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The Path to Redemption	By : Nakkinomiko Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.
A/N: Muci, glad you’re still with me. Like my mama used to tell me, you can’t make everyone happy all of the time! I promise there’s more Rufus/Kadaj and Sephiroth/Maggie stuff coming. As for this chapter, I guess the only warning I have is an angsty Vincent…but first, y’all remember Maggie’s cheating ex-fiancé Daniel, right? His karma’s about to bite him in the ass . . .heh . . .
*****
Chapter 14
Daniel Kincaid was drunker than he’d ever been in his life. He cursed as he nearly tripped over a bit of trash on the sidewalk and he leaned heavily against a storefront for a moment. This was the third evening of binge drinking, and it had started the day Maggie had come and removed her things from his apartment. Oh, he’d fucked up so bad . . . and to make things worse, his anger had nearly gotten the better of him. He’d almost hit her, and he was having more trouble forgiving himself for that than anything else. He was secretly glad that her friends had been with her, even if they had seemed dangerous. He would have hit her if they hadn’t been there.
Gods, Maggie. I’m so sorry, he thought. He’d thought about going after her, but knew, in his heart of hearts, that she would never take him back. And she had every right not to. He’d cheated on her, and ruined the trust they had. There was no going back. It was an undeniable truth that he would eventually have to come to terms with.
But not this night. He stumbled away from the wall, intent on finding another bar that would sell him a few more drinks. The last had refused, claiming that he was drunk enough already. What did they know? He needed to be drunker, to forget the pain he felt deep in his heart. Oh, yes, he had really fucked up, and he so desperately wanted to forget that.
A sudden noise from a nearby alley caught his attention. He staggered towards it, wondering why he was even bothering. It was probably just some rat. He paused at the opening of the alley and listened as best he could. He heard it again, this time closer. Daniel squinted into the darkness, and was about to shrug it off and move on when he caught a glimpse of movement. Part of his alcohol soaked brain screamed a warning, but he ignored it and moved deeper into the alley, his curiosity piqued. Something fairly big was moving around down there.
Quite suddenly the moon came out from behind a cloud, and Daniel had a very good view of the creature stalking the alley. He couldn’t quite make sense of what he was seeing. He thought it might be a rat, but it was too big, and the shape wasn’t quite right. He swallowed hard as the creature’s head suddenly turned in his direction, and Daniel found himself rooted to the spot in sudden fear as he looked into glowing red orbs.
“No,” Daniel whispered, and he shuffled backwards a step.
The creature let out a low hiss and took a step towards him.
Daniel’s last thought, as the creature suddenly launched itself at him, was of Maggie. And then there was pain . . . and then nothing.
*****
Vincent had been aware for nearly a day and a half that Tseng and Elena were hunting for him. He had, in turn, been watching them for nearly as long, trying to figure out exactly what it was they wanted him for. So far, it had proven to be a rather frustrating endeavor, as they didn’t say much of anything when inquiring about him and ignored all requests for further information. That particular morning proved to be no different. Vincent had secreted himself within the shadows of a dimly lit alley and was currently eavesdropping on the conversation Tseng and Elena were having just twenty feet away from him, at the mouth of the alley.
“So, now where to?” Elena sounded tired.
“Utai, I guess,” Tseng said. “I’ve heard talk that Yuffie Kisaragi is a fairly close friend of his.”
Vincent found himself smirking. Tseng’s words were a gross understatement. Not that a lot of people outside of their close group of friends knew it, but Yuffie was much more than a friend to Vincent. And she would never, ever tell the Turks where he was, even if she did know. Which most of the time, much to her annoyance, she often did not. Vincent knew his wanderings upset her--not so much that he wandered, but rather because he never really gave warning before he left. He tried to let her know, but sometimes, when she was busy being the dutiful princess she was, the wanderlust took him and he left anyway. Vincent’s only saving grace was that Yuffie understood, even if she didn’t like it, and she never called him on it.
“Then we’re taking another airplane?” The disappointment was plain on Elena’s face, even from twenty feet away. The woman looked weary.
“I’m sorry, Elena,” Tseng murmured. “I know you’re tired.”
