I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)

Disk 01: Chapter 20: The Vampire And The Villain

Nearly everyone took a step back, looking around for the speaker. "Who's there?" Tifa shouted.

In answer, we heard a thin dry sound, certainly a laugh although it could just as easily have been a coughing sound, or perhaps a death-rattle. "I believe that is the question which I asked you first..." The front-most coffin lid sprung open and out flew a dreadful sight: Pale, thin, almost skeletal, raven black hair, golden clawed hand, crimson cloak billowing about as if in a hurricane wind though the air was still. Vincent Valentine, of course.

"Vampire!" Yuffie exclaimed. "What did I tell you all? Huh? What did I tell you!?"

Vincent sighed deeply. "I am not a vampire young lady. I yet live, though I might wish I did not. Now I ask you once again, who are you and why are you here? You don't look like Shinra, certainly aren't Turks..."

"Hell no we ain't Shinra!" Barrett shouted. "We Avalanche, an' don't you forget it!"

"Avalanche? I've never heard of such a group."

"Never mind us, who exactly are you?" Cloud demanded.

"And more to the point, what are you?" Tifa added.

"Yeah, if you're not a vampire, what were you doing in that coffin anyway? Coffins are where vampires sleep you know!" Yuffie said.

"Hojo placed me in the coffin. It was not my choice." Vincent replied. "At least not at first. Though... In time I chose to remain, as penance for my sins."

"Hojo? How do you know Hojo?" Cloud asked.

"I worked for him." Vincent admitted. "Or, for Shinra anyway. I was a Turk. I worked here, guarding Hojo and his team. But I was betrayed twice, and turned into the creature you see before you. For my failure, I remain here though I could have left long ago."

"You keep speaking of your 'failure.'" Red asked. "What happened?"

Vincent sighed again. "I found that Hojo was experimenting on his own wife and unborn child. I swear to you, I did not know what was truly going on until the day the child was born... I would have acted sooner if I had. I tried to save both mother and child. But Hojo caught me, shot me... That is my failure, that I was not strong enough to save the child... I wonder what has become of him?"

Taking advantage of the circumstance, I said "Maybe... It's a small chance, but maybe we can tell you... Do you know the kid's name?"

"Sephiroth." Vincent answered, and the whole room erupted into chaos. Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Red, and Yuffie were all talking over one another, and it took several minutes for Aerith and I to calm things down. When the room was finally silent, a confused Vincent asked "Did I say something wrong?"

"Sephiroth's the murdering madman we chasin' after!" Barret bellowed. "He 's tryin' to kill the whole damn planet!"

"What?" Vincent whispered. "How long have I slept here?"

"I'm not sure if you actually want to know..." Aerith said, placing a hand on his right hand. "But, you said you were put here when Sephiroth was a baby. If that's right... It's been thirty years."

"Thirty years..." Vincent repeated. "It seems my penance is to span decades, perhaps centuries... For now I know that in failing Sephiroth and Lucrecia, I have failed the entire world." He looked us all in the eyes, one by one, and said "Please forgive me." Then, faster than any of us could react, he fell back into his coffin, the lid closing behind.

"Hey!" Barret shouted. "Come on outta there! You can help us stop this! Isn't that better than hiding away sulkin'?" He beat heavily on the lid and tried to pry it open, all to no avail.