A/N: Disclaimer - FF VII world & characters are not mine. This fic is rated M for violence; this is chapter 1 of 4. Special thanks to ChaosAngel4us who beta'd this chapter, any mistakes you find here are mine.
A Good Son
Chapter 1
Too bright.
A piercing cry jolted him and he subconsciously reached for his swords. The world swam into brilliant white and Sephiroth took a sharp breath. Frozen air filled his lungs and dulled the metallic tang in his mouth. Several black birds perched on a branch above him and cried out again.
He loosened the grip to his swords. Just some crows. He shut his eyes and waited for everything to stop spinning. Behind his eyelids the mirage faded into the light.
There was a woman with long hair, her eyes closed, and her hands clasped above her heart. She whispered something like a song, but the ringing in his ears drowned out her words. What spell was this? He gasped as stubborn warmth slowly dug its way into his chest, snagging at a treasure long forgotten.
Mother?
Sephiroth opened his eyes to the empty branches of a dark brown tree that marred the white expanse of sky. It was still early in the morning; snow covered rows of tombstones and a bare tombstone was within his reach. He shook his head. Delirious.
It couldn't be his mother. She had passed out in front of Shinra's lab at Nibelheim before going into labor. They had to perform experimental procedures on her to save the baby and she died immediately after giving birth. They never learned her name; he didn't have a picture of her.
She was gone, and no amount of wishful thinking would bring her back.
Long time ago before he was wise enough to keep his emotions locked, they told him about this and showed him this grave. They didn't allow him any kind of weakness though, so he didn't visit again after that. He made the five minutes trip here the night he finished reading the research notes at Shinra Mansion. He couldn't remember exactly what he said; his head was too hot with rage. But he remembered vowing for her revenge and he could never forget the moment Jenova took control.
You want to know who is responsible for this? Jenova's laugh had hurt his ears. The observation chamber of the cloning facility was packed by those who answered her call. The clones' eyes were all lit, their identical grins made him struggle even more. The mothers stood transfixed, blank look on their faces. Outside the lab, Nibelheim burned. Your father, Hojo, did this. You are his masterpiece, and he wants you to be- her tone lilted in delight, mass produced.
If Hojo was really his father, then they must know his mother's identity. She was probably one of Hojo's experiment subjects, but why would Hojo get involved with a subject? Sephiroth reached for the tombstone. Its rough surface ground him back to the quiet morning and his... let's just say, monthly progress report.
I've relieved the clones' mothers from their misery. No one had come to help her back then. Icy wind caressed the forgotten graves and his clenched hand only yielded some snow. Are you now at peace?
Like always, the unmarked grave stood silent at his questions. No matter. Just one more place to go and then he could conclude this project and bid his goodbye. He rubbed the dull ache between his eyes.
Or was it a hello?
A snort bubbled up his throat.
You're going straight to hell. There is no way you will be able to see her, ever.
Sephiroth swallowed past the lump in his chest. Enough of this. He picked himself up and sheathed his swords. Yu would cross this mountain at noon, he needed to prepare before the man arrived.
The guns pressed against his hips and he grimaced. He would never get used to it, but well... necessity, necessity. Sephiroth tightened his jacket; the thick leather on the long sleeve didn't stop the wind from biting into his skin. Anymore layer of clothes and it would hinder his movements. He sighed. Maybe Fate liked to watch him traipsing along half frozen to death.
A sound of vehicle coming snapped him out of it. Sephiroth stepped back and peered at the source of the sound from behind the tree.
There were two workers driving the container, two SOLDIER 2nd class driving the jeep, three grunts on the back of it, a driver on the limousine and- he raised his eyebrows. A concubine slash bodyguard?
Mixing business with pleasure, Lin Yu?
He shook his head and took out the guns. The container breezed the hill, straight into his range.
Two gunshots.
The container swerved and hit the nearby tree. The jeep rattled into an abrupt stop and the grunts jumped from the back. Sephiroth did not roll his eyes.
Who trained these people?
Three gunshots.
One of the SOLDIER guards shot back, but Sephiroth had dashed onto the next boulder. The limousine jerked to avoid collision with the jeep; the tires screeched for escape.
