Author's Introduction:

If you haven't noticed, this is a very old story. I must've started this when I was in high school just after I played FFVII for the first time. I like to think my writing has improved drastically since then and the writing this story originally had is practically from another person (see all my dead and hiatus works if you're really curious). However, this story was one of my earlier ideas that I ended up drafting some kind of ending for, and it would be a shame to let it die. So as of March 2017, I began doing a "Don't Break the Chain" thing with writing and used it to focus on completely rewriting this story. Whether you end up liking or hating it, I fully intend on seeing this story through within the year, even if I only write a tiny bit every single day.

I will note, however, that I have tried to keep this story strictly within the Final Fantasy VII game universe. I don't believe I'll reference Dirge of Cerberus since I never played it, Advent Children won't be referenced, and at best there will be loose references to Crisis Core whenever Zack shows up. Feel free to make any complaints about character histories; it's been a few years since I replayed FFVII. The story is self beta-ed so nitpick all you want and I'll fix things.

Other than that, please enjoy.

-Zetsumei

Heavy Edits Completed: January 13, 2013

Additional Polish: March 16, 2017

Final Fantasy VII – Remembrance

Chapter 1 – Imaginary Memories

The nightmares came again, they always did. For thirty long years, I was locked in this infinite loop. That bastard of a scientist did something to me. No matter how I tried to look away, to forget, I could not break out of the confines of my own mind. Though I locked myself away to die, I could not die. Though I slept, I could not forget. Time and time again, I watched her breathe her last breath, felt her fall lifeless in my arms, screamed as my own time stopped. But something was different tonight, one minor tweak in my memories, something that wasn't there in the countless times I had dreamt this dream.

A creak.

Another creak followed by voices. As I watched Lucrecia die again, I couldn't help notice how much noisier the memory was. A male voice I didn't recognize was speaking rather loudly. A more feminine voice shushed him, almost as loudly. And a cool voice spoke in a low undertone, after which the first two promptly shut up. Then there was a clack, it sounded close. I felt myself waking for the first time in thirty years. Through that startling realization, I wondered if Hojo finally decided to come finish me off. The lid was slowly pushed off of the coffin that served as my prison.

"To wake me from a nightmare…"

Of all the asinine things I could say after thirty years, I had to say the most obvious thing on my mind. Shaking my head, I sat up. My muscles groaned in protest. I felt stiff, my senses dulled. Then again, I suppose I was lucky to have retained any motor functions after such a long period of inactivity. There was a faint buzzing in the back of my head, faint voices I thought I might recognize, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it and let the matter lie.

I finally looked up to face my liberators. The people in the room tensed, as if waiting for me to attack. I gazed at them, taking in their features as I had been trained to do long ago. A young man with unruly blonde hair that stuck out, resembling a chocobo, stood slightly in front of the others. One hand was raised, ready to unsheathe the massive buster sword on his back; his eyes darted across my body, anticipating an attack. He was clearly the leader. A strange, red-furred creature stood to his left. Its single golden eye emanated wisdom. It too was tense, though its tail twitched with curiosity, the flaming tip leaving a small trail of light in the dusty room. A young girl stood to the man's right. Of all the individuals in the room, she was the least wary of me. Her gloves indicated she was a fighter, but her stance indicated that she did not expect me to attack. Instead, she watched me with a strange expression. Locking eyes with her, I noticed her wine colored eyes were full of some foreign emotion.

Was it pity?

Concern?

Why would she possibly care for someone she barely knew?

The man, apparently deciding I was not a threat, had begun talking about why they were here. They called themselves AVALANCHE, apparently. I barely caught something about Shinra and what they were doing to the Planet, my mind still preoccupied with the strange girl. The man stopped talking, staring at me as if expecting some kind of response. My throat felt dry, but I was able to choke out a few more raspy words.

"Leave, for this place is only the beginning of your nightmares."

There was nothing for me out there. Thirty years and I might as well be a dead man, Hojo had no doubt ensured that to the best of his ability. The three members of AVALANCHE stared at me as I reached for the lid of the coffin.

"Wait!"

The blonde man's hand shot out, a bit faster than I would have expected. I tensed, inwardly startled by the exclamation. He looked at me with a tired expression and continued.

