Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, any of it's characters or references, The Final Fantasy VII trademark is owned by Square-Enix, I lay no claim to it nor will this fanfiction be used for any commerical value.
Lucifer's Prayer
Final Fantasy VII
Chapter 1:
…Eclypse…
The night sky was completely overcast with dark clouds. Rain had only recently begun to fall, at first it started as a light drizzle but within a few seconds it had developed into a torrent, making it difficult to see through the thick droplets. Then after the rain began lightening ripped through the sky, tearing its way down to the earth accompanied by the roar of thunder. The landscape was relatively flat with the contours fluctuating at various locations and now within those fluctuations puddles started to form. It was also barren there were no signs of civilization in sight and the earth was scorched black, a few bare skeletons of trees remained in the far of distance, but their barks were burnt to a crisp.
In the middle of this barren wasteland the small figure of a twelve year old boy fell forward, but he quickly countered using the sword he was holding in his right hand to thrust into the dirt and trying to use it as support. His hair was blond and both wild and unruly, even despite the heavy down pour had a difficult time sticking to his skin and his clothes were battered and torn barely covering him, there were darkened patches on his skin indicating impact wounds.
The child was exhausted, he was panting heavily, his hands had difficulty trying to grip the handle of the sword. His knees felt weak they would give in any second…then he heard it, in the distance the sound of an impact against a puddle of water, then another and another.
The young child's eyes held no pupil, his entire iris was a deep green, they seemed to glow brightly radiating a strange light. He turned his head to the sound of the disturbance, his exhaustion replaced with anger. He made out the figure of a man approaching him. He gritted his teeth, his brows narrowed as he prepared for battle.
"An…geal," the boy sounded as if he was struggling, like he was losing a fight, despite this his eyes were bearing anger at the man. The newcomer was dressed in the outfit of a 1st Class Soldier, of Shin-Ra's elite army. His appeared to be in his late twenties, he had light blue eyes and long black hair, all of which fell to his back and reached a little past his neck. He had a solid build, he wasn't small nor was he bulky and overdeveloped, on his back he carried a sword almost a large as himself.
It was another flash of lightening, it provided the only light in this barren wilderness, the child's eyes which also glowed provided his location for Angeal. The streak had vanished leaving everything in complete darkness, a few seconds later there was a deafening roar however both figures remained unmoved.
"Cloud, what have you done?" Angeal exclaimed, both surprise and fear evident in his voice.
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5 Years Later
Through the clear cerulean skies, the golden sun shone its rays down onto the city of Midgar. The city was still wet from the recent rain, yet people had already begun to come out, there were still puddles in the road and wherever there were depressions on the land. Though most of the city was developed, on the western side of the city there were expansions to the city being carried on.
A young girl made her way through throngs of faceless people till she arrived at her destination a small flower shop located on the bottom floor of a two story house. The shop was located on a main road and at the corner of an alley.
The young girl who appeared no older than sixteen had long raven-black hair reaching down to her waist, it was combed from the left of her head to the right and lightly fell forward over part of her forehead. Hey eyes were like small rubies, and she had a very slender frame with developed curves. She also stood at a height of five feet, two inches.
The girl pushed the door to the flower shop, hearing the jingle of the bell as she entered. The flower shop though small, were filled with many various types of flowers, that provided a wonderful fragrance to the atmosphere, there were only three small isles but with the various colours of the plants and the varieties of species, it was the young girl's choice for when it came for shopping for flowers. The building is also where her closest friend lived. Her ruby eyes looked to the counter to see the owner of the store smiling at her, she was older than the girl probably in her late thirties but despite this she still had a slender form, she had long light brown hair reaching down to her knees and a pair of emerald green eyes that seemed to smile at everyone.
"Hello Tifa," The woman said, "Are you looking for anything in particular today? Or are you here to see Aerith?"
