Summary: In order to protect himself and Ifalna, Gast leaves Midgar. His only regret is having to leave Sephiroth behind. This is Gast's last day at Shinra Headquarters, where he must reluctantly say good-bye to a very lonely little boy.
Usual disclaimer: Don't own FFVII, wish I did - this is written for fun (and feels!) but not profit.
Some further notes: I've butchered canon a bit here to make this work, but it was kind of necessary to make the story fit, and make sense. Basically in this scenario, Gast meets Ifalna on the Northern Continent; they return to Midgar and she moves in with Gast, and sometime later, the two fall in love and she becomes pregnant with Aeris. Before that, Ifalna forges a relationship with young Sephiroth, who is approximately 7-8 years old around this time. She identifies with this little boy, who feels 'different' from everyone else; indeed, Ifalna knows very well what that feels like.
Hojo only meets Ifalna once in this 'verse; he knows there is something unusual about her, yet doesn't know what, because Gast won't let Hojo near her, and wisely so. Once baby Aeris is on the way, Gast makes arrangements to take Ifalna away, back to Icicle Inn. They make up a cover story to throw off Hojo, and Gast tells him that he is relocating to Mideel to study the 'high levels of Lifestream' there, which is somewhat plausible. In reality, the couple is secretly moving to Icicle Inn, to hide out for the duration of Ifalna's pregnancy.
This story is told mostly from Gast's POV; it's his last day in Midgar, and he has to very reluctantly say good-bye to Sephiroth, and is wracked with guilt that he cannot do more for the boy.
Professor Gast had gathered the last of his belongings from his office and placed them carefully into a corrugated cardboard box. Nestled on top of the pile of books and file folders was a terracotta pot containing a plant; one that had been on the brink of death. He'd nearly thrown the thing into the dumpster, but it was retrieved by Ifalna, who had insisted she could revive the dead plant.
Gast had taken great pains to keep Ifalna away from Hojo; he knew that the ambitious scientist would subject the Cetra to experimentation and who knew what else, once he realized her true heritage. He planned on saving her from that fate the moment he met her; what Gast hadn't counted on, was falling in love with the woman.
Since returning to Midgar, it had been easy enough to keep her out of sight in Gast's small apartment on the Upper Plate; however, Gast was beginning to suspect that Hojo was onto him. Even little Sephiroth had met Ifalna; Gast was a father figure to the lonely boy, and Ifalna's heart had gone out to him the moment she'd met him. Hojo had met Ifalna but once, and his curiosity about the mysterious woman's background made Gast bristle.
"Oh, this plant…such a lost cause. It's suffered from my neglect, love," Gast had argued with the Cetra good-naturedly. "There's nothing in this pot but a twig and dirt - "
"You call me the absent-minded one, yet you can't even remember to water your poor plants?" Ifalna teased. "There is still life within," the Cetra murmured, sinking her fingers into the dried-out potting soil in the planter. "Watch. You'll see. In a few days' time..."
"We are leaving for the Northern Continent in a few days, Ifalna," Gast reminded her.
"That is more than enough time to resurrect a withered plant," Ifalna told him, smiling. The smile faded from her face a bit as she thought of a little silver-haired boy, who was currently in a study session with his tutors. "Have you spoken to Sephiroth yet, and told him that we were leaving?"
Gast sighed, his expression glum, but he nodded. "I have," he replied. "I will see him again before we go. And I will talk to Hojo about letting Sephiroth come and visit - once things are settled."
"But Hojo doesn't know where we're going," Ifalna gently reminded Gast, smiling. "I doubt he'd let Sephiroth travel to parts unknown?" Ifalna asked, her eyes going back to the plant she held in her hands. "And I can't imagine him letting the boy travel alone, either - "
"I haven't worked out the details yet," Gast frowned. "But...I will try to find a way, to keep you safe, and to bring Sephiroth to us. Ifalna - I don't want him hurting the boy. He doesn't seem to hold much affection for him...merely scientific interest. As if he is some curiosity to be poked at, and not a human being!" He lowered his voice and whispered to Ifalna, "I have contacted an attorney regarding the custody papers. He will try to move things through the system if he can -"
"That boy needs a father, Gast," Ifalna said sadly. "He needs a family. One who cares about him as we do."