One gunshot.
The other SOLDIER slipped out of the jeep with a sword in his hand.
Aw... Sephiroth gripped his gun and aimed at the limousine's tires. Two gunshots and the limousine skidded to a halt. He shoved his left gun in its holster and drew his sword from its back sheath just in time to block a slash to his head. He bent and swept the man's feet with a back roundhouse kick and fired his gun. The limousine's front glass shattered with red blots.
His sword sent the SOLDIER's sword flying and the man died before it clattered to the ground. He shoved his other gun in its holster and ducked the five Shurikens aiming for his head.
A chain zinged with electricity whipped past the back of his neck and nicked his hair band. He whirled and ran straight to the woman's defense. Yu's jian stopped him from gutting her, but he managed to land her a kick before falling into a merry dance with the man's sword.
Block, hit, block, thrust, block, parry. Duck.
He drew his other sword to swat the chain off his back which nicked part of his loose hair. The chain gripped on his sword and sharp currents ripped along his right arm. Sephiroth snarled. He yanked on the leash and rammed his sword into the woman's stomach.
Nobody, nobody touched his hair.
He snatched back his sword, blocked Yu's incoming hack, and kicked the man on the chest. Yu staggered and spat a mouthful of blood.
"General Sephiroth. Back from the dead, I see. To what do I owe you the pleasure?"
Sephiroth just sheathed his right sword and stalked forward. Lin Yu narrowed his eyes. Let him squirm; he wasn't done yet.
"Very well." Yu's jian sang as the man engaged his sword.
Sephiroth pushed the jian to give space and Yu yielded only to push back into his space. The man still favored a close range fight. Had he had Masamune with him, he'd have an interesting change of pace in the dance. Sephiroth ducked and slashed the man's side. Then again, if he had Masamune with him, he wouldn't have to bring the guns to tear down the car convoy.
His head panged a bit and he pursed his lips.
Not now, Fate.
He withdrew his sword at the last second and shifted his footing, knocked Yu's jian, pinned the man on his elbow, and pressed hard. Yu's arm broke with a crack, and the man swayed with a garbled scream. Sephiroth held his blade to the man's throat, and leaned in to speak in his ear.
"You get to decide how long we will do this. I have all the time in the world." He sneered, digging the blade deeper. Yu choked and tried to pry on his hold. "But be assured that you will die."
The man's grip tightened. "What do you want?"
Not dying. A little respite. A warm embrace to go home to. World peace. In that order.
"Location of Shinra's cloning facilities."
Yu tensed on his arm.
"So it was you." The man barked a laugh. "The President is mad because the Turks couldn't find anything. Six sites in six months? That's impressive."
Of course. The mere suggestion that he did a poor job by leaving evidences or witnesses behind was insulting. He tightened his hold as a warning.
"The locations, Yu."
Yu scowled and struggled but was unable to break free.
"Nibelheim, Gongaga, Junon, Rocket Town, and Bone Village. You've already leveled them all."
Sephiroth shifted and yanked on Yu's broken arm. The man spasmed and screamed.
"Try again."
He loosened his chokehold and let Yu gulp his few last breaths. Yu sagged and finally complied.
"North Corel."
The man could have left out some names, but he could always double check it with Yu's laptop later. His head growled in impatience, so he finished his business in one quick stride.
"Thank you."
He opened his phone, crossed Yu's name from his to do list, and added one more item in it. A searing pain torn his vision for a moment. Sephiroth closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
He couldn't bring back people he killed at Nibelheim five years ago. He couldn't pay nor console for their losses. He was beyond forgiveness already. Demolishing the labs responsible for birthing more monsters was the least he could do.
More monsters like you?
Sephiroth breathed through the sting in his eyes and snapped his phone close.
The guards swarmed around the facility: ten on the front, ten on the back, and another ten on the roof. It was a four story building with a dozen guards on each floor. Paranoid, possessive, overkill.
Does age not wise you up, Shinra?
Sephiroth slipped inside the building and strode straight to the control room. The mainframe was just a door away from there. He punched in Yu's access code and closed the door behind him. Planting the bomb on the server only cost him a minute. He typed into the server's console, activating the EVAC program.
