Disclaimer for this and all subsequent chapters: Final Fantasy it the property of Square Enix/ Square Soft. I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any material related to it. I do own a copy of the game, but that's about it.
Once a Man
By Tamlin
Chapter One: Confession
I hate her.
I just want that clear from the beginning. She took everything from me and I hate her for that.
She took everything.
And she did it with a sweet, innocent-seeming smile.
And I, I who wanted nothing more than to salvage something out of the wreckage she left behind, got the entire blame.
I can't argue with that judgment. Who else is there to blame? I should have known. I should have tried to stop her. I am the one who became the monster. Even now, if I was to look in the mirror, that's all that stares back at me, a monster.
But once, I was a man. That's all, just a man who happened to be in love. I had everything I had ever dreamed of having: a good job, good friends, respect of my peers, and even the most precious of all things, a true, loyal, loving companion. I had everything and she destroyed them all. All except the job. Lucky me that I was employed by Shinra, who's morals only rival hers for utter corruption. The perfect place for a monster to crawl into its layer and spend decades licking its wounds.
Ah, I see the doubt in your eyes.
I don't blame you. I sometimes don't believe me either. Sometimes it's easier not to remember and to just let those memories fester in the bleakest, most barren part of my soul. Far easier for the heat, the pain, and the blind dictates of science to blank out my days and devour those tiny scraps of my soul she left behind.
But I want someone to know. You see, she could come back. That crystal won't hold her forever. She knew that when she sealed herself into it. The Chronicle of Ages is to be where Chaos will be born when he comes to destroy all life on the Planet. Now think, who is in the middle of that crystal?
Come now, put a bit more thought into it.
She's there…waiting for him…waiting to be reborn, infused with the purest form of the Chaos gene…waiting to be released again onto this poor, abused Planet.
Why? Why can't anyone see her true face except me?
Of course no one believes me. I don't blame them. I'm a monster. After what I did to the one I loved best in this world, how could I fail to be anything less? I am a monster, pitiless, cruel, insane. I have heard it all hissed at my back, and even on occasion to my face. It doesn't bother me anymore. Why should it. I know what I am.
Monster.
Monsters don't cry.
I haven't cried since her.
I wish I could. I wish I could cry. Just once. To show that I am sorry.
And I am.
I'm sorry Vincent.
I loved you.
Yes, this is very short, but it's the set up to the story.Later chapters will get longer.
Please review!
AN: I've always had a few doubts about a woman that would seal herself away in a crystal that a demon would be born out of, so this is me exploring those doubts. Besides, I love trying to look at things from different perspectives, to see another side to a story.