"I know this, Ifalna," Gast replied wearily. "I know! But I need to protect you, first and foremost...and our own child." He rested a hand upon Ifalna's stomach, still flat; her pregnancy was barely showing as she was still in the first trimester. "Why do you think I've kept you out here, in the city, and away from Headquarters? Why do you think we're going back to the Northern Continent? Hojo doesn't know about this. And he never will. Look what he's done to Sephiroth - I won't let him touch our child, Ifalna, I won't - "
Ifalna began to cry; as she dropped her head, her tears fell into the soil of the potted plant, now clutched against her chest. "Can't we do anything? Sephiroth - he deserves better than this."
"I will try to arrange things after you are safe, Ifalna," Gast told her. "As far as Hojo is concerned, you are merely my assistant, and we will be studying the high levels of Lifestream in Mideel."
"He hasn't figured out who I am yet," Ifalna said cautiously, "but...he will. Eventually."
"That is why I am sending you ahead of me," Gast told her. "While I finish packing up my office, I'll speak to Hojo about visitation - and say goodbye to Sephiroth."
Ifalna's sobs grew louder, and Gast threw an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.
"How I wish things could be different," Gast murmured into her hair. "How I wish we could just whisk him away - "
"Hojo has guards on him constantly," Ifalna said quietly through her tears. "As if he is a prisoner!"
"He knows that Sephiroth is special, Ifalna," Gast explained. "Sephiroth is a prodigy - more than that, really. I've honestly never met a child quite like him." What did we do to that poor child? Gast thought back upon the Jenova project with an incredible sense of guilt. Gast been away on a dig at Bone Village when Sephiroth was born, and had been told that Lucrecia had died giving birth to him. He knew too, that Hojo wasn't the boy's biological father; he didn't know who was, but he'd found out through the usual channels of gossip at ShinRa, that Lucrecia had taken a lover when things had gone sour between she and Hojo, and whoever that had been, was the most likely candidate. Not surprising Hojo is still bitter toward the woman, even after her death, Gast mused.
"Of course Sephiroth is special," Ifalna retorted. "And Hojo wants to exploit that uniqueness."
"Ifalna, we've been over this," Gast said, tired by now of talking in circles. "My hands are tied - "
"I know we must protect our own child, Gast," Ifalna said softly, laying her head upon the professor's shoulder. "But I've grown very fond of that boy. Oh, I just want to scoop him up, and take him away from all of this - "
Gast felt something inside of him break at her words, and he vowed to have words with Hojo about his treatment of Sephiroth.
"I will do everything I can, Ifalna," Gast promised, kissing the Cetra woman tenderly on the forehead. "Have you packed everything? One of the Turks will be transporting you," he added. "One of the few that I feel I can trust," the scientist emphasized.
"Which one is that?" Ifalna asked him, suddenly nervous. She hadn't wanted to travel without Gast, but believed the scientist when he said that it would be for the best.
"Veld," Gast replied. "He's a new Turk - a rookie, but I do trust the man. And there aren't very many people within these walls that I can say that about," he said dryly.
"I have everything ready," Ifalna confirmed. "I've packed all my things...and I'm ready to go. Well - I'm not ready to leave you, Gast, but I think you know that."
"Yes," Gast sighed. "Yes, I do."
Hours later, Gast had packed up everything else - minus the plant that he'd left in Ifalna's care - and headed over to the laboratory to talk with Hojo. He was bent over a microscope as Gast entered the room, and did not glance up even as he heard the footfalls approaching.
"I suppose you'll be heading off to your new assignment in Mideel, Gast?" Hojo murmured, finally looking up at his colleague. His mouth twisted into a smirk. "Veld was down here earlier looking for you. "
"I'll be off shortly…and Ifalna has gone on ahead of me," Gast replied, wanting to reveal as little as possible. "To begin setting up the new lab." He hoped Hojo wouldn't do any more digging and find out that was a complete lie, and that Ifalna hadn't even left Midgar yet. The lie was necessary, one of many that Gast had concocted in order to mislead Hojo and throw him off their trail.
"Ah, of course," Hojo muttered indifferently, and turned back to his work. "Your new assistant, whom I have barely met. Rather unusual, isn't it?"
"I am the lead scientist here, and I do not need to run everything by you," Gast said firmly. He didn't like to pull rank, but Hojo was pushing him this time. "I do believe I'm fully capable of selecting my own research assistants, Hojo."
