"Lucrecia died because of you. You know that right?" Professeur Gast said. The elderly, slightly balding scientist shook his head at his younger employee. "You think I don't know that?!" Hojo snapped. Hojo's black hair was devilish and stuck out at all ends. Typically it was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, but that was usually when he was in the lab.
Gast peered down at Hojo, shaking his head in a mixure of disappointment and disbelief. How could Hojo have became such a monster? Doesn't he care at all? Gast gave his collegue a worried look before leaving the room. After Lucrecia's death and her child's birth, Hojo had been acting distrought and obsessive over what he called the Jenova Project. "It'll revolutinize the way our society is run." Hojo had explained excitedly one day. "What if we could re-create the Cetra?"
Some things though, were not meant to be though, Gast thought angrily. Gast had unknowingly intruded in the labratory when Hojo was giving an infant Sephiroth an injection of Jenova cells one day. "What the hell are you doing?!" the elderly scientist cried out. "That will kill him at such an early stage!" Gast laid his eyes on the infant. He had the brightest green eyes that Gast had ever seen. They seemed to glow with knowledge. Hojo sneered at Gast and continued his transfusion. Gast grabbed Hojo by the hair and pulled him back. The vial slipped out of Hojo's hands and shattered to millions of pieces at the ground. Hojo sank to the ground, moaning over his spilled mixture. Gast shattered a glass beaker over Hojo's head and Hojo fell to the floor, unconscious from the impact on his skull.
After this ruckus, the infant became disturbed and began crying. Gast removed all the machines attached to the tiny human and picked him up. "Don't worry," Gast said softly, holding the child in his arms and walking out the labratory's doors. "He'll never harm you again."
Gast's Labratory
"I'm not like them am I?" Gast's ears perked at the question that young Sephiroth had asked. He was a rather quiet child and kept to himself naturally. "Pardon?" Gast questioned. "I'm not like them... am I?" Sephiroth asked again. Gast picked up the child and smiled. "No, you're far more important then they. You're Sephiroth." At this, Sephiroth smiled and hugged the child.
He wasn't like any other three year old. Very bright, very kind hearted, Gast noted. Gast knew there was no denying that. Sephiroth was definately special among the other children that were at the childcare facility for the Shin-Ra employees. Often the children spent their days there. Gast sometimes had Sephiroth in the labratory because he couldn't stand to leave little Sephiroth to be tortured with the other children.
Although they always seemed to be fond of the kind professeur, Sephiroth's red eyes whenever Gast came to pick him up, told him the story of that day. Nevertheless, Sephiroth was a generally happy child. He was always full of smiles.
Gast entered his labratory and set Sephiroth upon the counter and smiled at him. Sephiroth smiled back. "What do you want to do today?" Gast asked the small child. "I--" "Professeur Gast?" A look of displeasure crossed Gast's face as he turned to see an escort guard behind him. "Professeur Hojo requests your presence." What this time? Gast thought.
He gave Sephiroth an apologietic glance. "I'll be back shortly," he promised. Sephiroth nodded, but his eyes lost their light of excitement. Gast frowned to himself and followed the guard to Hojo's labratory. Hojo was sitting on a stool, looking as if he were going to pounce on Gast as he came in. Hojo's gaze flickered to the guard. "Leave us please." The guard nodded and vanished down the hall.
"Well Professeur Gast. You may have won this battle... but the war is far from over." "Excuse me?" Gast asked, defense ringing in his voice, alarms ringing in his head. Hojo turned to face Gast, the lens of his glasses reflecting Gast's soft face.
"Let it be no suprise that when you leave, Sephiroth will be all mine. And I will use that to my advantage." "You will never get Sephiroth," Gast said, his voice rising in anger. "Oh?" Hojo said, his voice rising in question. "You think that President Shinra will let you walk out with him?" Hojo smiled. "And he'll be all mine." Hojo laughed shortly.
The usual kindly scientist balled his hands into fists and scowled. Hojo just laughed harder at this sight. Gast narrowed his eyes and stalked out of the room. Hojo watched him and hissed under his breath, "Yes... go be a good boy. Muhahahahaha!!"
Gast tried to rid himself of the angry feelings that surged in his blood, throbbing in his veins. Gast shook his head and paused a moment to regain his composure. He did not want young Sephiroth to know that he was upset. He put on a wide smile when he entered the room and saw Sephiroth toying with his sethascope.
Sephiroth froze in his actions and stared at the professeur as if he expected to be punished for this deed. Gast just nodded and smiled and hugged Sephiroth.
