*
"Vincent! Natalie! You made it!"
The couple turned toward the voice to see Red bounding toward them.
Natalie smiled, waving. "Hello, Red. It seems like forever." Red rubbed himself against her legs, his purr rumbling through her. Then he sat, wrapping his tail around his forepaws as usual. "Thank you so much for speaking last month," Natalie told him. "The children had so much fun listening to your stories. And the pictures were a spectacular touch."
Red's tail twitched with embarrassment. "It was my pleasure. I hope you ask me to speak again."
"Oh, I will. Most definitely."
Red looked to Vincent and smiled. "Marriage has agreed with you, Vincent. Fatherhood will as well, I suspect."
Vincent squeezed Natalie's hand. "I have no doubt."
"How are the twins?"
"Exuberant," Natalie laughed.
"Eager to be out, more than likely." Red stood and gestured for them to follow. "I will give you a brief tour."
Natalie's grip on Vincent's hand tightened, and she sent him a radiant smile. "I can hardly wait to see the geothermal reactor! To see how Cid finally decided to set it up. He had a lot of great ideas, but the conversion rate on a couple of them wouldn't maximize the energy output. I really hope he chose the one that did the best all the way around. Imagine how many settlements can utilize the power that's under this huge city if it's converted to its maximum capacity!"
A smile caressed his lips upward as he watched her animated expressions, the light dancing in her eyes. "I doubt that was to be Red's first stop, Professor."
"On the contrary," Red put in with a smile toward the couple. "I knew Professor Long would be the most interested in Cid's project, especially since she had a great hand in its final design."
Natalie looked at Red in surprise. "Pardon?"
"Cid was very clear on the matter of who should receive the credit for the reactor."
Natalie flushed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "My goodness. I don't know what to say."
"I'm sure something will come to you when we meet Cid and the others at the reactor. They're planning the possibility of synchronizing a second and third."
"Goodness gracious!"
"They're hoping you will be convinced to stay and help," Red added.
"Of course I'll stay. It's a good thing I brought my bag . . . ." Natalie's voice drifted as her mind began to process and envision the answers to the challenge posed.
Vincent smiled over at her. Her bright green eyes took in each aspect of the scenery as they made their way through Midgar: its importance to the city's smooth operation, its role in the city's history, and the indeterminate amount of possibilities into making it run better. That was how her mind worked. It planned. It organized. It envisioned. It created. It never ceased to amaze him. A slight flush rose to her cheeks, sparkling in her eyes and clearly telling of her excitement at discovering the feasibility of the possibilities she already envisioned. It also belied her eagerness at the opportunity to discuss her ideas with Cid.
Natalie's brilliance enraptured Vincent.
"As you can see," Red was telling her, "Barret and I decided the best way to encourage growth was to tear down the walls. We didn't like the idea of 'sectors,' believing it contributed to the people's feeling of separation from one another. We wanted to encourage a feeling of community."
"Of course!" Natalie exclaimed. "It makes perfect sense. What did you do about the original names of the initial settlements? Are you going to give the people the opportunity of reinstating those?"
"Undoubtedly," Red said with a nod. "The name 'Midgar' has so many bad memories of oppression that Barret and I are almost positive the people will choose the original names. It will be an opportunity to invite back the previous times of peace. An opportunity to come full circle and embrace simpler times."
Natalie enthusiastically nodded, focusing bright eyes on Vincent. Her cheeks were still flushed with excitement. "Vincent, I think I should look into the possibility of starting an Academy here as well. Don't you think?"
Vincent smiled and brought her hand to his lips. "I do."
She kissed his cheek before refocusing her attention to Red, continuing their discussion of Midgar's rebirth and the possibilities that meant for not only the people, but also the children not yet born. Vincent drank in her expressions, relishing the warmth her nearness sparked within his soul.
The days after his rebirth passed quick and painless. Natalie never left his side, determined to monitor his every bodily function until she felt certain the danger had passed. Then, exactly two weeks after her initial experimental cure first began, they married.