"Yes, and we all know what happened with your last assistant," Hojo shot back, glaring darkly. He sighed irritably, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Well, off you go, then."
"Hojo...I'd like to see Sephiroth before I leave. I know he'll be done with his tutoring for the day shortly. And I'd like for him to come and visit me once we're settled. I can send Veld to fetch him - "
"Humph," Hojo grunted. "I don't see the point in that. The boy has studies to attend to after all, and I must monitor his growth rate - "
"Hojo, I can monitor his growth as surely as you can. And his tutors can come with him," Gast argued. "For Shiva's sake, let the boy be a boy for once in his life, he's only eight years old!"
Hojo said nothing, but simply stared at Gast for a moment, unblinking - then frowned. "You are not his father, Gast," Hojo warned. "I am his legal guardian."
"You are not his father either," Gast said evenly, staring down Hojo unwaveringly. "And I am his secondary guardian -"
"Only in the event of my death, Gast." Hojo sneered. "Yes, you keep forgetting about that little codicil to our agreement, don't you, hmm? Too bad."
"Your bitterness toward Lucrecia is clouding your judgment regarding the boy," Gast retorted. His face was a mottled red beneath his bushy brown mustache; Gast knew he was pushing things, but he couldn't let this go. He wanted to make Hojo think of someone besides himself for once; he wanted him to think of Sephiroth.
"Leave her name out of this. You are way out of line, Gast," Hojo snapped. "Besides, I have plans for Sephiroth. You know he is part of the new SOLDIER project - "
"Did anyone ever think to ask Sephiroth what he wanted?" Gast finally exploded, slamming his hand down on the stainless steel countertop; the sound carried throughout the laboratory, reverberating. "Do you know anything about him at all, Hojo? Did you know he has nightmares every single night? He dreams that he is falling through space into a dark, endless crater, and he wakes up screaming - "
"I'm aware of that," Hojo said irritably. "I know he has night terrors, and insomnia. There is a camera in his room - "
"Then you must also know that Sephiroth sleeps with a doll Ifalna made for him," Gast went on, furious. "She filled it with dried lavender and sage, and it is the only thing he has that comforts him. He told me yesterday to thank her...for making the bad dreams go away." Gast's hands and voice were shaking by now, but he held onto the metal-edged table, trying to steady himself and quell his rage.
"I wondered what that thing was," Hojo said with a shrug. "Well - I suppose there's no harm in that if it helps him sleep. Gast - if you are quite done, I have work to do. Sephiroth should be back in his room by now," Hojo added, glancing at the large clock upon the wall. "Do keep me apprised of your findings in Mideel, hmm?"
"You will get my usual reports via email, and any samples will be sent via courier," Gast replied coldly. "Good day, Hojo."
Sephiroth had finished seven hours of schooling with several tutors in various disciplines; he'd been assigned homework for five different subjects. That amount of homework would be a heavy load for the average teenager, but this was curriculum that had been approved by Hojo - for a boy who was only eight years old.
He knew he'd catch hell for it if he didn't complete his assignments on time, but Sephiroth found many of his studies and the work he'd been assigned very dull and boring. The boy turned his attentions to a robotic arm that was strewn in pieces all over his desk. Sephiroth took a seat and switched on his desk lamp. He'd taken the arm apart out of curiosity - simply 'to see how it worked' - and was now going to reassemble it.
Sephiroth knew he was being groomed for SOLDIER - it was all Hojo could talk about some days - but what he really enjoyed doing, was breaking something down into its individual components to see how it worked. Deconstructing things and rebuilding them relaxed the boy, and neither Hojo nor Gast saw any real harm in it, so Sephiroth was given various cast-offs to 'play' with, from the robotics and engineering division of the Weapons Department.
Taking a miniature screwdriver, Sephiroth began working the screws out of the tiny screws that held the metal digits onto the body of the hand; each finger came off easily, and the boy put each one aside in a neat pile, and gathered the tiny little screws together. He put all the smaller parts into a small plastic bin for safekeeping while he disassembled the rest. He groaned as he heard a knock at his door, and expected it to be Hojo; Sephiroth didn't want any interruptions when he was working on one of his projects. He brightened a bit when he realized it was not Hojo, but Gast.