Sephiroth smiled and hugged him in return.
The two were like father and son, they were unsepratable.
* * *
"Sephiroth, I'd like you to meet...," Gast held his breath, a bit nervous. "Ifalna." Ifalna stepped forward and kneeled down and smiled at the young child, clinging to the scientist's leg. She smiled and laughed softly.
Sephiroth was five years old now and still clung to Gast as if he was terrified to let go. He looked up at her, his eyes as large as a deer's. "Hello...," he said slowly. Ifalna offered her hand and Sephiroth accepted it. He gazed up as her soft lips formed into a smile. A smile that seemed so familiar...
He smiled back and loosened his grip on the professeur's trousers. She laughed softly once again. "He's adorable. I wish I could have little ones as wonderfully sweet as he." Gast chuckled softly and looked down at Sephiroth, who continuted staring at Ifalna as if he expected her to vanish at any moment.
His green eyes widened in suprise and admiration at the beautiful lady that stood before him. He blinked and she seemed to glow with the aura of security and safety. His small lips twitched and a small smile soon formed.
Ifalna giggled again softly and kneeled down. Sephiroth walked over to her slowly and stroked the side of her face. Her soft green eyes looked down at his long white hair. Sephiroth knew that he could trust her. That in some way, he had known her. He felt at ease and put his tiny arms around her neck and hugged her. She smiled and hugged him back, tears forming under her eyes. She looked up at Gast and smiled. "I love him already."
President Shin-Ra's Office
"Are you out of your mind Gast?! This is out of the question!" President Shin-Ra pounded his fist down on the desk. "First you steal one of your collegues' specimens and now you want to take him away from us?!"
The burly man stood up and shook his head. "Out of the question!" he repeated again. Gast looked at the ground, shoving his hands into his front pockets of his lab jacket. "As a result of this shinaggen, Sephiroth and Ifalana will be removed from your care and be placed under Professuer Hojo."
"What?!" the professeur cried. "I don't like the way you are thinking. This could ruin the entire department if this continues. When you reach your labratory in Icicle Inn, you will remain under supervision and when I feel as if you are understanding our terms again, then I will release the both of them to you again."
Gast shook his head. "I guess I have no choice but to agree..." he admitted softly. He turned and walked out of the office, his angry thoughts jumbling in his mind. To Hojo?? Gast thought. Has the President gone mad?!
Hojo's Labratory
Hojo smiled and laughed in glee, his glasses reflecting the flourescent light above him. "He and Ifalna?! Oh this is rich!" Hojo cried out loud, to his empty chambers.
Gast stalked in, holding Sephiroth's hand, followed by two escort guards. Sephiroth looked up at Hojo, his round green eyes widening in horror. Even though it was so many years ago that Sephiroth could not possibly remember, he knew. He knew what Hojo had done to him so many years ago.
Hojo kneeled down to look at him as if he were a main course. Sephiroth buried his face in Gast's labratory coat. Gast's mind reeled with ways to get past the escort guards to take Sephiroth with him. Gast bit his lip and kneeled down to Sephiroth. "It'll be okay. Really..." Sephiroth's green eyes watered over and his lips began to quiver.
Hojo smiled and snatched Sephiroth around the chest. Sephiroth cried out both in pain and shock. Hojo lifted him and looked him in his eyes. "You, my boy... you will be a lively clone." Gast leaped forward, a growl escaping from him. The escort guards both ran ahead and blocked Gast from tackling Hojo.
"You'll never get away with this, Hojo!" Gast shouted, the escort guards both dragging him out of the lab. Hojo laughed in glee and smiled. "I already have," he muttered as the doors were slammed.
Shin-Ra Building, Floor 67
A dark figure ran up the stairs and slipped the keycard in the door. It opened with a soft hum and the figure ran down the hallway. When he came to an intersection, he heard footsteps and hid in the shadows. Two Shin-Ra employees, white lab coats covering their starched shirts and ties, accompanied by a blue uniformed escort guard passed by. He held his breath for a moment and then ran down the hall way.
Making a turn, he found his way to where the prisoners were held. The guard of the cells was not present for the moment. He heard soft voices and ran around the corner, in front of the first cell and peeked around the corner. A young attractive blonde secretary was walking down the hall way, carrying a stack of yellow papers. An escort guard appeared next to her. "Please, Elaine, really. Scarlet means nothing to me!" he was saying. Elaine was saying something back that was inaudiable and irrelevent.
