down at those once glowing crimson eyes and turned away from their dull imitation. He looked down at the cell phone where Vincent's outstretched hand lay as if he'd been unconsciously reaching for it. He picked it up and carefully wiped the blood from the screen. A picture of his son laying asleep with the Wutain boy collapse over him was there. They looked beautiful lying together, beautiful and at peace. He blinked in surprise then gave a grim smile before looking at Vincent's unseeing eyes.

"Even with your last breath, I see be the man none of us could be." Hojo shook his head and looked around at his wife's aftermath. The fury he felt was enough to kill each and every man who had come into the lab but he held it close to him and wrapped it in the hate he felt for his wife. Then, he wrapped it in the almost affection he felt for the corpse that lay in front of him. He leaned close to Vincent's ear even though he knew he could not be heard. "No…not yet."

Hojo picked up Vincent's torn body and carried it to one of the few stretchers that were not tipped over. He laid the man gently onto the padding and brushed his hair from his face. He passed his hand over his eyes so that they would close and nodded. Yes, Vincent of the Turks would no longer exist in this world, but Vincent Valentine would not disappear from it. He smirked at the ideas he had for the man, anyone who saw it would've thought it maniacal.

"You!" he called to a random infantryman.

"Sir?"

"Get all this in order and get this body to the morgue and prep it for travel. I believe I'll be taking another vacation."

l

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Tseng lay in Vincent's bed, squeezing his pillow tightly as he sobbed. It had taken two days for anyone to tell him what had happened, but he had known when Vincent hadn't come home. He knew but it didn't stop the break down he had when Veld had given him the news. He hadn't cried, he hadn't said anything until the man had left him alone. He'd slung things, broken things, and finally flung himself into Vincent's bed, breathing in the scent. He hadn't eaten, he hadn't slept, and he hadn't even left the house for classes. He lay in this dazed hell for four days when he finally heard keys turning in the door. Some strange fleeting hope came to him and he jumped out of bed to run to the door with Vincent's pillow in his arms. He stopped short when Sephiroth came in, his eyes dull and swollen. When he saw the wounded expression in those eyes, Tseng knew it was real. Sephiroth felt the same as he stumbled in to catch Tseng as he fell to the floor and they were both racked with sobs.

"Vincent," Sephiroth whispered in between tears and buried his face in Tseng's hair that had the same texture as his guardian.

"Vincent! He's really gone! You're here that means he's really gone."

Tseng kept his face into the developing muscle of Sephiroth's chest. He couldn't do anything for Sephiroth's grief; he didn't even know how to handle his own. They simply sat there on the floor, not caring who heard or who walked into the open door. It didn't matter if someone came in and killed them both. At that moment, there was nothing left of them except the memory of someone they loved dearly.

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Lady ShinRa cried. It may have seemed normal for a woman to cry, but seeing the most powerful woman in the world break into heartbroken sobs when Vincent's gun was brought to her was enough to make a grown man fall on his knees. She had been taken to view Vincent's and Nobel's bodies and seeing her beloved hellhound lying cold broke everything that she had made of herself. Veld held her tightly as she screamed and cursed and cried. What was it all for? Why couldn't they have just assassinated her and got it over with? Why did they have to go after her beloved family, her beautiful Turks? Why?

Hojo stood silently by and watched the woman grieve and for once he saw how weak she truly was now. Chair bound, never to walk again, her defenses being cracked and cracked until they shattered, and now everything that was held dear to her was suddenly disappearing. Hojo knew but did not say. He knew that now would be the time that President ShinRa would come down on her. She truly was vulnerable and her remaining Turks knew it. They knew it and there was nothing they could do about it. Hojo shook his head and put the sheet over Vincent's body.

"He deserves to be buried, he deserves a memorial, Kanaye."

"I know, my dear," Hojo said gently. "And he will have it. What is to be done with Nobel."

Lady ShinRa turned bloodshot eyes to Nobel. "Let the traitor rot outside the city. The monsters will pick off what's left of her."

Hojo shook his head. "I believe I have a better use of her as a test subject. If you will allow it, Lady ShinRa, I'd like to keep that body."

"I no longer care," she whispered brokenly. She looked up at Veld. "I-I don't know what to do now. Veld, what do we do now?"

Veld couldn't even meet her eyes. "We do what we always do. We hold it down as Dante used to say."

She nodded sniffling. "Who did Vincent will second in command to?"

"Tseng…but he's not ready to take on the responsibility."

"That doesn't matter!" her commanding tone was back. "You bring him to me, I want to meet him. Together, we'll make him into a second and hopefully someday commander. If Vincent handpicked him then he is our best choice no matter how young he is."

"And what about the elites?"

"We've lost, I will accept that. But I will not lose this war. Veld, I'm trusting you to handpick replacements. You give Tseng a team to work and grow with just like I gave you and Vincent. You do what's necessary to recruit who you will and from there Turk will recover. I won't let us be disbanded! Am I understood?"

"Yes, lady."

Hojo held a shadow of a smile at Lady ShinRa's conviction. The coming years would be of interest.

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The memorial was a quiet rainy event, but so many attended. Strings of lovers that he'd held close to him in bed had gotten wind of his funeral and attended. Some out of mere respect for the dead, but most out of love for the man they couldn't have. Shop owners who was use to seeing Vincent every day had come with apologetic words and grieving faces. Even the realtor who had aided Vincent in building his house when he was just a teenage Turk had shown up. She'd introduced herself and offered words and stories of Vincent's antics when they were searching for a suitable spot for the house. Vincent's entire Baby Turk class had shown up, with Tseng at the head of them. No one noticed how small he had gotten except for Veld, who had come to the lonely house for him and Sephiroth. Tseng no longer cried, he had no more tears to give. So, he stood next to his brother with a stone face and placed a spider-lily onto Vincent's coffin.

