THE RETURN OF SEPHIROTH - PART1
A cold wind blew over the earth. Little did anyone remember that over 400 years ago, the hero Cloud Strife along with his team mates, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, Vincent, Barret, Red XIII and Cait Sith, foiled the evil entity, Sephiroth and his Mother, Jenova's plans to take over the planet. That memory of what seemed like yesterday is forgotten. Midgar Left in Ruins and abandoned, silent.
Today, Midgar is prosperous again, the slum's people have returned to the shell of the once famous ShinRa Company, run by Rufus. A pitiful leader, not able to cope with the responsibilities that came with the job of managing ShinRa when his father was killed by sephiroth. That naiiveness got him killed. His soul is now at rest.
It is a hot day in Midgar, one of the hottest this season. The slums full of steam. The town of New Midgar was founded 20 years beforehand.
"Children, Gather Round", old Ginko said. "Today I want to tell you of the hero Cloud's adventures to save the planet."
"OHHh, we've heard in hundreds of times now, Ginko" they moaned simultaneously.
"I know that, but it's the true story of how the planet was saved. If it weren't for Cloud, you wouldn't be here. NOW, where was I? Ah yes...."
The children sighed, left their seats and walked off.
"Ugh, kids these days never understand. Grrrrr!!!!" He stuttered angrily.
All of the children had left and had wandered off through the mist into the bustle of the small market village. A small boy remained seated.
"Um....Ginko?" he said
"what is it Kayne?" he muttered "shouldn't you be running along with your friends?"
" please tell me the story again, I wanna here it. Pleeeeez?" he said pleadingly
"Not Today Kayne, I'm busy. Besides, the other children have left, and it's a great day. Go and enjoy yourself with your pals", Ginko explained
"But I wanna hear it" moaned Kayne
"Not today son, now go and play, I have work to do", Ginko uttered, and he stumbled into the back of his pottery shop.
"Ginko!!!!, Pleez?, oh c'mon, I want to be a warrior just like cloud and all of the others. I wanna save the planet from Fephirof". He shouted
There was no answer from Ginko. Kayne got off his stool and walked into the mist. As he walked, the thoughts of being a legendary superhero filled his head.
Kayne ran through the busy street, dodging the horse drawn wagons and into Baala's house.
"Baala?, you home", he shouted anxiously. He trotted upstairs. Baala sat slumped at her desk looking out of the window.
"Baala. What's wrong" he started.
"Nuthin, just bored. Sitting, watching the day go by. That kind of thing". Baala was a thin girl with dark brown hair, bright green eyes that dazzled with the sun's reflection. She wore a yellow outfit and big brown boots with holes in them, and wore round spectacles.
She got up and sat next to Kayne on her bed.
"Baala?, I wanna be a Legendary Superhero when I grow up. I wanna fight and have battles and kill the bad guys and..........", he stopped to catch his breath. Baala sat listening, deeply interested.
"Baala?, when we grow up and I leave New Midgar, will you come with me? You are my best friend and I don't want to go out into the world alone. So whadya say. Yes, No?, Maybe?" he pleaded
"Sure I will. We'll make a promise on that. When you leave New Midgar, I will come with you to wherever you go, ok?"
"Oh wow!!!!. Oh thanks Baala, you're the greatest". He sat smiling looking out of the half-open window.
The sun had begun to set. An orange aura burst through the window giving every object in the room an orange tinge.
They spent the next few hours talking about kayne Being a super hero.
"It's time I should be going" Kayne said. He got out of his seat and said his good-byes to Baala.
He walked out of the front door and into the street again.
Wall Market Street is a very busy place, named after the famous wall market in sector 6. Usually there was a light mist, which coated the blue and Grey Cobblestone Street. Shops were on both sides along the wide street, mainly pottery, and other small household businesses. Being Midgar, it is full of scrap metal which donned the streets and gleamed in the
Sunlight.
Kayne walked through the now cold and dusky street to his home on the corner of wall market street.
He sat down to supper with his parents. He sat deep in the armchair and played with his food.
"Dad?, when I'm older, do you think I could be a superhero and save the planet?" he asked
"Erm….yes son, I'm sure you will be. You can be whatever you want if you put your mind to it." His mother said. "Don't you think so dear?"
"Ahem, what?, pipe down already, I'm eating here" he grumbled
Kayne looked down. His mother asked him into the kitchen.
"Son, I'm sure your dad doesn't mean it. He's just a bit tied up right now with the family business and all of the stresses you get when you're an adult." She told him
"Yeah mom" he said in a quiet voice
"Just remember that your father and I will always love you no matter what you become, you remember that." She assured him
"Ok mom, I will".
He smiled and ran off to his room and climbed into his bed. He lies there thinking of what his mother had said.
