The Story of Victoria Strife

Chapter 25: The Price of Blood

The hum of machinery was constant, vibrating through the steel walls, a reminder of the sterile cruelty that filled this place. The air was dense with the smell of antiseptics and electric charge, as if the entire space was one large, cold machine. Everyone—Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Barret, Vincent, the remnants—was trapped in glass cells suspended high above the room, each positioned on the upper levels like spectators in some twisted arena. The cells were suspended in such a way that they could all see what lay in the massive room below. But they were powerless to do anything about it.

Their view was dominated by a large, glass tube in the centre of the room. It stood tall, illuminated by harsh lights, casting long, eerie shadows. Inside, suspended in a strange liquid, was Victoria. Her form was still and pale, thin wires and small tubes threaded through her skin, connected to the machines that monitored her vitals. Her bandaged wound from Weiss's sword stood out against her skin, a reminder of the violence she had endured. She was unconscious, floating in the fluid like a captive specimen in a jar.

Cloud's fists slammed against the walls of his cell, rage flooding through him, but the barrier was unbreakable. His breath was heavy, his heart pounding in his chest. He could see everything—Hojo moving about with disturbing glee, Rufus Shinra standing with that cold, calculating look on his face, and the Turks, silently observing, their hands twitching near their weapons. Deepground soldiers stood like statues, guarding the exits.

Then there was Genesis, pacing at the edge of the room, his crimson coat trailing behind him. His eyes were cold, glowing with that unsettling Mako energy as he occasionally glanced at Victoria. And looming next to her tube was Sephiroth, his long silver hair falling over his shoulders as he watched her with quiet interest.

The others in their cells—Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, and the remnants—watched in silence, tension gripping them as they tried to figure out what was about to happen. Each of them knew that whatever was being planned involved Victoria in a way they couldn't yet understand.

Cloud's teeth ground together, his knuckles white from gripping the edge of his cell. His mind raced, panic building beneath his anger. They had to stop this. Whatever "this" was.

Victoria stirred within the glass tube. It was slow at first—a twitch of her fingers, a flutter of her eyelids. Her breathing hitched as her eyes opened, groggy and confused, and she blinked against the harsh light. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized where she was. Panic seized her when she tried to move, but the restraints held her tightly in place, the wires tugging at her skin, feeding into her body.

"What... where...?" she croaked, her voice muffled by the liquid surrounding her.

Sephiroth was the first to speak, his deep voice cutting through the room like a blade. "You're awake," he observed, his tone detached yet sinister. His glowing eyes met hers, and she felt a shiver crawl down her spine. "Good. We were starting to wonder if you'd sleep through your own transformation."

Victoria's breath hitched, her heart slamming against her ribs. Transformation? What did he mean by that? She pulled at the wires, her body thrashing slightly, but it only caused more pain. "Let me go!"

Before Sephiroth could respond, Rufus Shinra stepped forward, his sharp eyes gleaming with that familiar air of control. He tilted his head slightly as if amused by her struggles. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, Victoria. Not yet. We've gone to great lengths to prepare you for this moment, after all."

"What are you talking about?" Victoria's voice was hoarse, her throat burning from the strain. She glanced up at the faces above her—Cloud, her brother, watching helplessly from his cell. She could see the fear and frustration in his eyes. It tore at her, but she couldn't look away.

Rufus gestured casually to the array of equipment surrounding her. "For years, you've been an important piece in this... grand puzzle. It's time you understand just how important. You're not like the others—you're more. You are the culmination of decades of research, of experiments perfected by Deepground, Shinra, and others... including your own father."

Her stomach churned at the mention of her father. "What do you mean? I'm nothing like you," she growled, struggling against the restraints, but the glass tube held firm.

Genesis stepped forward, his voice as smooth and poetic as ever, but with a dark edge. "Ah, Victoria, but you are exactly what we need. You were created, shaped, moulded for a singular purpose. Do you not feel it? The darkness in your veins, the power within you?"

"No," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief, her eyes darting between Genesis and Sephiroth. "You're wrong. I'm not some... experiment."

Genesis's eyes gleamed with a cruel sort of satisfaction. "You can deny it all you want, but you cannot escape your fate. You were designed to be something more—an heir to the power that lies within us all. Your very existence is proof of the legacy Shinra has created."

Victoria shook her head, refusing to accept his words. "You're lying!"

A slow, deliberate clapping sound echoed through the chamber, and Victoria's blood turned to ice. The doors at the far end of the room slid open, revealing a tall figure stepping into the light. Edowin, her father.

His smile was unsettling, a twisted mockery of what a father's smile should be. He approached the centre of the room, holding a set of vials filled with strange, glowing liquid. "Ah, my dear daughter. You've finally woken up. Just in time for the final stage."

Victoria's breath caught in her throat as her father drew closer, his presence suffocating. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as he placed the vials onto the table, his fingers brushing the glass tubes that connected to her.

"No... no!" she screamed, her mind spinning, her heart twisting with betrayal. "Father, how could you—?"

"How could I?" Edowin interrupted with a laugh, his eyes gleaming with madness. "This has always been the plan, my dear. You were never meant to be just a fighter. You were meant to be a weapon. The perfect vessel for our greatest creation."

Her eyes widened in horror, her chest tightening with each word. "What... what are you saying?"

Hojo, who had been silently observing, finally chimed in, his grin widening. "You are the fusion of the perfect genes. The next step in evolution, Victoria. Jenova's cells run through your veins, just as they did in Sephiroth... and now, with this final phase, we will awaken the true potential that lies dormant inside of you."

The room felt like it was spinning as Victoria's vision blurred. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't her life. She wasn't some puppet, some monster created by Shinra and her own father. But the wires digging into her skin told her otherwise. Her body ached, and her mind reeled from the betrayal and the horror of it all.

Her eyes locked onto Cloud's again, seeing the desperation and pain etched on his face. He was her brother, and even now, he was trying to figure out a way to save her. But how could anyone save her from this?

Sephiroth stepped closer, his presence suffocating as he looked down at her with something close to amusement. "Don't worry, Victoria. Soon, all of this will make sense. Soon, you will understand your true purpose."

Her body trembled with fear and rage, her dark power swirling beneath the surface, but the wires and restraints held her in place. She couldn't let them win. She couldn't let them turn her into a monster.

"I'll never be what you want me to be," she hissed, her voice raw but filled with defiance.

Rufus only smirked, watching her with an air of finality. "We'll see about that."