Chapter 2 - So, Who Are You Again

Vincent walked quickly through the narrow mountain paths, with Eric trailing behind. Vincent was leading Eric to a wide area, hidden deep in the mountains, so that he could see just what Eric was capable of in battle. The large collection of material suggested that he was strong in magic, but Vincent wanted to see it for himself.

The two of them had entered the mountain region behind Nibelheim early this morning, and had only stopped for a brief breakfast. The terrain had required a bit of climbing and jumping, and by the time they were three- quarters of the way there, Eric was beginning to noticeably slow down. He didn't complain at all though, and managed to match Vincent's brisk walking pace, even if he was a foot or two behind. At least he's persistent, Vincent thought. Eric broke the silence, which had been hanging over the two of them since they had left the mansion that morning. “Vincent, do you….do you have any family?”

“No,” Vincent answered abruptly, not even turning around or slowing, “why?”

“Well, I know it's not really any of my business, but…it's just…well, you live in that mansion all by yourself, surely you must get lonely?”

“No,” Vincent lied. He did get lonely, but not often enough to make it a problem.

Eric remained silent for a few more minutes, and then asked hesitantly, “Do you have any friends?”

“Yes, I have several,” Vincent answered.

“Where are they?”

“Three of them live in Midgar, one in Cosmo Canyon, two that travel around the world together, and then one who works and lives in Gold Saucer.”

“You know someone who lives in Gold Saucer!” Eric asked excitedly. His excited tone surprised Vincent so much that he stopped and turned around.

“Yes, why?” Vincent asked, still a bit shocked at Eric's reaction.

“I've always wanted to go to Gold Saucer! Have you actually been there before? What does your friend do there? What's it like?” Eric continued on, his eyes growing wide with excitement. Vincent just stood there, looking at him silently. Something about this kid reminded Vincent of himself, back before the Turks, back before- No! Vincent didn't even like to think about it. He couldn't hide from it, but at least he could put it out of his mind. Right now, he had more important things at hand; the most important being the reason they were in these mountains in the first place. Vincent wanted to test Eric. The kid had lots of material, a lot of which was mastered, meaning that it was at the peak of its power. Vincent wanted to see why this kid's material was so strong. Only big time fighters could have material that strong.

“We need to move on,” was all that Vincent said in response, and then continued on. Eric followed, and didn't say another word.

The sun was reaching the middle of the sky by the time they reached the cave Vincent was looking for.

“We'll head into this cave a little, then have lunch,” Vincent explained. He had already told Eric what they would be doing; he just hadn't said where they would be going for the test. Before they had gone to bed last night, Vincent asked Eric if he knew how to fight. Eric said only a little bit, that he mostly relied on magic. So Vincent told him that he would teach him how to fight. Granted, Vincent didn't usually use hand-to-hand combat, but he saw this as an opportunity to test, not train. They entered the cave, and walked down the tunnel, deep into the mountain, their footsteps echoing off the walls. The tunnel wasn't dark, the light from the outside still shown into the cave, and ahead of them, they saw sunlight. When they were about halfway through, Vincent motioned for them to stop. They sat, and Eric took out two sandwiches. They ate quietly, when Eric noticed something he hadn't before. Vincent only ate with his right hand. Come to think of it, Eric had never seen Vincent's left hand. Last night, Eric hadn't thought about it, but now he saw that Vincent's entire left arm was covered by his cape. Just when Eric started looking for some part of the hand that wasn't covered, he was surprised by something, Vincent initiated a conversation!

“So what are you doing out in the world at your age?” Vincent asked quietly.

“Well, I am sixteen. People from Wutai send their kids out at that age.”

“But are you from Wutai?”

“No, but I've been on my own for a while. My parents died when I was young, about seven. So, I've been on my own ever since.”

“How have you survived for so long,” Vincent asked, not sure if he was telling the truth. He sounded sincere, but then he could just be a good actor.

“Well, I scrounged for a couple months. I used to live out near the Chocobo ranch. It was the only other place I looked forward to visiting, next to Gold Saucer that is. So, while living out there, I was suddenly taken to live in the Shinra building by a group called the Turks.”

“The…Turks?” Vincent asked slowly. Yet again, Eric had surprised him.

“Yeah, do you know them?” Eric asked, curiously.

“I've heard of them,” Vincent replied casually.