A smile formed on the young maiden's pink lips, "Sorry Ifalna, only to see Aerith today." Tifa replied, "Is she here? Or is she out with Zack? I tried calling her phone but wasn't getting any signal."
"That's okay," Ifalna replied, "She's upstairs, she's been in the garden since morning," Ifalna explained, "Aerith, Tifa's here to see you!"
Within a few seconds another girl slightly taller and two years older than Tifa came running down the steps behind the counter.
"Tifa!" The new girl cried out.
The new female who arrived, was only about an inch taller than Tifa, she was just as slender but her curves didn't highlight as much. She had emerald green eyes the same as Ifalna, her hair colour was the same only much shorter, and shorter than Tifa's also stopping short of her waist, at both sides of her temples strands of hair fell down but they were curled and she had short bangs that barely reached her eyes.
"Tifa, I got your text, come upstairs, you have to tell me how this happened!" Aerith almost sounded desperate.
Tifa smiled, though at the moment in front of Ifalna she was trying to contain her joy. The raven-haired girl walked towards the counter, she stopped for a moment and bowed to Ifalna, when she turned to Aerith the older girl grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs.
Tifa was dressed in plain fitted blue jeans with a pair of white sneakers on her feet and a yellow shirt. Aerith was dressed in a pink and white dress, the dress was white but both sides were pink with pink straps over her shoulders and brown sandals on her feet.
Aerith had led Tifa up the stairs and to her room. Once they were both in, the emerald-eyed girl shut the door.
"How did this happen?" Aerith exclaimed.
"Before that, you haven't told Zack yet? Have you?" Tifa asked nervously.
Aerith sat down on her bed, which unsurprisingly enough had a pink sheet on it. In fact from the girl's room pink was the prominent colour. From the colour of her bed-sheet to the paint on her walls to her curtains they were all subtle shades of pink. Tifa pulled out the chair from behind the desk and sat facing Aerith.
"No I haven't told Zack yet, I only got the message about half an hour ago and to be honest, I'm still shocked!" Aerith exclaimed.
"What are you so surprised about?" Tifa asked innocently though when she first received the news, she was dumbstruck.
"You've misinterpreted me, I not surprised that he asked you out just surprised that he could," Aerith explained.
"I know what you're saying, Sephiroth is a rock when it comes to displaying emotions," Tifa replied.
"Well tell me exactly how it happened?" Aerith asked, "Because sooner or later Zack is bound to ask and you know how he can get, you had best tell me so if he asks I can tell him."
Tifa looked up at her, "Didn't I tell you everything already?"
Aerith took her phone from atop the bed and accessed the messages, she then turned the screen to show Tifa the message she sent. There in bold letters were the words 'Sephiroth asked me out!'
The raven-haired maiden twitched, "Well I a bit dumb struck when he asked me so you'll have to forgive my bluntness."
"I will if you tell me what happened," Aerith replied.
"Well actually I accidentally bumped into him at the institute, I was a bit surprised to see him there, but he said he had some business with the head master, it was then he asked me out," Tifa tried her best to contain her glee although she was doing a terrible job at it, it was obvious that the young maiden wanted to jump up and down.
"It has to be some event for him to ask…" the emerald-eyed girl started but was cut off.
"Well his mother Lucrecia Crescent is hosting a party tonight at her residence for the top Shin-Ra officials, normally he doesn't attend such events but since his mother is the host, he will be forced to attend, and he asked me to be his escort," Tifa explained.
"Tonight?" Aerith asked puzzled, "Interesting tonight there's a lunar eclipse."
"Well that explains a lot, I knew it was only a matter of time until he made his move," Aerith said.
The last statement caught Tifa by surprise. Did the flower girl know something she didn't? "What do you mean?
"Err…it's nothing…have you decided what you're going to wear?" Aerith asked.
Tifa nodded her head, "That's also another reason I'm here, I need you to help pick something out."
Aerith jumped up, "I know the perfect thing."
"And it better not be pink," Tifa added.