"You're right. This place was the beginning of it all. This place was where Sephiroth went insane." His voice faltered and he suddenly looked rather lost.

The name triggered a memory, which inevitably reminded me of Lucrecia. Had Hojo's experiments succeeded? Gast had clearly stated that the probability of the child surviving was less than one percent. He couldn't be alive… could he?

"Sephiroth…"

I spoke his name. It seemed unfamiliar despite my acquaintance with the child. And I felt something akin to hope blossom inside me. I relinquished my hold on the coffin lid and turned stared at the man.

"Do you know Lucrecia then?" I asked, a bit of hope emerging in my tormented mind.

But the man looked confused. I knew at a glance it was a hopeless endeavor. I doubted the bastard scientist had the decency to even give her a proper burial. The leader of AVALANCHE shook his head, confirming my assumptions.

"Who?" He queried.

I sighed and provided him the necessary information.

"The lady who gave birth to Sephiroth." It was all I could do not to remember that horrid night.

That confused look intensified. In the back of my mind, I vaguely wondered if he was really the group's leader.

"Wasn't Jenova his mother?"

I shook my head, suddenly interested at the line of reasoning. How could a frozen alien corpse be considered the mother of anything?

"No."

My mind was racing, trying to piece together the events of the last thirty years. The leader pressed on.

"Then can you tell us about Sephiroth?"

Something had happened in the last thirty years that much was for certain. Sephiroth was alive, if he was indeed the same child from my memories. I had the distinct feeling it was beyond my abilities to rectify. Besides, what use could they have for an old broken soldier? I declined his request.

"No. Listening to your story has added yet another sin upon me."

I looked once more at the young girl. She seemed somehow sad and disappointed that I was going back into my coffin. I felt an odd twinge in my heart.

'Strange. Is this… guilt?'

Could I truly let this matter lie and return to my nightmares?

…

I ended up joining the small group, dismissing it as wanting to find Hojo to atone for my sins. After all, if I had been stronger, perhaps Sephiroth would not have lived the life of a weapon. We found Hojo at long last. Driven mad by his ambitions and self-experimentation, the man had injected a massive dose of Jenova cells into himself and transformed into a hideous beast. We slew him and, though his death did little to clear my conscience, I felt a weight lift from my chest after killing him. The team was now preparing for the final attack on Sephiroth with the barrier around North Crater now dissipated.

I reflected upon the group I had joined barely a month ago. We had shared good times and bad, though I had a difficult time connecting with those emotions. It wasn't as though I didn't feel; it was simply a skill I built up in my time with the Turks. Unfortunately, this skill had disturbed the group and they had almost turned on me.

…

"Why won't you show any remorse?! Not one tear for Aerith?! What kind of monster are you?!"

Our leader, Cloud, was a broken man following the death of our Cetra healer, Aerith. In his anger, he had raised his sword, attempting to kill me.

"Stop!"

His childhood friend, Tifa shouted as she grabbed the wild man, twisting his weapon out of his hands. Her wine colored eyes were red, she had spent most of the night following her friend's death crying. She had a panicked look on her face as she pleaded with Cloud.

"What's happening to our group?! We're falling apart!"

Tifa had seemed exhausted and once again on the verge of tears as she tried to stop her childhood friend. The stress was clearly breaking the poor girl's mind. I tried to take matters into my own hands.

"It's okay Tifa. If he wants me to leave, I will."

She stared at me in shock. After a moment, she retaliated, a sudden anger in her eyes.

"If you're leaving, then so am I!"

Upset by her outburst, Cloud stepped forward, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Tifa, think about what you're saying!"

The girl spun, glaring coldly at her friend.

"You heard what I said. If he leaves, I leave."

Cloud stared for several minutes, his face red with frustration. Finally, he threw his hands in the air.

"Fine! Do what you want! Don't be surprised when he stands back and lets us all die!"

Unknowingly, Cloud's thoughtless outburst killed what little team morale we had left back then. After all, he practically guaranteed that we would fail in our mission. It was hard to believe he was the same man I had first met.

"Cloud, don't speak to your comrades like that."

My voice carried a surprising amount of anger. I should have been in more control than that. I blamed it on lack of practice. The blonde-haired man whirled on me, lashing out again.

"Shut up! Who are you to give me advice on how to lead my team?"