The siren wailed through the halls. A red box popped up on the control room's computer screen.
Initiating self destruct...
Sephiroth assessed the laboratory and experiment chambers. Loud hissing sounds emitted from the machines followed by small explosions. The scientists hurried to destroy their research notes. Good. He opened his phone, timed the bomb, and activated it. The backup data they gathered to the server wouldn't arrive to Shinra's headquarter mainframe.
He shrugged his pristine lab coat and adjusted his glasses before he walked out of the control room and followed the evacuation line. The subjects' ward was deserted when he arrived and the door locked shut. Sephiroth pulled out a sword from inside his lab coat and broke the lock with one sweep.
Familiar screams of agony welcomed him from the rooms.
"Make it stop." A hoarse voice from a woman near him. "Oh, goddess, please... somebody..."
Sephiroth gritted his teeth and silenced the screams with efficient strokes. Pain twisted and clawed its sharp talons inside his chest. By the time he opened the last room, pain cinched his lungs so hard he could hardly breathe.
A brunette with long hair stared at him, tears in her eyes.
"No." She wheezed and her body trembled. She shook her head. "Don't kill me."
He tightened the grip to his sword.
"Please." She choked as a seizure briefly gripped her. She bit her lip and couldn't help a strangled cry. But determination hardened her gaze when she looked back at him.
"You will suffer."
She snarled. "I'll be alive."
The watch on his hand beeped. Only five minutes left. He finally nodded and broke the restraints on her bed. She climbed to her feet, swayed a little, then straightened, hands clenched on her sides. Her voice was soft when she spoke.
"May the goddess gift you mercy."
He thinned his lips. A bit late for that. "Run."
She ran, and he strode to the next ward where they kept the clones and monsters. He had just broken the lock when someone called from somewhere behind him.
"Hey, you!"
Six guards; one of them gasped as the man recognized him.
"It's General Sephiroth!" They scrambled for their weapons. "He's here to burn down the building!"
A guard barked at the comm for backup. Several guards flooded the room with more backup on their way.
"Somebody stop the EVAC program."
Sephiroth smirked and pulled out his other sword.
Good luck with that.
The bullets ushered him outside the building and he stopped at the left wing atrium where the guards surrounded him from all gates.
Sephiroth deflected the bullets rained down on him and slashed at the guards. Someone had the gall to attack him with a sword. He blocked the hack to his head in time and arched his sword in quick succession. More guards joined the fight; he whirled and took the short opening to push the commotion further from the building.
The bomb would detonate soon; he didn't have time for this. He swept his sword across the swarming guards and the grass quickly became red. Some of them shouted and the rest circled on him, blocking his exit. He could just see Fate's grin. Want to bet whether he could escape before the explosion? Sephiroth just sneered.
Fine. Bring it on.
When he had a clear view of the sky again, the ground was an expanse of red. His head throbbed and he tightened the grip on his swords. He checked his watch; one minute left to leave the complex. A lightning pain zapped on his skin. The world tilted, heavy, and he shook his head.
Not now.
Sephiroth jumped the fence and ran to the exit gate. Not far enough-
He dropped to his knees near the infirmary. Twin mixers switched on and scrambled his brain. Sephiroth ground his teeth against the agony; the pain kicked him into a ball, writhing and shaking.
Get up. He choked down his scream. The bomb will explode.
Red, fire, heat, metallic tang, not enough air-
He pushed himself up on trembling hands, and a new wave of pain shoved him down again.
Guess Hojo didn't raise your pain tolerance high enough, hm? You've just crossed everything in your to do list, though. At least this time you'll go down useful.
Shut up.
Darkness clouded his vision, high pressure fried the nerves of his ears, his skin burned itself in glee, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't breathe.
Fate held his head under and drowned him again, intent on handing him over to Death's open hands, just like that fateful night in Nibelheim.