Vincent still remembered the night before the ceremony with crystal clarity. He and Natalie decided to stay apart that day. Many reasons had led up to the decision, the most prominent being their common desire to experience anticipation at the sight of one another at the ceremony. Natalie used the day to contact her family and repair bridges long since thought forever lost. Vincent, however, used the time to instigate a closure he never before felt.
Quite early in the morning of their voluntary separation, Vincent made his way from Cloud's house to the basement crypt. He must have stared at the black sarcophagus for hours, wondering at the sanity of his decision to be there in order to remember and relive his memories of a past he had come to hate. But a deeper part of him understood that to truly have the life he wanted with Natalie, he needed to put them to a final rest. He needed to bury them alongside the creation of Hojo.
Regret had passed with their release, and his mind had finally felt utterly free of its last torment. His heart released of its final doubt. A door had been shut, but another had opened, freeing his soul to love the woman who sacrificed everything for his freedom.
Now, Vincent caressed a wispy curl from her temple, and a kiss. "I love you," he whispered.
She turned toward him, lips curved with a smile that burned within emerald eyes. She stroked his cheek. "I know."
Vincent's eyes twinkled, tenderly twirling the wedding band on her finger. "Will you marry me?"
She drew herself closer, guiding his arms around her, and his hands to the small of her back. "Yes."
He nuzzled her neck, pressing her swollen belly tighter against him. One of the twins kicked and he chuckled. "When, Natalie? I have waited so long . . . . When?"
"Today. Tomorrow. I am yours already." Natalie rested her cheek against his chest. "Next week. Next year . . . I have waited this long for you, and I can wait a little longer."
Vincent released a long breath and pressed his lips against the crown of her head. "Dearest Natalie. My professor."
Her arms tightened around him, and then she pulled back, lifting her hands to hold his face. Her green eyes glimmered as she held his gaze. "Vincent," her voice a caress, "My darling, sweet, intense Vincent. Red eyes or brown. Golden claw or warmth of hand . . . . " She brushed her lips against his. "They are all Vincent to me. Please never forget that."
He drew her close, his lips responding to the inviting taste of her kiss. Just as they had two years ago. Just as they had each day since he first experienced her--as Vincent Valentine. A man. A lover. A husband.
After another long drink of her intensity and passion, he lifted his head to lightly stroke her lips with a finger. Her green eyes shone. "I won't, Professor. How can I forget what has become a part of me?"
Natalie entwined her fingers behind his neck and caressed his soul with her smile.
The End
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About the Author | Nona Mae King
Writing has been my passion since I was a child when I began creating skits and songs. My life would be empty without this call. There would be no purpose. No ending to guide my daily struggle. No story toward which to strive. Each day something beckons, and that--I know--is the waiting tale. One last happy ending.
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APPENDICES
VINCENT VALENTINE
ID NO.: SHINRA/79013342
PROJECT LEADER: Professor Hojo, PhD, M.D., Shinra Lab. Corp.
PROJECT NO.: SHIN.GENE.SCI.nib124610
Personal Information:
Age: 27
Birthdate: October 13th
Height: 6'0
Weight: 175
Blood Type: A
Occupation: Member of Turks Organization
Specific Job: sharpshooter/gunman
Current Location/Whereabouts: Nibelheim
EXPERIMENT LOG/SUBJECT PROGRESS:
ENTRY 1: Project began on date XX/XX/XX, with the physical incapacitation of the subject after he had expressed interest in halting my other human-based projects, namely, the Jenova Project at Nibelheim. He had moral objections to my sciences, and to my personal life, and I had some objections to the way he tended to get too nosy with my business. A curious member of the Turks was a far too dangerous person to have wandering about, so I decided that he would make an excellent volunteer for my studies.
