I'm going to do this a bit differently. Even though I vastly seem to enjoy writing torture, I simply can not bare having Hojo torture someone (I had him slap Sephiroth, and I felt sick). So I'm sorta changing the way I'm writing this, just so I can have Cid reflect my anger and disgust. I hate forcing Cid to watch his dear Vincent being tortured, but I don't think I could get through this without him. Plus I want this to have a happy ending… I'm getting sick of writing tragedy, yo.

--

"So, it was this here mansion?" Cid stood out in front of ShinRa Manor, staring up at the towering building. He had asked around the others to show him where they had found Vincent. Harboring some hope of maybe finding out some more about him, in turn maybe some ways to help him. Plus he wanted to know the full reason of why Barret seemed to hold some strange notion that his lover was going to drain him dry while he slept. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie had agreed to show the pilot the mansion. He'd left a note with Vincent, telling him he was on a delivery, and he'd most likely be back late. He couldn't bear to lie to his face, but it'd be even worse to let Vincent know what he was doing. The gunman often discouraged him from delving into his past. Said it wasn't a good idea, but this uncontrollable urge told him he had to do this.

The large gate screeched open, and Cid felt a tight knot wrench his stomach. He could hardly believe it. Vincent had always been so close. He lived near Nibelheim, he'd been there quite a few times. "I've been in this mansion before." He finally managed to choke out, as they entered the large dusty room. "I hate ta think he was so close, but I didn't know he was in here."

Tifa placed an arm on his shaking shoulder. "He was hidden rather well. Obviously, Hojo didn't want anyone to find him."

"Yea." Yuffie turned, as she was bounding up the stairs. "I'm still not completely sure how we found him."

Cloud led them up the stairs, which just sparked the pilot's curiosity all the more. "Hold up. I thought you said he was in the basement. Why the hell are we goin up?"

"There's a secret passage up here." He answered so simply, not even bothering to look back. Cid didn't even know why the young swordsman came along, in the first place. He seemed far too nervous to even enter the courtyard for this ancient building.

Cloud led them into a small room, off to the right, where a large stone pillar was shoved in the corner. He hit a loose brick in the pillar, commanding a large door to open and led the three of them in. Cid had to admit, he was amazed by the 'thoroughly hidden door', but felt his heart sink once more as he gazed down the old wooden ramp that seemed to wind down into endless darkness. The other three proceeded carefully along the old ramp, with Cid following close behind. He half expected the old boards to break under his feet, but they were surprisingly sturdy.

Soon enough, the unnerving silence between the four of them started to get to him. The pilot felt a slightly hysteric smile cross his lips. "You guys sure he was put down here? Maybe Vince just got dizzy walkin down this damn thing and passed out."

The girls gave an awkward giggle, but Cloud stayed silent. "Aww, come on Spike." The pilot pushed on, still trying to break the uneasy silence. "Lighten up. It was just a joke."

"You're about to learn your husband's fate. I don't think that's anything to joke about."

The tone in his voice made it clear, that that was the final word.

When they reached the bottom of the spiraling ramp, Tifa stopped, grasping Cid's arm. "Are you sure you want to do this?" There was an earnestly concerned look in her eyes, that caused the pilot to even question his motives. On the outside, he merely smiled, patting her head. "I just wanna look around the place ya'll found him at. What all could I possibly find out at this place?" He walked on ahead, after Cloud and Yuffie, leaving the still unsure Tifa behind, for a few steps.

Cid looked around the dark dusty cellar, his heart sinking again, at the thought of his beloved Vincent being in this dirty place. Cloud stopped at a large rusted steel door. He grasped the handle, pushing hard. Cloud slammed his shoulder into the door, and it finally swung open, with a burst of dust. They coughed, fanning the dust away.

"Damn." Cid exclaimed. "Don't they ever clean this place?"

"Why should they?" Yuffie hacked on a dust-ball that's made its way down her throat. "I think we were the lasts one to ever come in this mansion."

The room was very dark, lit only with a loose bulb, which Tifa had turned on as they entered. The swinging light cast odd shadows on the walls, to reveal many cob and spider webs hanging from various corners, and roaches scurrying across the room, at the sight of the light.

Yuffie cringed. "Now I remember why I stayed outside."

"It's that one." Cloud pointed to a stone coffin, in the center of the room. It was the only one opened, and Cid was slightly curious to find out what was in the others… but not enough. Instead, he knelt down next to the coffin, looking inside. The first thing to cross the pilot's mind was that there was no possible way for him to be comfortable in this thing.' A foolish thought – yes, but he couldn't control his mind.

"Damn… now I see why Barret thinks he's a vampire." He reached inside, caressing the smooth, cold stone. His hand brushing against the slight dent in the hard stone, almost able to see the beautiful figure that'd caused it. "If I'd seen Vincent sleeping in this, I'd probably think the same thing." His voice came out as a whisper, the thought of him being trapped down here almost bringing a tear to his eye. Cid turned up to the others around him. "So he was just sleeping?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Yea. He woke up when we opened the coffin."

"Actually told us to leave him alone and let him sleep."

"What?" Cid continued to examine the rest of the coffin, a hand slowly moving to the lid. "Bein trapped in a fuckin coffin for 30 years, you'd figure he'd want out."

Cloud knelt on the other side. "Maybe he was just scared to face the outside." His voice dropped down a hair, fingers tracing along the edge. "I know I'd be."

Cid just stared at Cloud. In some fucked up way, it made sense. Maybe Cloud understood Vincent a lot better than he did. The pilot shook the thought away. He felt stupid for even thinking it. Vincent wouldn't leave him for Cloud.