Sephiroth was in his newly issued SOLDIER formal uniform. It covered him from head to toe in black and that dark trench billowed in the cold wind. His silver hair was tied back tight and gave him a militant look. His beautiful jade eyes glowed brightly among the gray and showed what his face would not. He remembered each and every prank he'd pulled on Vincent and every talk they had had together as the man had tried to be the father he didn't have. He looked down at Tseng who looked up at him for only a moment before turning away. Sephiroth shook his head and pulled Tseng to his side, surprising him. He held Tseng close in the falling rain.

Melitta and Veld stood in full Turk uniform, their ranks and badges shining on their pressed silver and black uniforms. Melitta fidgeted slightly in her skirt, but remained respectfully still. She fought back tears, trying not to be the only weak woman there. Veld had to close his eyes every now and then and turn away so as not to appear as weak as he knew he was. There were only two of them left now. Vincent was the true leader here not him. He had been given his chance and he had blown it, yet Vincent had still thought that he would good for the job in his place. Vincent had always been like that. No matter what mistakes those around him made, he would not hold it against them. Too kind to be a Turk, yet too deadly not to be. And he loved him. He'd never been able to make the words come out and had feared Vincent's rejection more than anything, but he'd loved him. He had hoped, prayed, and even fought to be the only lover in Vincent's life, the only lover he would need. But, he had been too afraid to say what counted and now, he never would.

Cid Highwind kept close to the kids, a cigarette hanging lazily from his mouth. He placed a bouquet of roses there were redder than blood on the casket and stepped back from it with a grim face. Vincent had been older, wiser, and everything he was not, yet he'd somehow managed to draw the man to him. He was one of the few who had figured out that no one could own Vincent Valentine, but the was the first to figure out that as long as you loved the man you didn't need to. He'd loved Vincent and apologized to no one for it. He fought not to cry but failed miserably as they streaked down his face and mixed with the rain. Stupid guy, believed everyone was a good guy until the very end. He just wished he could get a hold of Lucrecia and do her worse than what came for Vincent and his Turks. But he had a feeling that revenge would come some way somehow. He looked at Tseng and Sephiroth who held each other despite being surrounded by their peers. Yeah, vengeance would come no matter how long it took.

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Cid, Veld, Melitta, Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, and Tseng, the people closest to Vincent, gathered at Vincent's house. They kept it mostly on the patio where they wouldn't make a mess of the house. They shared several bottles of wine and liquor that was given as grieving gifts from various people. Hojo had come to sit with them and surprisingly, no one objected. Lady ShinRa even decided to stay rather than return home to her husband's gloating. Sephiroth shared a bit of wine with Tseng believing that everyone who was grieving deserved a bit tonight. They knew he and the gunman had somehow come close to being friends before this horrible thing happened. Stories about Vincent passed through their lips making them laugh, making them smile and making them cry.

Genesis suddenly sobbed. "I…I just had a terrible thought."

"What's the matter, G," Sephiroth asked.

"What if," Genesis cleared his throat. "What if Vincent was the only thing keeping us all together? What if after this, we don't visit each other anymore. I mean I never would've known any of you grownups without him."

"He's right," Cid said taking a swig of whiskey. "I never would've ever known any of you Turkeys without knowing Vincent."

"I wouldn't even be here if Vincent had not brought me," Tseng said solemnly.

"Boss man was the only reason I started to follow you, Lady."

"And I would not have anything to do with any of you had Vincent not taken Sephiroth from me. He truly was what held us together," Hojo admitted. "He had a place in all of our lives, even when we didn't want him to."

Lady ShinRa smiled and lowered her wine glass. "Then we owe Vincent a friendship."

"A friendship," Angeal asked in confusion.

"You kids may be a bit too young to know about things like this," she said gently. "But whenever someone of such…emotional importance like Vincent passes, his closest friends gather at an appointed time and at an appointed place to honor his memory. We should all do the same and only death keep us from it."

Tseng smiled. "That's a Wutain tradition."

"Yes, one that Vincent's mother taught us when people we knew died," Lady ShinRa said fondly. "She always knew just what to say and do…just like her son."

"So, no matter at what point we are in life, we meet right here!" Angeal declared. "Every year, we gotta swear it."

"Yeah, this is the best place to remember Daddy Vincent."

Sephiroth smiled sadly. "We'll sit here and drink to our hearts content and make a healing circle."

"We'll retrieve every memory each time we get together," Veld said.

"And we won't let Boss's spirit die just cause we put him in the ground!" She lifted her glass and everyone followed.

Cid lifted his bottle of whiskey. "To the man who kept death in back pocket and his heart on his sleeve."

"His body gone, we shall keep the man," Tseng said softly. "To Vincent."

"To Vincent!"

Their respective glasses clinked together and they drank.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long, I'll have the next chapter up either later today or tomorrow. Busy, busy, busy. Please Read and Review! Next Episode: Hands Clean names for the new slate. It's going to be a bit short but it'll open the gate way into Part two. BTW anyone do fan art? I'm a sucker for fan art and would love to see some for inspiration. And keep those relationship choices coming because you all know that Vincent isn't dead for good...you just don't know when I'll bringing him again. The waiting game is the hardest one!
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Walking Out on Destiny