The man turned and stormed out of the building, leaving a stunned group behind. My eyes remained fixated on the door.

'Yours?'

We had then continued our journey in a tense silence. Cloud never spoke to me again after that confrontation. As we traveled through the Great Glacier, I gained an unspoken leadership of the group. Cloud sort of faded from existence, becoming more and more isolated as we neared North Crater for the first time. We had then found out that his erratic behavior was mostly due to mental instability. Apparently, he wasn't really an ex-SOLDIER, rather an experiment of Hojo's like I was. In the end, the combined stress of this knowledge and the guilt of failing Aerith broke the man. Tifa later told me of the strange and spiritual journey through his memories as she tried to piece together the man known as Cloud Strife.

…

It was a changed man that now led AVALANCHE. The once dysfunctional team was filled with new vigor, determined to see the mission through. After a few words with Reeve concerning evacuation plans in the event Meteor hit, we had left Midgar and were now making our way towards North Crater once again. A tentative knock disrupted my thoughts. It was Tifa. She looked rather nervous standing there in the doorway.

"Hey, Vincent?" Her voice was small, timid. "Can… Can I ask you something?"

Something was clearly bothering the young fighter. I let her inside, closing the door after her. Gesturing to my bed, I motioned for her to sit. Sitting down in a nearby chair, I turned my attention to her.

"Yes?"

She fidgeted slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with what she was about to ask.

"Why did you return?"

I paused, caught off guard by the question. Her face flushed red and she tried to clarify.

"N-not that I don't want you here, it's just… we killed Hojo…" she trailed off lamely.

I held her gaze for a moment before speaking.

"I know what I'm fighting for. Just like Cloud asked of us."

Her lips twitched downwards momentarily. I hadn't answered her question apparently.

"Yes, I know, but for what?" She turned her eyes on me.

I thought for a second.

"I must allow Lucrecia the chance to see her son."

Hesitantly, Tifa sat down next to me. She spoke slowly, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Cloud's been becoming more distant… He swears he can hear her. He claims she's telling him to hurry. That's why he gave us so little time to think and visit with our family. Not that I have any, so it doesn't really matter."

I wanted to say, 'Why are you telling me this?', but decided to let her continue instead.

"I don't get it… why am I so unlucky in love? I practically saved his life, yet he remains loyal to Aerith…"

I watched as she lowered her head and continued to speak.

"Nobody will notice if I die… Nobody will remember me. It's just…"

Tears began to form in her wine colored eyes.

"There's just so much to do that I haven't done… and it's all going to disappear. Lifestream and that's it! Vincent, we're going to die without ever enjoying life! I don't want that! I hate this! I hate it all! I don't want to die yet, Vincent!"

And suddenly everything made sense. She was having a panic attack. Being so close to North Crater and Sephiroth with nothing to do made her think too much. I moved over to the bed, unsure of what to do; it had been many long years since I comforted Lucrecia in such a way. So I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her in, holding her as she cried piteously. Her thin voice was barely audible over the hum of the engines. Her shoulders shook as her tears dampened my shirt slightly.

"It's not fair! Why are we the ones who bear this burden? Who chose us to do this?"

I finally managed to get a word in between her broken sobs.

"Shh… It's okay. You're not going to die."

The words sounded hollow even as I spoke them. I continued anyway.

"Everything will be fine. It's seven versus one. We completely outnumber him and our combined strength is more than his."

I continued whispering empty promises to the terrified girl. Eventually, she took several shuddering breaths, choking slightly as she did. She then dried her eyes, head lowered in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry you had to see me like that, Vincent," she mumbled, her face red and downcast.

Her voice was barely audible in my small cabin. I shook my head as she gradually relinquished my shirt.

"You don't need to say that. It's okay to be frightened when confronted with the possibility of death."

Still unwilling to look me in the eyes, she stood. From my position, I could see her face was still very red.

"We should get going…"

With that, she quickly left.

We confronted Sephiroth in the very pits of the Planet. He had been infused with such a large volume of Mako that his body had expanded and changed to cope. After almost a full hour of struggling, he fell, sinking into the depths of the Planet. I was relieved my prediction had been accurate. Tifa was ecstatic.

Then everything went wrong.