Another understatement, Vincent thought.
“It’s not that.” Elena shook her head slightly. “I’m mostly worried that we won’t find him. It would be such a disappointment to Kadaj, not to mention . . .”
Tseng shook his head and pressed a finger to her lips. “Best not say his name out loud. There are too many people around here.”
“Yeah, I suppose not.”
Vincent arched a brow at the tenderness of Tseng’s gesture. It arched even higher when the head Turk stole a quick kiss from his partner.
“We’ll find him,” Tseng assured her. “Then I’ll ask Rufus for some vacation time . . .for the both of us.”
Elena’s lips twitched upwards in a quick smile. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
They moved away from the alley, and Vincent waited a few moments before he stepped out of the concealing shadows and looked after them. He now had a clue. Kadaj. If whatever it was involved Kadaj, chances were Cloud knew something of what was going on. Vincent fished his cell phone out and flipped it open and dialed Cloud’s number.
“Hello?”
For a moment, Vincent said nothing, for the simple reason he was completely shocked to hear Cloud’s voice. The kid almost never answered his phone, much preferring to let his voicemail take the calls.
“Hello?” Cloud’s voice was a little more persistent this time. Another moment of silence, and then Cloud spoke again. “Vincent, is that you?”
“You answered your phone,” Vincent replied, hoping it would explain the rude silence.
Cloud made a sound that might have been an amused laugh. “I do answer it, when I can.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“I knew you would call eventually,” Cloud said. “Tseng and Elena mentioned Kadaj, didn’t they?”
“Then you do know why they are looking for me.” Vincent started to follow Tseng and Elena down the street.
“Yeah, I do,” Cloud said after a pause.
“What does Rufus want with me?”
“It’s not so much what he wants, but what he wants to give to you,” Cloud said. His tone was utterly serious now.
“I should let them find me, then?” Tseng and Elena turned a corner, and Vincent waited a few moments before he followed them around it. They were only a block away from him now, and Vincent thought they might be headed to the café on the next corner. The Inn the two had stayed at the night before didn’t offer breakfast, and Vincent was betting that even Turks needed breakfast in the morning.
“Yeah,” Cloud answered. Something in his voice told Vincent that whatever it was, it was important. It was very telling that Cloud didn’t offer the information up himself.
“Thank you,” Vincent murmured into the phone. “Hug Tifa and the children for me.”
Cloud made an amused sound. “You can hug them yourself in the morning. You’ll be coming to Midgar after you talk to Tseng.”
Cloud disconnected the phone before Vincent could reply. The Ex-Turk frowned at the phone before he closed it and returned it to its hiding place within the folds of his cloak. Cloud’s reply left him with several unanswered questions, and Vincent was betting that the answers lay with the pair of Turks that had just entered the café for their breakfast. Vincent suppressed a sigh and stalked into the café.
He paused just long enough to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting.
“May I help you, sir?” The young hostess looked up at him, decidedly nervous.
Vincent took no offense. He was a frightening vision, he knew that, and didn’t hold it against the girl at all.
“I wish to join my friends for breakfast,” Vincent said. He nodded his head in the direction of the table Tseng and Elena were seated at. The Turks were already perusing the menu.
“Oh, okay,” she seemed to find her smile. “Did you need a menu?”
“No,” Vincent said. He offered her a small smile. “I mostly need to talk with them, that’s all.”
“Then, please, seat yourself,” she said.
Vincent nodded and wove his way around various tables towards where Tseng and Elena were sitting. He stopped next to a vacant chair.
“May I join you?”
Elena visibly started, and Tseng’s jaw all but dropped when he looked up and saw who stood next to the table.
“Don’t do that!” Elena finally managed. Vincent’s enhanced hearing allowed him to hear her heart racing in her chest.
“I’m sorry,” Vincent said, and managed to sound contrite. He really hadn’t meant to startle them like that. He sometimes forgot that he moved so silently that even well trained Turks often could not detect him until he was right on top of them. “May I join you?” He asked again.
“Please,” Tseng said. “I’d say that we’ve been looking for you, but I suspect you already know that.”