He was a white male of six feet, zero inches in height, black hair and brown eyes. Physically, he was not as strong as some of my previous subjects, but he appeared to make up for that flaw with higher than average intelligence. The project would also make up for his poor physical stamina. He was brought as close to full clinical brain-death as we can possibly revive someone from, for the commencement of testing. Heart rate was slowed to zero beats per min, ocular reaction time: 18.02 min/sec, temp. 43.F, cerebral alpha wave production ceased twice, beta wave production, once. Destruction of the brain cells through anoxia was surprisingly, not noted throughout the ordeal. Testing will begin now.
ENTRY 2: Subject physically appears to be completely stable. His body is slowly undergoing the fantastic xenogenic transformations that I have before noted with heavy use of exobiological genetic splicing. His left arm, from the joint of the elbow to the phalanges, is almost been rendered completely useless [corrupted data] erhaps not. Mentally, he seems to be facing the same effects as some of the other subjects. Temporary bouts of schizoid, manic/depressive, and paranoiac behavior is rather marked in him. He is responding very poorly to treatments of thorazine and cephaloxin, quite often because he believes that the drugs are making him appear more ill. He is quite vocal now at the time of this entry, which is telling me, that it is time for more tranquilizers. (For the both of us.)
ENTRY 3: Subject's health is failing rapidly duenous infection that has centralit arm. A large amount of seeping yellow lymph from the arm's survitissund leaking through various exposed wounds is indicating a far higher than normal white blood cell count, which can only have one of three explanations - 1. Nodal lymphoma, 2. High immunological response to the gene therapy, or 3. Perhaps he has developed a new form of leukemia, the likes of which I have seen elsewhere only in rare cases with canid mammals. If it is proven to be cancerous, then the subject will be terminated shortly thereafter. But in the meantime, it appears that I will be forced to limb. This is actually advantageous, as I have just recently learned that a recently deceased colleague of mine had just completed a new type ..ial arm. I would like to be the first one to test its effectiveness.
ENTRY 4: Tomplete success, and the gangrenous infection is now gone. The new arm is working nicely, and it's overall 'claw' shape has given me a new idea with which to take this project. The subject's body is doing well, and even though I cannot find the cause of the increased white blood cell count, it does not seem to be negatively affecting the project. The subject is far more vicious now than ever before, and quite often I have to restrain him with cattle ties and nylon straps. It would appear that the genetic enhancements are working well, as he now can easily overpower two men. I am exchanging the anti-psychotic thorazine with a much stronger drug, the veterinary anesthetic diazepam. I am familiar with the veterinary uses of this drug, but as noted before, I typically do not use anesthetics in my experiments, as the subjects to not appear to be affected by them. But when they are delivered in very high doses, the subjects can be temporarily weakened and quieted by these drugs. An interesting side effect of the gene therapy.
ENTRY 5: I have become quite inventive with my recent work on the former Mr. Valentine. I have been experimenting with the various genes that control the color of his irises. I had attempted to engineer them to change color in the light, making in effect, a reflecting surface that resembled a compact disks' surface. But his eyes' genes were uncooperative, and instead I simply abandoned the experiment temporarily, and have left his irises colorless, and red, in case I ever choose to return to that project. In addition to that, the only genes that appear to have fully taken was the genes of the extinct Galian Beast creature. His transformational abilities are limited, at best, but can be quite entertaining when things get too quiet down here. His hair is much longer now, and he is far more solemn and depressed than before. I think that he has finally come to the realization that my experiment is not a temporary thing, and that he will never be able to be free again. His mental clarity is surprisingly sharp, and I believe now that his memories are the only things keeping him from going completely mad. But even they cannot change the fact that he is no longer fully human. He is a creation, created through the processes of my science. He is now a manufactured 'monster', which is more correctly known as a 'teratogen'. One of my assistants even thinks that when he is unconscious, he resembles the brooding vampires of popular horror legends. I think that I will make further attempts to make him look more like this.
