Turning
"Tell me about the Turks."
Elena's gaze snapped over to her companion in surprise. It was the first word exchanged between them in several hours, since the startling revelation of Vincent being married. "What would you like to know? You were in them as well; you probably know even better than I do."
He shook his head. "From what I have seen between you and the others, the Turks have changed greatly. Tell me of how they are today."
Elena frowned. She leaned back on her cot and thought for a moment. "Well, children were sold to Shinra, of course-"
"What?"
She looked back over to him. "Well, they don't call it that, of course. If someone has an unwanted child that they can't support, they give it to Shinra. In exchange, they're given compensation."
Vincent looked at her, horrified. "That's not right."
Elena shrugged. "It's better than dying before you're old enough to take a job, like most children on Midgar's streets do. It's bad for the kids who don't succeed, though. There were rumors that those who failed in the training program were given to Hojo. That was probably unsubstantiated, though, but...I heard it wasn't always this way, though. Supposedly, after the founder of the Turks died, the organization became corrupt. Sad, really."
A disturbed look passed over Vincent's face. "Go...on..."
Elena sighed. "Well, children who were given to Shinra went through a rigorous training program, testing mental and physical skill. Those who couldn't meet the standards were cast out, either back onto the street, or if the rumors were true, then, you know. Then, anyone who didn't have a special skill to offer met the same fate. Then, the remaining few, generally only an eighth of the beginning number, were set against each other in competitions. Those who won became Turks. Those who lost became grunts in the military."
"And what about the Turks themselves?"
Elena paused. "Well, there were only generally three or four of us at a time. We were - are - very close, but we have our differences, I suppose. We were sent out on missions, to search out candidates for Soldier, or kidnapping, or...murder." She frowned. "The phrase 'those damned Turks' is more accurate than most know. We're damned either to be rejected and live our short lives as street kids or to be accepted and live a lifetime of killing."
Vincent stood up from his seat on the floor and started pacing furiously. "That's not how it's supposed to be! The Turks are a companionship. We don't kill, or kidnap..."
A short, harsh laugh erupted from the other. "Why do you care? Apparently, it's been a while since you were a Turk."
Vincent cried, "Don't you see? I started the Turks!"
There was a silence for a while. Then, after a moment, Elena said, "Did I hit you that hard?"
Vincent turned away in anger. Elena winced, saying, "I'm sorry. But you can't possibly be, what, sixty-odd years old."
"You'd be surprised," he said darkly.
She shook her head. "That isn't possible. The founder of the Turks was declared dead by President Shinra himself."
"And who do you suppose he got that information from? Hojo. Not to mention that Shinra was as corrupt as anyone, and probably wouldn't even care what happened to me."
"But the founder's name wasn't even Vincent! It was, ah..."
"Unknown?" At Elena's nod, he shrugged. "We were all really of equal status, in the beginning. I didn't want it advertised that I had started it."
Elena stared off into space. "That's unbelievable. I always looked up to the founder of the Turks, and..." She started to chuckle. Her laugh escalated into hysterics. "And when I first meet him, I try to kill him! Ha, ha...That's funny!"
Vincent looked on in alarm as her laughter turned to tears. "Elena? Are you all right?" He went over to sit down beside her.
She buried her face in his good shoulder. After a moment, she pulled away and turned away from him. "I'm sorry. That was unnecessary. I shouldn't have done that. I'm just under stress, I suppose."
"I can understand why," he said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. "It's been stressful."
"It almost makes me want to wish I had never signed on with you. If I hadn't been so greedy...Reno and Rude wouldn't be in jail, and I wouldn't be rotting in some cell with an untalkative guy who should be in a retirement home." She looked back at him, her eyes rimmed with red. "No offense meant."
Vincent sighed. "None taken, I guess." He looked at the dank ceiling and sighed a second time. "I guess you want to know about Lucrecia."
She looked up in surprise. "You're actually going to tell me about that?"
Vincent nodded. "I might as well." Elena gave a small smile. She wanted to know who she was up against.
"Lucrecia and I were introduced by President Shinra. She was the sister of Professor Gast, the renowned biologist. It was a storybook romance; we met, we fell in love, we married, we lived happily ever after. For a while.
"Several years after our marriage, we were both assigned to a far-off, remote town called Nibelheim. She was to work with her brother and Hojo on a secret project: the Jenova Project. I was assigned there to protect all of them from, well, anything, and to provide them with some human company, as well as to be with 'Crecia. We went out there for secrecy, privacy, and some fresh air.
"I noticed that Lucrecia had a growing interest in Hojo. He was a charming man, impossibly handsome, young, and infuriatingly manipulative. They went off increasingly together, and I suppose he eventually turned her against me. I knew that...well, that they loved each other, or at least she loved him. Hojo was never interested in any but himself. So, I confronted her several times, but each time she denied having an affair with him. Each time I believed her, until she would go off with him again. I was a naïve fool.
"Eventually, she found she was pregnant, and there was no question that it was by Hojo. Once I found this out, I confronted her at Nibelheim's gates. I handed her...divorce papers. If she didn't love me, why stay together?"
"Vincent..." said Elena softly, but Vincent shook his head.
"Don't interrupt. It's hard enough getting through this as it is. Anyway, she ran away, sobbing and screaming that she never slept with Hojo, and that she wasn't an adulteress. Denying it, even though everyone knew. Every one of her wails cut me to the bone. I loved her. I always did."
He turned away with a tear in his eye, but he continued. "After that, I took whatever excuse I could find to get away from the village. While I was gone...they experimented on Lucrecia's fetus. And thus, nine months later, Sephiroth was born."
He ignored her small gasp as he went on. "The child...It was killing her. If she bore it through labor, she would die. Naturally, I went down to confront Hojo. Our conversation became angrier and angrier until, finally, he pulled out a small pistol and shot me in the chest. I almost died, but Hojo didn't let me. I was an experiment. And now, I cannot age physically, my left arm is made of metal, and I can turn into monsters." He punctuated this by dropping his face into his right hand and sobbing softly.
He was startled as Elena hugged him gently about the shoulders. "It's all right. It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do. It was her choice; you couldn't have stopped her." She continued to comfort him until the subject of their conversation interrupted them again.
"Well, isn't that sweet," Lucrecia said in a syrupy voice. "Poor, poor Vincent, being comforted by his sweet little girlfriend. I suppose he's been feeding you his sob story, has he?"
Elena dropped her hands to her sides and stood up, then walked over to the barred door of the cell. Lucrecia smirked, expecting an uneloquent response to her insult. She fell back as Elena's fist smashed into her nose. The Turk walked back to the cot, sat quite calmly back down, and patted Vincent on the back.
Lucrecia gaped at her, then scowled. She lightly touched her tender nose, and gasped in indignation as her hand came away bloody. She scrambled to her feet, and started to stalk away with as much dignity as she could muster. She turned back to the two figures.
"You'll pay for that, harlot," screeched Lucrecia. "You'll pay, I swear it! When I'm done, you're going to regret that." With as much dignity as she could muster, she stalked away.
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