"Boo, you're no fun," Aerith said both innocently and annoyingly.
---------------
On the western side of the city where the city was being extended two lone figured stood atop a plate looking out into the distance, there on the horizon they could make out another city that was still being constructed.
Both figures were male and had solid builds, one stood five feet ten inches, he had long black hair that was spiked at the ends, it reached down mid-way by his back, and also falling down at both sides of his temples, stopping at his jaw, the spikes seemed natural. His eyes were a deep blue and he wore the outfit out a 1st class Soldier, though he looked no older than eighteen. The other appeared to be slightly older, he had silver hair that reached down to his knees, and on both sides of his temples they fell past his jaw and reading down to his chest. His pupils were slanted like those of a cat and he had light crystal blue eyes. He also stood at exactly six feet and unlike his companion he was not dressed in a uniform, instead he had on a plain white t-shirt tucked into his long black military pants that were in turn tucked into his black boots. He wore dark gloves on his hands and a long black trench coat over him.
"I don't get why we were sent here?" The dark haired male complained, "Isn't surveys the Turks job? Hardly work for the military."
"Zack, have you been keeping up to date with recent events?" The silver haired male spoke in a calm emotionless voice.
"I tend to avoid getting involved in politics," Zack replied.
"Zack, you're now a 1st class Soldier, the highest rank in Soldier, Shin-Ra's elite army, you should pay more attention," The other man replied.
"Alright Sephiroth, enlighten me, why were a General and 1st class Soldier dispatched to watch an area that holds no real value?" Zack asked.
"You know of the rebel group Avalanche, don't you?" Sephiroth asked.
Zack nodded his head, "Well recently there have been reports that they have joined forces with Wu-Tai."
Zack turned to his companion his eyes wide with shock, however Sephiroth remained unmoved. He continued to look out. Zack moved and went to sit on some stacked pieces of wood.
"That's not all, recently other towns like Cosmo and Rocket that oppose Shin-Ra have joined with Wu-Tai, they now have an army as large as Shin-Ra's and pose a significant threat, not only that but their information network is currently greater than ours," Sephiroth further explained.
After his explanation to his friend, the eerie eyed man looked up into the sky to see it painted red and orange, the sun was beginning to set. Without any further words, he leaped off the plate and onto the ground. Zack who was startled by his companion's actions quickly got off the stack he was sitting and looked over the edge of the plate.
"Hey where are you going?' Zack asked.
"Mother is hosting a gathering tonight, and I am being forced to attend," Sephiroth replied but not turning to acknowledge his friend.
"I thought you don't attend such events," Zack replied.
"You are entitled to your freedom of perception," He replied coldly, "I usually don't, but I invited Tifa…I don't want to be late," The silver-haired man replied in a softer voice just barely enough for his companion to hear, then he silently walked away from him no longer acknowledging his presence.
A smirk formed on Zack's lips, he noted the pause after Sephiroth mentioned Tifa's name, "So he's got a crush."
---------------
It was in late evening when Tifa arrived at the Crescent residence, she was not surprised by the size of the estate after all, Lucrecia was high ranking official within Shin-Ra. Tifa often wondered of Lucrecia's status and if she role to play in Sephiroth already becoming a general in the army after all he was only three years older than herself.
The horse-drawn carriage that carried Tifa was empty, but that also came of no surprise to her, she had rented it for only one passenger, although she thought she would have to thank Aerith later for helping her pay for the rental, and for suggesting the carriage for now she saw many other officials arriving the same way.
Once the carriage entered the compound it took around five minutes till it arrived at the front entrance. While she was still within the carriage and the horse was marching up the pathway to the front entrance the ruby-eyed maiden looked outside the window to see a beautiful lush green lawn that was well kept and stretched on. It appeared as if lawn surrounded the mansion, and a mammoth wall surrounded the entire compound, except at the front entrance, where twin metal gates stood.