The whole mountain started to shake. Our battle had weakened the walls of the cavern and the Crater was now collapsing in on itself. The others rushed out, running for the steps that led back up towards the Highwind. But before we could escape, a large chunk of rock blocked me and Tifa from the exit. She looked at me, eyes wide with fright. As if in slow motion, I watched as another piece of the ceiling fell and crushed her beneath it.

"Tifa!"

Even as I screamed, another pieced fell, then another. Eventually everything fell into darkness.

…

"Tifa!"

Vincent Valentine awoke in a cold sweat. His eyes darted around the room, panicked mind trying to determine where he was. He visibly jumped as a hand touched his bare arm and a familiar voice spoke.

"Vincent, are you alright? I heard you shouting from the hallway." It had been years since he heard her voice.

He turned. Kneeled beside him was Lucrecia, as alive as he was. Confused, the disciplined man could only stutter.

"What? But… how… you died…" the man's brain raced, trying to understand the situation.

A troubled look appeared on the young woman's face. Her bottom lip protruded slightly as she pouted.

"Vincent Valentine! Is that any way to speak to the person you were assigned to protect? Come on. You must've had a nightmare," she reasoned.

Vincent shook his head, trying to shake off the mists of sleep that still clouded his mind.

"But it was so real…?"

Lucrecia laughed at his confusion.

"That's how some nightmares are. Come on. We don't want Hojo becoming suspicious, do we?"

That name brought up lingering hatred. Vincent cupped his face in his hands, muttering as he did.

"Hojo… He died as well…"

The woman cocked an eyebrow at this as she stared up at him from her place at the bedside.

"Wow…Your nightmares sure are morbid," Lucrecia commented lightly.

Desperation crept into Vincent's voice as he tried to justify his apparent dream.

"No! It was real! Everything I felt, everything I saw! Everyone I met! Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sith! They were all there!"

Lucrecia looked rather worried now. She placed a calming hand on his trembling frame, speaking in a soothing tone.

"Vincent, calm down. You're overreacting. I've never even heard of those names. I doubt anyone on the Planet is named after them. You just had a terrible nightmare. It'll pass."

It was clear the man didn't believe her, so she simply moved her hand in circles comfortingly across his back. He had to resist flinching away from her. His last memory was of a broken women, exiled to a hidden cave and waiting for death. Finally, Vincent relaxed as he slumped back into his pillows.

"Sorry for bothering you. What time is it anyway?"

Lucrecia chuckled.

"No worries. It's only five. I got up early to check on some of my equipment. We're starting today, you know?"

Vincent nodded.

"You go on ahead. I need to think about this for a while," he finally sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.

Lucrecia scolded him in a joking manner.

"Vincent! It's your job to protect me! As the best of the Turks, you shouldn't abandon your duty!"

Vincent twitched slightly. He hadn't gotten used to being called a Turk again. Or maybe he'd always been a Turk. Lucrecia laughed at his reaction, thinking him embarrassed rather than surprised.

"Only joking, Vincent. Lighten up! Be down in the main hall by eight, though! There's more equipment coming in and we're going to need the manpower!" She grinned.

The cheerful woman left the room, leaving the pensive man behind. Vincent let out a long sigh as he leaned back against his pillow. He reflected on the 'dream' he had just been through. In a scenario where Hojo had shot him and performed traumatic experiments that left him missing an arm and host to numerous monstrosities. A fictional tale where he had locked himself in a coffin, existing but not dying, and found thirty years later by a terrorist group called AVALANCHE to stop a madman from ending the world. He laid an arm across his eyes. In the resulting darkness, he could still see them as clear as day. It seemed he really did have an amazing imagination.

He frowned in annoyance.

'No! That definitely happened.'

He mentally scolded himself. Lying there, he began to wonder about it all.

'Was it some kind of vision? Maybe it was a glimpse of the future?'

It sounded completely ridiculous in his head.

'Maybe I'm simply going insane,' he thought sardonically.

Vincent rolled out of bed and looked in the mirror. He looked no different than he remembered, unsurprising as Hojo had somehow halted his aging in his dream. As he dredged up memories of his life in the Turks, he mechanically forced himself into familiar, yet long unused habits. He ran through his morning routine before meticulously putting on his Turk uniform and securing his weapon. The blue suit felt uncomfortably stiff after wearing the looser traveling clothes from his dream. Vincent stared at himself in the mirror once more, flexing his left hand and marveling at its presence. After a moment, he clenched it, a determined look on his face.