“I’d much rather know the why of it,” Vincent said.
“Rufus wants you in Midgar,” Elena said.
“I haven’t been a Turk in many, many years,” he said quietly.
“It’s not about that,” Tseng said. He met Vincent’s gaze. “He told us to tell you that your son is alive.”
Vincent frowned, and his eyebrows drew together with confusion. “I don’t have a son.”
“You do,” Tseng said.
The waitress chose to appear at that moment, and Tseng and Elena quickly ordered their food, and then they were alone again.
“I do not have a son,” Vincent said again.
“You do,” Tseng said. He sounded almost sorry as he spoke the words. “And I’m betting you’ll even figure it out for yourself if you just think about it long enough.”
A son? It wasn’t possible. The only person he’d bedded in the last thirty years had been Lucrecia, and nothing had come of that, had it? Nothing good had come of that at all. Vincent closed his eyes against the memory of green eyes and a quick smile. She had been beautiful, and so alone, and Vincent had thought that they’d been so careful to cover their tracks. Hojo shouldn’t have found out. But he had somehow . . .
Vincent gasped sharply as sudden realization hit. His eyes snapped open and he met Tseng’s eyes across the table.
“You’ve figured it out,” Tseng said with a sad smile.
Vincent nodded slowly, suddenly remembering something that Lucrecia had once told him.
Hojo doesn’t even know I exist anymore . . . the only thing that exists for him is his work. We haven’t shared a bed in nearly a year.
Vincent felt an unfamiliar sting in his eyes, and realized that it was tears. He hadn’t cried in years. He hadn’t been sure, until that moment, that he even had the capacity to shed tears anymore. But if ever there was a time to weep, that time was now. Lucrecia’s pregnancy. Why hadn’t he seen it before?
We haven’t shared a bed in nearly a year.
Vincent groaned softly and let his head sink into his hands. Her pregnancy had been their undoing. It hadn’t been Hojo’s child, and Hojo had known that, because he hadn’t touched Lucrecia for months. Vincent felt a stab of self-loathing. He had damned her and his son . . . oh gods, my son. My son! Sephiroth! The sudden pain in his heart was almost too much to bear, and he couldn’t stop the sob that ripped itself from his chest. He ruthlessly swallowed the second sob and looked up at Tseng again. He blinked the tears from his eyes.
“Where is he?” Vincent managed. His voice was harsh with tears and newfound grief. “Where is my son?”
“Midgar.” Tseng’s smile was sad. “We’ll take you there.”
Vincent nodded. He found his cell phone again, and entered a number by heart. It rang once before it was answered, and Yuffie’s cheerful voice echoed in his ear.
“Hiya, Vince! What’s up?”
“Yuffie.” He winced at the harshness of his own voice, and knew she could hear the tears in it. There was a moment of silence.
“Vincent, where are you?”
“I’m on my way to Midgar,” Vincent managed to answer. “Yuffie . . . I . . .”
“I’m on my way,” she said, answering the question before he even asked it. “I can be there by tomorrow morning. Call me when you know where you’ll be.”
Vincent felt relief wash over him. “I will.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll work through it,” Yuffie said softly. “I love you . . . Just remember that, old man.”
Vincent couldn’t help the smile that pulled on his lips. “I’ll remember it.”
“Good. Later, then.”
“Later,” Vincent murmured. He closed the phone and looked up at Tseng. “When do we leave?”
“There’s a transport out of here early this afternoon,” Tseng said. “You’ll be in Midgar by dinner time.”
Vincent nodded, and then quite suddenly remembered another point that he’d wanted clarified.
“What does Kadaj have to do with this?”
Elena snorted. “You’re kidding, right? You know what he is, Vincent. Figure it out.”
Vincent frowned slightly. Yes, he knew what Kadaj was. He was a genetic Remnant, the result of an experiment that Hojo had staged by cloning Sephiroth. Vincent’s breath hitched.
Cloning. Sephiroth. Vincent felt that horrible pain in the core of his soul again.
“I have more than one son.”
*****
TBC
- 13
- 14
- 15
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The Path to Redemption