Once the carriage had drawn to a halt in front of the mansion, the door opened and an attendant extended his hand for her. The sixteen year old girl gracefully placed her gloved hand in his and with the same grace exited the carriage. She walked up to the entrance, where there was another attendant, this time standing behind a small altar, he was aged and somewhat small, although noticeably slightly larger than Tifa, dressed in an old black tuxedo, his grey hair and moustache indicating his age.
"Name please, Miss?" He asked politely.
Tifa smiled at him, "Tifa Lockheart," She replied serenely.
The man looked at the list of guests before him, it didn't take long her name was on the list of VIP's.
"Oh forgive me Ma'am please go inside," He finished. The man was somewhat surprised that this girl would be on the list of VIP's, that list was reserved only for members of the Shin-Ra council all of which were mostly senior citizens now and here she was in her early teens, but his job was to screen the guests so he quickly brushed it off and went to tend to another visitor.
Tifa walked forward to the large entranceway, two more attendants in their penguin-looking suits were their. She stepped into the Crescent residence, there was a small area with some steps to the left leading to the second floor, but she knew where she had to go, a little further ahead with another open doorway with two more attendants. She walked through to be greeted by a grand hall. Never had she seen such a large open enclosed space before, it was broken down into several sections. At the entrance above her to her right on an elevated platform was a live orchestra conducted they symphony completely uninterrupted by the guests. At the center of the hall were where couples danced, the dance area Tifa was sure was at least as big as the football field at the Shin-Ra institute where she attended class. Surrounding the dance area in a circular fashion was countless small circular tabled with white table cloths that reached down to the floor, each table were surrounded by four chairs. To the north there was a second level on the hall that only stretched out till the dance area, there it went out and formed a semi-circle of the ballroom.
Tifa looked around the area. She didn't recognize anyone she knew, the place was filled with countless anonymous people most of which were dressed in medieval aristocratic outfits. Since she didn't recognize anyone so she would have to find the only one she knew that would be here, the one who invited her.
She walked around a bit but still didn't find him, them something caught her eye; it was a brief flash of red. She moved to see who it was, only to see a beautiful woman with long red hair accompanied by two other people, one of them was the person she was looking for, the other a stranger. The woman was talking to someone, presumably important, she saw her introduce Sephiroth, she deduced it was his mother Lucrecia Crescent, she had never met her before but from what she saw the woman was beautiful, she didn't appear to be old nor would one guess she was a mother. It was the other man to her side that puzzled Tifa, he appeared to be a Turk, dressed in their uniform, his eyes were crimson but a deeper shade that hers, his hair was just a black, but short and neatly combed.
Without warning Sephiroth turned to face Tifa. The young maiden was a bit surprised when Sephiroth left his mother's side and walked towards her.
"I'm glad you could attend," Sephiroth said eyeing Tifa's outfit.
She was dressed in a plain white dress with slits on both sides at her legs that seemed to reach up to her hips and there were thin straps that held the dress over her shoulders. She wore white gloves on her hands that reached to her elbows and was completed with a pair of elegant white high heeled shoes and a necklace of pearls around her neck. She would have to thank Aerith for the necklace later, it was hers'.
"I'm just glad I can be here," Tifa replied smiling at him, while looking at his outfit.
He was dressed similarly to most of the people present but with a more military presence. He wore a black medieval aristocratic outfit, though the buttons were gold as well as pads on his shoulders were gold, but everything else; the long sleeved shirt that was tucked into his gloves and pants and his boots that his pants were tucked into as well as the cloak he wore that ran across his shoulders and covered half his body; they were all as black as coal.
"How about we go outside, I can't stand these aristocrats and their fake pleasantries any longer," the general spoke.
Tifa nodded her head but as they prepared to move off, they were intercepted by Lucrecia and her escort.
"Sephiroth, where did you go?" Lucrecia asked standing in front her son. She glanced to her side see a very attractive female on his hand, "Oh and who is this?" She inquired.