The woman was now encased in crystal; silence and hollow gutted her song. A tear fell down her cheek and he reached out-
A whirlwind shattered his vision into tiny shards, sucked him into a swirling tunnel, and smothered his lungs with its might. He twisted and kicked, but it just wouldn't let go. It crushed him in a tight grip, rattled him hard, and then finally hurled him forward. Sephiroth hit a bright light with a force that jarred every inch of his bones.
He didn't dare move. His whole body ached, but nothing seemed broken. Hell wouldn't be so kind on him though, so he must be still alive. Time stretched for a while before his senses gave coherent input.
Clear midday, scorching heat, cracking sound from a lit fire, damp grass under him, smell of blood and burnt woods, fresh air.
Sephiroth closed his eyes and took a slow, shuddering deep breath. Small spots glittered behind his eyelids, but the image didn't reappear.
That woman again. Who was she?
He grasped the grass and felt for his swords. No one had captured him yet. Could he be that lucky? The infirmary was still in the bomb's destructive reach, wasn't it?
He opened his eyes and blinked against the sun's glare. Disappointed that he hadn't kicked the bucket yet? He suppressed a sigh and sat up. The world only tilted a little this time and the nausea was manageable, so maybe it wasn't his time to expire yet.
Sephiroth picked up his swords and stood. A half broken wall separated him from the destruction at the rest of the building. He scrunched his face at the wetness on the swords' handle. So messy. He wiped the blood off the blades before sheathing them. Masamune had clearly spoiled him for life. He never had to do this with its clean slices.
He tightened his lips, fingers grasping thin air. The long katana could still be somewhere at the bottom of Nibelheim's Mako reactor. The Lifestream could have swallowed it and refused to give it back. Hojo could have hidden it. A scientist might have a crazy death wish and decided to steal it.
Give it up, it's already gone. Just put it along with your hard earned wealth and possessions. Oh, and your sweet pension plan. After all, you were Shinra's property.
Right. Fate was on a roll. Or maybe she was just pissed because he won their bet.
So intent on taking everything I have, are you?
Sephiroth resumed his walk and trekked down the hill. He had left his stolen, nondescript motorcycle back at the outskirt of the village. This project was almost finished now; only one item left in his to do list.
Shinra had the resources to rebuild everything he had destroyed. He needed to give the man a friendly message about it.
If you're considering rebuilding the cloning facilities and restarting the super soldier program, then I will personally burn each and every one of them.
He might not still be alive to carry out the threat, but Shinra didn't have to know that.
The elevator dinged and stopped again.
Sephiroth brushed the spider webs tangled on his feet and stayed still. He supposed he could get in like a normal person and breeze into the President's office, but then he might need to leave a trail of unnecessary kills. After the mess at North Corel, they had identified him as a threat. The guards would now be on a watch for his presence in Shinra Building. They would think twice before going anywhere near his vicinity, but some of them could be stupid enough to greet his sword.
He just wanted to have a civil talk with the President, not butcher the man's employees.
The elevator dinged at the 69th floor. Sephiroth jumped from the top of elevator shaft and pushed open the door to the 70th floor. He stopped short at the ransacked office cubicles. The walls were painted in blood, papers strewn everywhere, and bodies littered on the floor.
Of course, then the alarm blared.
Sephiroth snatched out his sword and ran to the President's office. The door was torn off its hinge, the President on the chair, a long sword impaled his chest. Still warm, but no pulse. Sephiroth ground his teeth and yanked the long sword. It glimmered once before turning into a dull, rusty sword.
Not Masamune.
Someone broke the windows in the next room. Sephiroth kicked the partition just as the killer looked back from the windowsill. Long silver hair, long sword, manic bloodshot eyes, a wide grin split the face.
Did he really look like that back then at Nibelheim? Sephiroth gripped his sword tight. And how was she still alive?
Jenova escaped to the Lifestream just before you died from drowning, and didn't she promise you she would come back to haunt you?
As if the torment that plagued him every night for the past five years was not enough.
He sent a huge fireball at her, but she only laughed and jumped out of the windows. Jenova broke into the windows a couple floors down, and he jumped to follow suit. Screams of the office workers and choked off sounds of people dying on her sword blasted his hearing. He slammed into her defenses, their swords arched in deafening blows. The blade on her hand thrummed, casting a familiar call to him, and he hacked his sword with a new vigor.