He decided make a record of it all. During one of the scientists' trips into the Nibelheim town square, he bought a leather bound notebook from a local shop. He wrote down everything that had happened in his 'dream', making sure he covered every event in great detail as to not forget anything. He started with the events of Sephiroth's birth, his own stasis, and the events of Meteor. Detailing his memories became an obsession.

'It couldn't have been a dream,' he constantly told himself. 'The injuries from all the fighting, the people I met, they were all too real to be a figment of my imagination.'

It took the better part of a week, be he finally managed to complete his writings, filling out most of the book. After some consideration, he also sketched out a drawing of each member. Again in painstaking detail, it appeared they were alive and staring back at him. He marked the start of the drawings with a bookmark for future reference. And for a few weeks, he was finally able to begin taking stock of his current situation.

Not much had changed in Nibelheim. Shinra was setting up to start the JENOVA Project, which meant there was likely some time before Sephiroth's conception, assuming everything followed his predictions. For a while, he simply let things run its course, finding no way to sabotage the project. However, he became decidedly more paranoid as the last of the equipment arrived. On the final day, after setting up the remaining machines, Lucrecia decided to relax in Vincent's room before dinner, chatting animatedly about their plans for the JENOVA Project. Only barely paying attention, Vincent didn't notice the scientist's wandering eyes. She noticed the now worn notebook and picked it up. She smiled brightly as she opened it.

"Aw. How cute. Vinnie has a diary!"

Vincent had a brief flashback, remembering a certain ninja that had also called him that name. Frowning, he realized what she had picked up.

"Lucrecia," he began, but got no further as the researcher was immediately lost in his written words.

Lucrecia's expression changed several times as she read. Vincent vaguely hoped she would not have him thrown off the team or committed for mental instability. After an hour or so, she finished, lowering the notebook to stare at the man in bewilderment.

"All this happened in your dream?!"

She frowned.

"I'm kind of a bitch… what mother would give up their own child for testing?" Lucrecia said curiously as she flipped through the earlier notes.

"You were very driven in this 'dream'. I believe that you were convinced everything was well regulated." Vincent shrugged.

Lucrecia hummed lightly before going back to the notebook. As she reread the end of his memory, she noticed that there seemed to be a bit more. She turned the page and saw the drawings.

"Wow. You have a vivid imagination."

Vincent sighed from his place on the bed.

"Lucrecia, do you think I would be able to draw someone from a random dream in that detail?

Lucrecia shrugged, setting the notebook aside.

"I dunno. Anything's possible with you, Vincent."

The man sighed wearily, closing his eyes.

"I can still see her…"

Lucrecia gave him a mockingly stern look.

"Vincent Valentine. Are you falling in love with a girl from a dream?"

Vincent opened his eyes, holding Lucrecia's gaze. He answered monotonously.

"Well, of course. If it's the girl of my dreams, I must like her then, right?"

The woman giggled helplessly.

"Vincent! You're awful!"

Lucrecia reached over and slapped him on the shoulder. Vincent smiled, inwardly grateful that she hadn't run away screaming that their bodyguard had lost his mind. The banter continued with the brainy woman picking apart the outlandish tale. It was nice, Vincent mused, having this again. He had missed the energetic woman, even if their separation was artificial. At the same time, he couldn't help hoping that he would see the members of AVALANCHE again.

And while a part of him hoped it wouldn't be under similar circumstances, the infamous JENOVA Project would soon be underway.

…

Me: Major changes, more detail, it pretty much doubled in length. I found the original simply went by too fast, it was predominantly dialogue. I find the storytelling improves with a clearer description of each scene. Personal preference, let me know if you don't like it or something.

…

Omake 1:

"Tifa!"

Vincent awoke in a cold sweat.

"What's the matter sweetie? Bad dream?"

Eyes full of horror, Vincent looked over to see Cloud lying in bed with him.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it…" Cloud said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"GAAH!" Vincent screamed in unbridled terror.

…

Two girls stared down at the thrashing man, writhing in obvious agony. It was quite surprising to see such pain in the normally emotionless man's face.

"You're not allowed in the kitchen anymore, Yuffie," Tifa scolded.