"Mother," Sephiroth said addressing her, "This is Tifa Lockheart," He turned to Tifa, "Tifa, this is my mother, Lucrecia Crescent."
Tifa released her hand from Sephiroth's and gracefully bowed before her.
"Lockheart…hmm that name sounds familiar," Lucrecia pondered for a second but almost instantly made a complete 180 degree turn in her mood, "Well never mind, Tifa it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm glad to see my son has a female friend as you can imagine he socializes very little."
Sephiroth remained silent but displayed no sign of being uncomfortable, "Oh this here is Vincent Valentine," she said nodding to the male by her side.
Vincent stepped forward and politely bowed before Tifa, "It's a pleasure Miss Lockheart."
One thing that surprised Tifa was Lucrecia, Sephiroth was nineteen, three years her senior but Lucrecia appeared be barely thirty, Vincent on the other appeared be older than Sephiroth but younger than Lucrecia, he was probably in his mid-twenties.
"We'll be on the balcony if you need us mother, now if you'll excuse us, we'll take out leave," Sephiroth spoke up and took Tifa by the hand almost dragging her and led her to some stairs by the eastern side of the room.
Once they were safely ear's length away Vincent turned to Lucrecia, "You've already greeted all the VIP's" He spoke.
Lucrecia's eyes were on her son, she watched at her walked up the stairs with his companion and out the door to the balcony outside, "I thought he would never find someone to settle down with," She confessed silently.
"Well now it appears you have nothing to worry about," Vincent said.
"What do you mean?" Lucrecia asked turning to him, she had to look up at him because he stood at least half a foot taller than her.
"Did you see the way he gazes upon her, though he displays little emotion out of battle it obvious to see he's quite smitten with her," The crimson-eyed man explained.
"Well then, since we've already greeted all the VIP's shall we dance?" She replied playfully, though she didn't wait for his reply and quickly took his hand.
Vincent who usually always appeared serious relaxed, a half-smile formed on his lips as he allowed the beautiful woman before him to lead him to the dance area.
Sephiroth and Tifa were the only two outside on the second floor balcony. The entire balcony seemed as if it could accommodate a quarter of the people present at the party at the same time, there were two entrances to the balcony from two staircases that led to the ballroom below. The couple walked to edge of the balcony and stopped at the concrete banister. The banister formed an arch and there were plants at equal intervals on it, all of which glowed with an eerie green in the night.
Both looked out over the lawn, Tifa was surprised when she saw a large hedge maze below here with a fountain located at the center, she was surprised because from what she saw earlier, the maze wasn't there, she thought the lawn surrounded the entire mansion. Sephiroth had his eyes fixed on the moon, he could see the Earth's shadow being cast on it.
Tifa was feeling awkward, she didn't know what to say to Sephiroth, he was always so mysterious to her, yet they both shared conversations in the past. It didn't help that her cheeks were pink and her heart-rate was gradually increasing from being in the close proximity of her silver-haired companion.
"Is something wrong?" Sephiroth asked sensing Tifa's nervousness.
"No it's nothing," She quickly replied.
Sephiroth turned to face her, his arms still folded on the banister, he saw Tifa looking up at him.
"Why did you invite me today?" Tifa asked, feeling her heart-rate increase from the close proximity of their bodies.
"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked back.
"Today at the institute, you asked me to be your guest? Yet I find myself out of place among all these aristocrats," Tifa explained.
"I wanted your company, that's all, besides I hate being around aristocrats," He also explained.
"You mother, she's an aristocrat also, right?" The ruby-eyed girl asked.
Sephiroth nodded.
"What rank does she hold in Shin-Ra?" Tifa questioned.
"She's a member of council," Sephiroth said bluntly.
Tifa couldn't believe her ears, she was shocked, her eyes grew wide after hearing his remark, "A member of the Shin-Ra council? Then some of the people in there are…"
"Other council members," The silver-haired man finished, "Actually the Emperor's son Rufus is also present."
