The Stranger
Ace ran after Cloud worried about him, he knew Cloud would react this way to learning how his father was killed, but was not prepared for it either way. Cloud went outside the mansion and stood looking towards the reactor with a blank empty look in his eyes. He was having a hard time trying to process what he just learned.
Cloud, 'Dad was killed! It was not an accident! Dad was killed! Miss Ifalna knew it! Dad was killed! It was most possibly Hojo who killed him..... Wait... What do I say to mom?'
Cloud heard Ace following him and standing beside him. He felt a little guilty making him worry but he was feeling too distraught to care. Ace stood beside him not saying anything for a while, though Cloud wished he said something. Ace hugged him from behind, after waiting for five minutes, Cloud was thankful for the silent support either way.
Ace, "Cloud? You want to stay here for a bit?"
Cloud nodded, "Mnn!"
Ace let go and put his hand over Cloud's shoulder as he stood there, before Cloud turned and hugged Ace, hiding his face on his shoulder and let out a stifled sob. Ace just held Cloud as he felt his shoulder get wet but he did not say anything about it. Ace half wondered, if their Aunt knew about this or if they would have to be the ones to inform her instead.
Ace grimaced, 'She is going to be heart broken, if she learns about this from us.'
Ace and Cloud stood there quietly outside the mansion. Cloud crying silently on his shoulder and Ace running his hand through his blond hair in silent comfort. Ace half thought Cloud's hair was really very soft to touch. They stayed that way till Cloud stopped crying and looked up with red eyes, sniffling a little. Ace stood there holding him as he calmed down and stopped sniffling.
Ace wiped his tears, "You know, I don't like seeing you cry or upset. I don't know, if it's the big brother in me or just in general. I hate seeing you hurt like this. I really want to punch this Hojo fellow now."
Cloud gave a laugh, "You are the best big brother and friend I have Ace. Thank you!"
Ace shook his head, "Don't thank me for this, Cloud. Just know, if you ever need anything I will always be here."
Cloud smiled, "We should return, we probably made them worried about us!"
Ace nodded and followed Cloud inside to the kitchen where they could hear the tea kettle whistling. Tifa was standing near the stove with a far away look on her face. It seems Cloud was not the only one affected by what happened today. Ace walked over to Tifa and tapped her shoulder startling her, he gave her a concerned look to which she just smiled back.
Tifa, "Tea is ready. Let's go join Desmond. He's searching the library right now."
Cloud nodded, "Mnn, I'll get the tray and cups, if you are carrying the kettle, Ace."
Ace took the kettle, "Sure~ You made the tea Tif, let us carry it."
Tifa simply smiled and led the way to the library, opening the door for her friends. They went inside looking for Desmond to find him by a bookshelf that started to move out of the way, showing a darkened path going downstairs. The older man had removed a fancy looking book that triggered the secret door. Ace looked deadpanned at the secret path, while Cloud and Tifa looked flabbergasted.
Ace, "This mansion has more secrets than a labyrinth."
Desmond turned to them, "You all alright?"
Cloud nodded, "We are fine, got a little shocked, but we are okay."
Tifa, "Let's drink some tea before we go down there and I honestly do not like cold tea so."
Desmond motioned towards the round study table in the middle of the library that he had wiped down earlier. Cloud and Ace put the kettle, cups and plates on the table and Desmond took the kettle and started to pour out the hot tea for them. The soothing scent of pine helped in relaxing their nerves a bit. They drank the tea in quiet contemplation and finished it soon enough. They got up together and went towards the opening that Desmond found and peered into the darkness. There were darkened stairs going downwards towards the basement most probably or a hidden layer beyond the basement.
Desmond, "Well then, watch your step and follow me."
They followed Desmond down the steps, Ace half expected there to be a trap of some kind but luckily or sadly, depending on one's perspective, there were none. Desmond no doubt avoided walking on it and the three of them did step on places the older man did. They first reached a floor that seem to have an operation equipment on it as well as an operation table. If they had not read the journal they probably would not have known what it was for. Tifa became a little green looking at it, while Cloud paled. Ace and Desmond looked at it darkly, the four of them realising this was probably where this Hojo bastard experimented on the poor kid. The journal had mentioned the name Sephiroth.
Desmond looked around noticing another door on the opposite wall, "Let's move on. We will lose our tempers, if we stay here."
Ace growled agreeing, "Yes."
They crossed the dusty room and walked towards the door. Tifa felt ill just looking at some of the equipment laying on the table next to the bed, there were different operation knives and empty injections. Cloud walked somberly through the room one hand clutching Tifa while the other was holding on to Ace. The two of them could not believe something dark like this was hidden in their hometown, the boring town of Nibelheim. To think that, they were expecting this to be a fun adventure, Cloud could not help but smile bitterly at how naive he had been just yesterday. They reached the second door and walked down the stairs together and came across what looked like a crypt filled with coffins.
Cloud blinked, "This is disturbing."
Ace looked around, "No kidding."
Tifa shivered, "Let's just take a look around and leave. I don't want to stay in this mansion much longer."