His heart froze, a gasp pushing down his throat, as a hand brushed over some odd indents on the lid, laying next to the stone prison. He slid over, examining it closer. "Fuck me." He gasped, a tear tracing his cheek. "Did you guys see this!?"

"See what?" Tifa knelt down, watching as Cid traced his fingers over the crude marks scratched into the thick surface, and gasped, slapping both hands to her mouth. "Oh my God… is- is that what I think it is!?"

Yuffie leaned in closer, not daring to let anything but her feet touch the ground. "Eww. There's a finger nail lodged in it." Two pairs of eyes glared up at the annoyingly perceptive ninja. The third was too busy with his own thoughts. The sound of his lover screaming as he clawed at the heavy covering filled his mind. Cid's head fell down, his tears mixing with the dust that'd settled next to his hands. Was he actually locked in here? Or was Vincent too weak to push it off? Considering the strength he had seen from Chaos, he highly doubted the latter was true. A burning hatred towards the man that'd done this to him surged in his stomach.

"Cid?" A gentle voice, and a soft hand, settled on his whitening knuckles. "Are you alright?"

"Yea." He sniffed, brushing angrily at his face. "Yea, I'm good. Come on." Cid stood, storming outta the room. "I wanna look around some more."

The three left in the room exchanged worried glances. If Cid was already that distressed over seeing this, how would he respond if he found anything else?

They followed quickly, finding the pilot in the library checking through books. He was getting rather frustrated, and threw a few of them. "There ain't nuthin in here but bullshit about Jenova."

Tifa picked up some of the book, laying them gently on the table. "Well, Cid. I highly doubt there were books published about all of this."

Cid groaned, slumping into the chair. "Guess you're right."

Yuffie helped Tifa pick up the books. They didn't much know why they were bothering to straighten up. At least it gave them something to do.

"What all were you expecting to find?" Cloud settled onto the table, his legs hanging limply over the edge.

"I dunno." The pilot shrugged. "Some fucking info. Why the hell would he put him down here, if this wasn't where it happened?"

Tifa moved over, next to Cloud, but didn't sit down. "Have you ever asked Vincent about this?"

Cid slumped further in his chair, looking almost like a scorned child. "Well, yea. But he never tells me no details."

"Well, maybe he doesn't want you to know. Perhaps you should respect that."

Cid groaned, scratching his head. "Yea, I guess you're right. I don't even know where the hell this idea came from… hey… where's the kid?" The sudden realization of the young ninja's disappearance brought the three into a paranoid uproar.

They split up, searching all through the mansion. Cid went on down a back way, past the library. There seemed to be a whole new building down here. Everything so old fashioned, constructed of either stone or wood. The layout of this place was almost like a labyrinth. So many doors everywhere, but Cid was amazed to see so many computers. He didn't think technology was so advanced that long ago. He plotted to start messing with one of them, when he heard a noise, and rushed after it. "Dammit, Yuffie, we'd been lookin everywhere for ya." He burst in through the door, and froze. There was a large rehabilitation tube, surrounded by a ring of computers.

Yuffie jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Sorry, Cid. I just found a back way, and decided to explore. Guess I shoulda told you guys first." She stopped, staring at the pilot, who seemed transfixed on the empty tube. "You all right, Gramps?"

Normally Cid would have popped her in the mouth for calling him that, but there was something about this room. An odd, kind of thick presence lingering through the air. Which was strange in and of itself, because Cid normally didn't sense those kinds of things. He proceeded closer, flipping on the computer. To both of their surprise, it came on.

Cid proceeded to tap away at the keys, as if he knew just how to hack into the data base. With as much as this man knew about technology, it wasn't that much of a shock. Still, the young ninja had never seen his eyes so focused on anything so seriously. Then again, she'd never really taken the time to sit down and watch Cid work on something. "Captain?"

He didn't respond, just kept searching through the files, hoping to find something. Finally, Cid started to recognize some things. The title 'Apocalypse Project' came to his eyes. He had remembered once that Vincent mentioned that Chaos and the others were, in a way, the bringers of the end… or sumthing like that. He clicked on the link and the word 'subject' came up next to a picture of a handsome young man, wearing a Turk uniform. He had short black hair, shading those all too familiar crimson eyes. He looked so different, but there was no mistaking it.

That was his Vincent.

The name in the description of the project confirmed this. There was both written descriptions and video footage of these events. Apparently Hojo liked to keep very detailed documents of his exploits.

Cid's eyes widened, and he gulped, speaking in a soft sigh. "This is it."

Yuffie grasped his elbow gently, staring at the screen. "Are you seriously going to watch this?"

He didn't answer, just placed a shaky hand over the mouse, and clicked on the video files.

Yuffie gasped astonished. "Cid."

"Yuffie." The ninja jumped. She hardly ever heard him say her name… especially not with that serious undertone to his voice. Cid lit a cigarette, settling down in the chair. It screeched, rejecting the new weight. "Do me a favor. Tell Vincent I'm gonna be a bit longer than I thought. But I'll call him as soon as I can."

--

AN: (i need to stop starting new fics, when i only ahve one finished) and in case NEone's interested, this is the second story in my series. (between Vincent's Turk Days and Forgiveness i'm actually gonna write all three at once, so i can get them all over with. it's not the kinda thing that'll cause spoilers, (well, maybe, but not big ones) so i don't care. i'm just writing them so nobody will have questions on where i stand on all the confusing theories flying around on Vincent.