It was another blow to her, she didn't expect there to be so many high ranking officials and the most important people in the Shin-Ra Empire to be present. Though she was flustered, it was only a matter of seconds before she regained her composure. She turned and looked out over the scenery.
"Tifa, thanks," Sephiroth said.
Tifa turned to him surprised and startled, but he was not looking at her but his gaze was upon what her's was previously locked with.
"What are you thanking me for?" Tifa asked.
Sephiroth turned to her, "Always being there when I need you."
Tifa's heart was racing, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She moved closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, "I've always been here for you." She said softly.
Sephiroth closed his eyes and leant forward bowing his head in the process. She also closed her eyes, his gloved hands reached to her cheeks cupping her face, both their foreheads touched and a smiled formed on her lips. Though it was for a mere moment, in the body of the young female, it felt much longer.
Breaking their intimate bond and leaving Tifa more that a little disappointed the silver-haired warrior turned his eyes to the sky, more than half the moon was already hidden. Tifa looked up to him, he seemed so ethereal standing there bathed in moonlight. Unfortunately she didn't notice that the moon had begun to disappear. She watched him standing tall looking up at the sky. His longer silver hair reflecting the moonlight, his strong solid build making him seem invincible, his strangely slanted pupils that could see into the depths of her soul, his outfit seemed to fit him, comfirming his stature. He seemed so at peace standing there looking at the night sky. As if on queue a soft but cool wind began it was gentle barely felt against their skin but gentle enough to carry lightly disturb their hair. Tifa's fluttered a bit while his barely moved at him, it was at that moment she was completely intoxicated by him. Thinking of him was not something that was foreign to her, whenever he was not around she would often find herself with him in mind and on several occasions he would surprise her making her leap at his sudden appearance.
"Seph…" Tifa began in a soft voice.
Sephiroth turned to her, "Is something bothering you?" He asked.
"It just surprises me how clueless you can be," Tifa replied, Sephiroth hearing the annoyance in her voice.
The Shin-Ra general raised an eyebrow.
"It's nothing," she replied and turned away from him, she prepared to walk off but was stopped when he grabbed her wrist.
The contact of their skin triggered what she was hoping to avoid, a wave of powerful emotions from within her, she could only hope it did the same for him. Before she could react, and before her body could respond, she felt herself turn back to face him. If she thought his actions tonight were strange what he did next wiped all logical thought from her brain the next thing she knew his lips were firmly planted on hers. Her eyes flew open wide, but almost immediately softened. His hands were around her waist holding her tightly and before the raven-haired maiden knew it her hands had wrapped themselves around his neck, her slender fame wrapped in the white cloth was now pressed against his larger more developed build, soon both settled into their serenity and the kiss that began as a light brush of both pairs of lips began to deepen. To Tifa, this was beyond bliss, her first kiss, soft and passionate that sent shivers down her spine and made the receptors on her skin hypersensitive, she became painfully aware of everything around her, but the part they were most sensitive, were on her lips.
As the two youngsters were preoccupied with their kiss, they didn't notice that the silver light from the moon vanished and the lunar eclipse completely enveloped the moon making it vanish into the night.
To Be Continued...
So what do you think? This fic is primarily a CloTiSeph fic, but there will also be some VincentxLucrecia and ZackxAerith stuff. I hope you enjoyed it. It's meant to be reflective of the game I love so much more than the movie, so the characters will will apprear more like their game counterparts. The second chapter is already in the works.
And a bit of Trivia, for those who don't keep up to date with the compilation, Angeal is not an OC, he belongs to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, he's Zack's mentor and original weilder of the buster sword. And the uniform of a 1st Class Soldier is what you see Cloud wearing during the game and Zack at the end of Advent Children. Also this fic is going to get pretty dark soon, I know it started light and fluffy but be warned, I may have to change the rating to M.