"Gast!" Sephiroth exclaimed, smiling shyly. "Look what I have here. It was sent up today...it's a robotic arm. I wanted to see how it works."
"Of course you did," Gast said warmly, and pulled up a chair, sitting next to Sephiroth. The boy's room was spacious enough, allowing a small study area. Gast patted Sephiroth on the back, and let the boy continue on with his work. They sat there in companionable silence for a few minutes, Sephiroth intently concentrating on the arm, until he stopped, and glanced over at Gast.
"You look sad," Sephiroth said simply, and tilted his head a bit, studying Gast. The man nodded, and inched his chair just a bit closer.
"I am leaving today, Sephiroth," Gast explained. "For my new assignment, and Miss Ifalna will be going with me."
"Oh," Sephiroth said flatly. He looked away from Gast, back to the robotic arm. Sephiroth clenched his jaw as he fiddled with the small screwdriver again.
"I will miss you terribly, Sephiroth," Gast said quietly. "We have become good friends, haven't we? But I want you to know…that this will not be the end of all things. I have some things to take care of for my move, and then –then I'll send for you, Sephiroth," Gast promised, biting his lip to keep it from trembling. He prayed the boy wouldn't see how upset he was, but Sephiroth was more perceptive than the average eight year old. "Once Ifalna and I are settled, Hojo will let you come and visit – "
"Professor Gast. Are you going to marry Ifalna?" Sephiroth asked bluntly, and Gast chuckled at the young boy's forthrightness.
"Actually….that has been discussed," Gast said mysteriously, beckoning him closer. "Sephiroth…can you keep a secret?"
Sephiroth gave a tiny smile and nodded his head. Gast reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and pulled out a small velveteen box; he popped it open and quickly showed Sephiroth the contents. As one would expect, a dainty looking ring sat inside; a white gold setting that held two center stones – aquamarine and blue topaz, surrounded by a flurry of tiny little diamonds.
"It's an engagement ring," Gast told Sephiroth, smiling happily. Gast was puzzled when the boy frowned; was he displeased by this news? He thought Sephiroth and Ifalna got on well together. In fact, Ifalna had been the one to encourage Gast to fight Hojo for custody of Sephiroth, though that seemed to be a battle he could never win.
"A ring. Hm…that's not very original, though," Sephiroth replied. Gast burst out laughing, and ruffled Sephiroth's hair.
"I love the way you think, Sephiroth," Gast said warmly. He stood up, straightening out his lab coat, and gave the little boy a half-hug. "Now, listen to Professor Hojo while I'm gone, and your tutors, and don't you forget about me, Sephiroth…or Ifalna, she misses you very much. We'll be together again very soon, I promise."
"Okay," Sephiroth said, nodding, looking away from Gast. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach, and as much as he didn't want Gast to go, he wanted the man to leave his room, so he could be alone. "Tell Ifalna…that I miss her too."
"I will tell her, my boy," Gast promised, nodding vigorously. "I will certainly tell her." He stooped down a bit and drew Sephiroth into an awkward hug, clearing his throat as he stood back up. "Be a good boy, Sephiroth…and don't forget about me, okay?"
"I won't forget," Sephiroth said softly, closing the door to his room as Gast left. "Goodbye….Professor Gast."
Sephiroth shuffled over to his bed and flopped down upon it. He stubbornly fought against crying, biting the inside of his cheek so hard he could taste blood. A thin hand slid underneath his pillow, and he extricated the little sachet doll that Ifalna had given him. She'd made it out of scraps of royal purple fabric, left over from her wrap.
Sephiroth held the scented object up to his face and inhaled deeply. It smelled just like Ifalna, and felt soft and soothing against his cheek. He turned over on his side and heaved a sigh, curling up in a ball, arms hugging at his sides.
I won't ever forget you, Gast. Or Ifalna. But…will you forget about me?
Author's Note: Corny as it sounds, I thought of that bit in E.T. the Extraterrestrial, where he resurrects Gertie's plant, and thought it'd be kind of cool to tie that in with Ifalna, being a Cetra. So there's my mini-headcanon for those two: Gast keeps killing his plants, and Ifalna keeps bringing them back.
Poor Sephiroth. I think this is one of the saddest things to think or write about in the FF7 fandom, is Sephiroth's childhood.