“Well, they came and got me. They said that I was part of a new program for children who's parents had died while working for Shinra. They said that I showed a large amount of potential, and that Shinra could help make my dreams come true. Not like I really had a choice in the matter. So, I went and was raised in the Turk program, as well as receiving the “best” education Shinra could buy. I should have seen that being in the lap of luxury would cost me, but it was just too nice, and I was young. On my fourteenth birthday, I was approached by a man named Hojo.”

Hojo. Just the name made Vincent's skin crawl. He was the man responsible for so much pain in the world. He was also responsible for what Vincent had become. Vincent had promised revenge on Hojo, and was able to fulfill his vow, killing the wretched man himself. But that didn't make the things that Hojo had caused go away. It didn't relieve Vincent of his curse.

“Hojo asked me if I would allow some tests run on me,” Eric continued, not realizing the inner turmoil within his listener, “I asked what for. He explained that he believed I was of a special blood. Now I had heard of the Cetra, but I didn't think that I was one of them. Hojo said that I wasn't a Cetra, that I was part of an old race of material-bound people, capable of bringing out the maximum power of a material, without any real work. I didn't believe him. All material I had was mastered through my own hard work, and had actually taken longer then some of the others that were working in the SOLDIER program. Hojo said that he would have to draw out my abilities, and thus the tests. If he could figure out how to draw out that ability, then he could maybe make an artificial version of it, so that Mako energy would last longer. I refused, not liking the idea of being probed and examined like a dissected frog. Hojo said that I would not be harmed, that I would be asleep for the whole thing. I still refused. Later that night, there was a knock on my door. There stood Hojo, with two SOLDIERs. He demanded that I come with him peacefully, or he would force me to. I went with him quietly, and then took the first chance I could to run. I had this belt with escape, and me, cause I never take it off, so I was able to fend off the Shinra guards as best I could. I've been on the run ever since.”

As Eric finished his story, Vincent stared at the young man. The story was strange, but not entirely unbelievable. The mere fact that Eric had mentioned Hojo made him seem honest, since only the higher ups in Shinra really knew him. Perhaps there was more to this kid then met the eye.

“So, why are you telling me all this,” Vincent asked, a thought suddenly coming to mind.

“What do you mean,” Eric asked, sounding a little hurt. “You asked me to tell you why I was on my own.”

“I meant no offense,” Vincent replied calmly, realizing that he had made it seem that he didn't care. He did, especially where Hojo was involved, but there was one thing that he felt he should point out.

“I simply wanted to point out that you just told me you are wanted by Shinra.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Eric said, not quite understanding.

“Well, do you think it wise to tell this to one who lives in the Shinra mansion?”

Eric suddenly saw his mistake. Vincent was right, and if Vincent worked for Shinra, he had just guaranteed himself a one-way ticket back to Hojo.

“Don't worry,” Vincent said, trying to calm his young companion, “the Shinra are probably too busy with their current problems to go after you. Besides, Hojo died.”

Eric's face became very calm, his eyes brightened, and it seemed to Vincent that an invisible load had been lifted off the young man's shoulders.

“That's so sad,” he said anyway, trying to hide his dislike for the disgusting man, “I heard he had a wife and child.”

Once again, Eric had unknowingly opened another wound in Vincent's heart. The only women to ever steal his heart, was the wife of Hojo. And now, she was dead, lost to him forever. And his son, the one being who's value of life matched Hojo's, Sephiroth himself, was long gone, never to darken the world again with his presence. Suddenly, Vincent realized that the day was waning on, and that they needed to get moving. Otherwise, they would end up having spend the night in the mountains, which really wasn't the wisest thing.

“Come on,” Vincent said, standing up. Eric followed suite, and as they started down the tunnel once again, Vincent wondered about the young man. He had lasted so long, hiding from Shinra's arm for two years. Now that the looming shadow of Hojo was gone, would he settle down somewhere? Vincent felt a twinge of pain for the kid. No family, no friends. Once again, Vincent saw himself in Eric, his innocence, and his blind trust. But unlike Eric, Vincent had been unable to avoid the Turks influence, and unlike Eric, Vincent had been unable to avoid Hojo's grasp. Regret filled his heart, but, like whenever he felt this regret, he pushed it aside. He would be a slave to regret no more.

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