He stuck the keycard he swiped from the lab earlier into the door of one of the cells and put it in the machine next to the door. With a loud hum the door flew open. Ifalna, who was lying on the poor bed, sat up with a start, the ribbon in her hair flitting around. The figure walked forward and offered her his hand and pulled of his hood. "Gast..." she said softly, letting out a sigh of relief.
He whispered, "You didn't think I was going to leave you here did you?" She smiled and shook her head. He kissed her softly and smiled for a moment. "We have to get Sephiroth and then get to Sector 8 before the train leaves." Ifalna nodded.
He took her hand and the two ran down the hall silently. The hallways twisted and turned, with only the soft glow of a few lights to guide them. They stopped at the glass elevator. Gast pulled off his black cloak and handed it to Ifalna. "Here. I want you to take this and go down to the first floor and take the train to the Sector 8 train station. I'll be there shortly." "Gast. No. I can't--" Gast shook his head and cut her off. "You must go, now." He kissed her and said, "Good luck." She hesitated a moment and watched him run down the hall way before she stepped into the elevator.
Hojo's Labratory
Gast ran to the doors and stopped to think of his plan. Realizing he didn't have one, he just opened the door and decided to play it from ear from there. He opened the door as quietly as he could. Sephiroth was in a room all by himself, sitting quietly, curled in a ball on the corner of his bed. He was in a black gown and was rocking back and forth quietly, his white hair covering his face.
Gast peeked through the window and instantly felt his heart freeze in his chest. "Sephiroth," he whispered. Gast opened the door and ran inside, to hug and comfort the child he had come to love.
Sephiroth looked up, his soft eyes peeking over the cloth. He smiled at first, and then a look of horror crossed his face. He pointed over Gast's shoulder. Hojo stood in the doorway, holding a vial of Jenova cells.
"Well, well, well... nice of you to say good-bye, Professeur." Hojo smirked. Gast ran forward and sent Hojo sprawling to the ground. "Go Sephiroth!" he shouted. The child froze for a moment, with Hojo's eyes blazing at him, and then fled down the hallway. Hojo howled and hurled Gast over him. Gast slammed into the wall and shook his head, everything was getting flurry and dizzy. He shook his head again and ran after Hojo and Sephiroth. Sephiroth ran to the glass elevator and pounded on the buttons, turning to see Hojo behind him. "Now my little--" Gast smashed a glass beaker over Hojo's head and picked up Sephiroth. The elevator dinged and Gast ran inside.
The elevator doors shut and Gast set the child down. "Are you okay?" he asked him. Sephiroth nodded and looked terrified. Gast hugged him and picked him up again. They ran out the doors of the Shin-Ra building and the night mare they both hated so.
President Shin-Ra's Office
Hojo's bruised and battered body was carried up to the office. President Shin-Ra looked down at the professeur. "Get them. Gast may be dead or alive. But Ifalna and the child... I want them alive." He slammed his fist down and the escort guard ran out of the room.
"They'll pay for this," the president muttered.
In Front of the Shin-Ra Building, Train Station
"Almost there, Sephiroth," Gast said. Sephiroth nodded. They had ran from the building to the small platform, which served as the train station which would lead them both to freedom.
The train pulled in the station and everyone crowded to the front. Gast and Sephiroth stood in line. They were almost to the front. Gast handed his tickets to the conductor and Gast leaped aboard. Sephiroth was about to step on when...
Two arms snatched him from behind. Sephiroth wailed as a Shin-Ra guard carried him off, lifting Sephiroth over his head. "Sephiroth!" Gast shouted. He tried to go through the people to run after him, but the people all crowded to get on the train and he was just pushed further away from Sephiroth.
The train began moving and Gast shouted out the windows. "Sephiroth!!"
* * *
And that is how I came to be this... thing. Hojo and President Shin-Ra snatched me from the hands of the ones I loved, like two monsters in a fairy tale. These words go through my head like in some horrid rhythm. I now gaze down the hall at the stones on the floor of this dank basement.
The book falls from my hand and clatters to the ground as I slump against the bookshelf. How could this be? I'm a monster... I put my hands on my head and try to shake these thoughts away and yet they cling to me, like an unseen film.
I hear foot steps. I look up to see none other than Zackary, a SOLDIER, standing before me, his Buster Sword on his back, glittering in the lamp light. I felt my eyes burn in anger. How dare he just stand there with that foolish look on his facewhile I am suffering?! I shouted in my mind. He will pay! They will all pay!