"Goodnight son" she shouted up the stairs
"Night mom" he shouted back.
10 Years Later
Morning. You could hear a cockerel crowing in the distance. Kayne yawned and stretched his arms and dragged himself out of the bed, and got changed.
He trotted along the cold street and into the family business shop run by his father.
"What should I do today?" he said
"Ahem, I want you to carry all of those pots to the gardener's house down the street" he grumbled
Kayne, with a hurt look on his face took a hold of 4 giant pots made from ceramic and carried them out of the door under his arms.
He trounced down the street not noticing the leakage of oil from some scrap machinery. His foot stepped into the oil. He skidded, the pots flying form his arms. He fell forward landing on his chin
"AHH" he sighed wearily
His father, who heard the noise along with the rest of the inhabitants of the street, came running out of the shop. Instead of asking if he was hurt, he got a good grilling.
"Grrrrr, look what you have done, YOU FOOL. YOU ARE A FAILURE. YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT. WHAT WENT INTO MY MIND THINKING THAT MY STUPID SON COULD HELP ME IN THE BUSINESS AAAARRRRRGGGH, YOU STUPID…….ARRRRGHh" he shouted in his loud bellowing voice. He grabbed his head and walked back to his shop in a fit of rage.
Kayne knew that he was of no use here, in New Midgar. He thought it would best if he left and started his own life, without the restrictions that inhibited him in the city. He went to his room back at his house and packed a rucksack of many of the things he thought he need for the trip. Dagger, knives, food, etc.
As he was packing, his mother entered the room. She stood in the doorway
"You're leaving" she murmured
Kayne looked up.
"I'm sorry I have to do this mom, but I have to find myself. That won't be possible here. Being my dad's assistant isn't what I've longed to be. I have to follow my heart".
His mother rushed in and gave him a hug.
"You go, and follow your heart, Kayne" The tears filled her eyes.
"I know you'll be alright, you are my strong boy, it's time you followed your own desires. You keep yourself in one piece, you hear me?
"I sure will, mom" he said to her.
She hugged him again and the tears rolled down her face
"My strong boy" she smiled.
Kayne walked out of the room and out of the house with his rucksack on.
His mother at on the bed and stared out of the window
"Because you are Kayne", she whispered
"Baala?, you home?" Kayne whispered.
"I'm here" Baala shouted. Kayne trounced into the living room. She sat staring out of the window
"Baala?, I have something to tell you. I think the time has come that I left here.
"You know that promise we made?, does it still have effect 10 years on?" he said
"yes, it does, I made that promise for both of us, I knew the time would come for me and you to leave. My time is also up here. I am not content here in this miserable place anymore."
"I too have packed way in advance2 she stated.
"We should be going then, you need to say any good-byes?" Kayne said
"No, I've left a letter to my parents, I hope they understand" Baala said in a miserable tone.
"Then lets be on our way" Kayne joyfully cheered
They both fled the town and out of the main gate to the world beyond. This was a first as neither had been into the vast earth, which awaited them. They both took one last look and left the city grounds.
Meanwhile, in the north continent, a storm was brewing. The crater that had been left abandoned and unvisited for over 400 years, was causing the ground to shake and tremor. Underneath was the center of the planet. Where Sephiroth had been killed 400 years back. This had not been the case, as Kayne and Baala were to find out soon. Since the catastrophe at the crater, Sephiroth had remained asleep under the core of the crater. The earthquakes weren't a good sign.
Sephiroth remained in a kind of stasis in the life stream, asleep, dormant. He lay motionless. Suddenly his eyes shot open. A blazing white light poured from the sockets and he began to wake from his sleep. He gathered up enough energy to launch himself like a rocket form under the earth and again into the Meteor crater when he appeared from the ground, the life stream bled like a cut form the ground. He remained suspended in the air, traces of the life stream disappearing from his body. He took out his long sword from the holder and held it up into the sky, He shouted out loud. The noise echoed from the crater all over the north continent, making more tremors, the crater fractured all over revealing huge cracks in the ground which the life stream poured out of. He hovered in the air breathing heavily, the blazing white light still shooting from his eyes.
Kayne and Baala didn't know what fate was waiting for them, as they happily ran out of the midgar gates and into the world.
To Be Continued….
I really hope you like this story, review and tell me what you think. I'm thinking of writing part 2 now. I thought of the idea of this story when I listened to "Gathering Stars In The Night Sky", disk 2, track 7 from the xenogears soundtrack. That inspired me to make this story, so I hope you like it. Bye ^_^
Thankyou Yasunori Mitsuda for creating the beautiful music which has been an inspiration to me for a long time.
Matthew Easby © 27/2/2001
Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears are copyright of Squaresoft®
Kayne and Baala are all copyright of Matthew Easby ©