ENTRY 6: He is truly freakish now. I have entered far more genes into him than before because he seemed to be doing so well with the previous therapies. The genes of several creatures are now his. I chose the ugliest creatures that I could, because I am keeping with a 'monster' theme with him. I have left his genes open for further entries and changes with his DNA coding, in case I come up with something new to add to his collection of forms and abilities. But even through all of this, I have become bored with him. His genes, his eyes, his twisted body . . . all of him. I have several new projects going on now, one of which is my life's greatest work, that of the Jenova Project on my new son. He is showing far more promise then any of us could have hoped for, and I will strive for that perfection with him. I am finalizing the test data for this project, so I can focus my creative energies on Jenova and my son. I believe that Mr. Valentine is finally a broken man, as he no longer speaks to anyone, and the Turks have long since stopped looking for him. In his most recent physical form, he is almost completely unrecognizable as the normal human man that he was before. He does not eat or drink much of anything now, and he sleeps almost continuously. He even now sleeps through the bone marrow genetic testing sequences, which I can imagine, are extremely painful. He appears to have one desire now, and that is to sleep as much as he can. I will grant him this final wish.
FINAL ENTRY: I must destroy all opposition to my work, even that one from the Turks. I have put him to sleep in the basement of this mansion. If you wish to find him, than you must play my little game. Hidden in this mansion are the clues that will unlock the safe on the second floor. Ah, but who will want to rescue a freakish monster?! (Rest in peace, Mr. Valentine.)
- Prof
essor Hojo, PhD, M.D., Shinra Lab. Corp. (By: Shokoku Phoenix)
VINCENT VALENTINE
ID NO.: SHINRA/79013342
MISSING IN ACTION
JOB: Gunman/Sharpshooter of the Turks
AGE: 27
WEAPON: Gun
HEIGHT: 6' 0"
WEIGHT: 175
BIRTHDATE: October 13th
BIRTHPLACE: Midgar (?)
BLOOD TYPE: A
BASIC PHYSICAL FEATURES: Medium frame; thin, tall white male with straight black hair and brown eyes
PERTINENT HISTORY:
Vincent Valentine became a member of the Turks at age 23, just 5 years he moved out of after his father died. (His mother passed away at age 4.) He previously had attended a higher university (school name unknown), where he majored in the literary arts. There, he was known as being a loner who showed great skill as a member of both of the school's archery and trapshooting teams. These abilities caught the attention of the Turks' recruiting team, who then convinced Vincent that he would make an excellent Turk. He soon became known as one of Shinra's finest marksmen, and was known for being able to work just as effectively alone as with a team. His high intelligence was also considered to be an asset to the Turks, as was his unemotional attitude towards his work as a trained assassin. Vincent performed some of the dirtier jobs of the Turks and took many odd assignments to foreign places, where he seemed to be the happiest.
It was during one of those distant assignments, that Vincent disappeared. He was assigned to serve as the bodyguard to both Professors Gast and Hojo, during the duration of their experiments (the Jenova Project) in Nibelheim. It was during this time, that he disappeared suddenly. The day he was last seen, (as reported by a Shinra Guard, name unknown) it is said that he was seen insistently following one of Professor Gast's assistants (first name Lucrecia, last name unknown) around town. He was said to have tears running down his face, with a distressed look on his face. After several lengthy investigations by both Shinra and the Turks, no trace of Vincent's body was ever recovered, and is still assumed to be missing in action. Although many rumors about a suspected love triangle between Vincent, Lucrecia, and a jealous Professor Hojo (who, in most versions of the rumor, is said to have either used Vincent as a part of his experiments or killed him and hid his body) have surfaced, none of them have proved to be true. (Hojo was later questioned, but he claimed to know nothing about Vincent's sudden disappearance.)
NOTE: New rumors have surfaced recently, rumors that place Vincent alive today, almost 30 years later, despite some physical changes due to genetic experimentation by Professor Hojo. It is said that a man fitting Vincent's description has been seen in the rebel group, AVALANCHE.
(By: Shokoku Phoenix)
A Rose By Any Other Name Page 30