Desmond, "Ace, Tifa, you two check the coffins from the left. Cloud and I will take the right."
With that said, they opened the first two coffins together only to find it empty. They moved to the next coffins in line but they were empty too, this went on till they reached the final coffin in the middle. There was a name written on the coffin, the previous coffins did not have a name before. Ace got closer and read, "Project V", and looked at the others who were looking at it dubiously.
Tifa, "I'm a little terrified to open that, what if it's a crazy, mutated monster?"
Ace activate his eyes, "I'm getting the shape of a male human and he is awake."
The four of them moved back warily and clutching their weapons, preparing for an attack. They saw a clawed hand hold the lid and move it to the side. As the lid opened Desmond noticed the hand was gold in colour but the material was different. It was similar to what was used in armours. The claw was attached to a black clothed hand and there was a red cloak over the shoulder of the person. The person had dark hair and glowing red eyes that looked at them with exhaustion and wariness. The five of them stared at each other before Ace decided to break the suspense.
Ace drawled, "Soooooo....... Are you a vampire? Or an experiment gone wrong that was dumped here?"
Cloud hit Ace's shoulder, "Oi! That was kinda rude."
Tifa huffed out a breath, "Seriously Ace! Way to ruin the moment."
Ace stuck his tongue out, "It's a legit question, okay? I want to know."
Desmond kept watching the new stranger who looked powerful but also exhausted, "It is a valid question though. We didn't realize someone still lived here after all these years. We apologize for intruding, though in our defense, we all thought this place had been completely abandoned."
The red eyed stranger looked at the people in front of them in amusement when what Desmond said registered, "I'm not here by choice and what do you mean completely abandoned? I was asleep for a long time I'm afraid, so I'm a little out of the loop. Before you ask I woke up last night after Cha.... After I heard some commotion upstairs. My name is Vincent Valentine. What are yours?"
Tifa, 'Who is Cha?'
Cloud eyed him, "My name's Cloud Strife. My cousin Ace Miles, my eldest cousin Desmond Miles and my friend Tifa Lockhart. We came here last night to rest actually. We were out hunting in the forest when we saw a few monsters that escaped from the reactor."
Vincent got up alarmed, "Escaped? How? They should have never escaped!"
Tifa raised her hands in a placating gesture, "Calm down Mr Valentine. We took care of it. They were not that strong. Do you want to get out of here first? This is not exactly a place to talk."
Vincent was reluctant at first but Chaos was curious about them especially the eldest and the second oldest in the group. From the second eldest boy, as he felt an ancient power however muted coming off of him, while the eldest one felt strong but not familiar. The demon even threatened to come out then and there, if his host did not follow them. Vincent relaxed as Cloud explained their trip to the reactor was out of curiosity. It mostly to learn, whether or not the monsters escaped from that place, only to be confirmed they did come from there. They explained their adventure in the mako reactor, as they walked up and out of the crypt and the lab towards the library. Desmond then told him about the journal they found in the morning after waking up and gave it to Vincent who read through it.
Cloud was looking at him curiously, "Hey, Mr Valentine. This journal was talking about you, wasn't it?"
Vincent was quiet before he answered after reading all the entries, "Yes, yes it was. I do not know this Ifalna Faremis outside the fact she was the wife of the Head scientist, when I was alive so to speak."
Tifa looked alarmed, "What do you mean alive?"
Vincent, "I was killed and then experimented on by the bastard who killed me and the woman I thought, I could trust."
Vincent sighed seeing the curious look, "No, I do not know if this child, Sephiroth is my son or not. I met Lucretia, after she was a week or so pregnant with the baby. I have to agree with Ifalna, they no doubt experimented on the poor child. They killed my oldest friend too! He must have had come close to figuring Hojo's dirty secrets out then."
Cloud clenched his fist tightly, "Yes, he killed my Dad."
Vincent looked at Cloud closely, "You are Miles' kid? Hmmm! You have his eye and nose shape, the rest are probably from your mother. I never expected him to get married, I swear that man, he was married to his job."
Cloud could not help but snicker a bit, "He married mom.... Ah! What am I going to tell mom? She was told he died in an accident. but I can't keep this from her."
Tifa got up and put her hand on Cloud's shoulder, "We will tell her together, Cloud. I promise! She's your mom and his wife. She has the right to know."
Desmond looked at Vincent, "What are you going to do?"
Vincent looked at the journal, "I do not know. I didn't expect to be woken up by someone who had three cute kids with him. So I suppose, I will look around a bit and see what has changed and what stayed the same."
Cloud, Tifa and Ace blushed at being called cute making both Vincent and Desmond chuckle at the adorable picture they made. Ace huffed grumbling something about being too old to be cute. Chaos rumbled in amusement inside Vincent's head when he heard the mumbling loud and clear thanks to the heightened hearing. Vincent decided to question the demon and get some answers from him especially, why he was so interested in a kid. Chaos laughed hearing his host's thoughts, while Galian beast rumbled in amusement in the back. Outside of their host, no one else caught their attention but now there were two. They were looking forward to the interesting future and maybe even killing that arrogant man who thought he could control demons.