She dared to steal Masamune?
He kicked her ribcage and sent her flying to a pillar, paper and debris flew between them. She growled in rage and sent him lightning strikes. His shield deflected them and they broke the pillars and windows instead. The building shook as they traded more magical blows, and at this rate, they were going to level it with their fight.
"Sephiroth." Jenova purred him a greeting. Sephiroth ducked the incoming fire ball and slashed at Jenova's stomach, but she already dashed outside.
Oh no you don't.
Sephiroth sent her a fusion of fire and lightning. She blindly raised her right hand and a glowing red shield just absorbed the spell. Masamune engaged with his sword and stroke back, the force of it slammed him into the void of the elevator's shaft. Jenova slashed the elevator's cord before he hit the elevator top, and the lift free fell sixty floors down.
He stabbed his sword against the wall and hauled himself up, breaking open an elevator door just when the lift crashed the ground and a ball of fire lit the shaft. He chased after Jenova who had jumped from the windows. She ran vertically down the building with Masamune dragging into the concrete to anchor her fall. He sent her another fire-lightning fusion and the red shield swallowed it again. Sephiroth growled and followed her trail.
Jenova blasted several lightning balls at him. Sephiroth jumped the rest of his flight, clashing swords with her in mid-air, and barely erected a shield when Masamune glowed green and a white explosion blinded his eyes. The fall knocked him flat against the roof of a Shinra Corporation container truck. It gave way as he landed and cold metal from various spare parts dug into his spine. Sephiroth choked down a cry and hefted himself up; he climbed the stack of boxes to get out of the container.
The wailing siren and police cars scattered on the parking lot. The guards surrounded him but hesitated to move any closer. Sephiroth paid them no heed and ran to the back of the building, where screams after screams suffocated the night.
Jenova was too preoccupied painting the air with the tang of blood. When she looked up, Sephiroth already hurled a powered up fusion ball at her.
The collision threw her against a tree. The bark snapped and a green glow shuddered around her before it dulled. Sephiroth fired two more attacks, but her red shield was ready this time. Jenova picked herself up from the debris and Sephiroth stopped dead at the sight.
The woman in his visions.
Long, braided brown hair. White coat above a black body fit suit and trouser. A cold stare that froze him on the spot, a small smirk played on her mouth. She tossed her hair and her high heels clanked on the pavement as she stalked forward. Masamune glinted and held steady in her grasp.
Sephiroth pointed his sword to her neck, and the woman stopped outside his sword's range.
"Sephiroth." Her voice was soft. She tilted her chin to regard him. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. The name tag on her coat said Dr. Crescent. Her eyes were clear from madness, but Jenova's presence still lashed and screamed at him.
"My precious son. It's time for our reunion."
Come home with me, son. Save me and I'll show you the stars.
Sephiroth threw a lightning ball. The red shield caressed Jenova's rich laugh. Masamune started another dance.
"I see Hojo hasn't told you anything." Her grin mismatched her furious strikes. "You can't even recognize your birth mother."
He cracked a roundhouse kick to give space, but she ducked and re-engaged his blade.
His biological mother?
"She is dead."
Jenova tsked and kicked his left side; her speed didn't waver. He entertained her blows at the same pace.
"Why do you keep believing what your good father has to say?"
Why indeed.
Your mother is Jenova and she died giving birth to you.
Jenova crowded on his defense, but Sephiroth didn't let himself falter.
"Your mother's name is Lucrecia Crescent, and she is still alive. Imprint her face in your brain." Jenova whirled and blasted a lightning storm so sudden he had no choice but duck the strikes. "There, I've granted your final wish."
Pain burst in his head as Jenova probed her way back to his mind. White agony racked his body and yanked a scream off his throat. She was struggling, though. He threw her off and slammed the link shut.
Sephiroth opened his eyes with a gasp, half curled on his knees. Jenova was thrown several feet back, crumpled under a tree. She snarled and fired a lightning storm at him.
The storm picked up with rising debris and heat. Wind howled around his ears and a thick mist rammed static currents against his spine. Sephiroth erected a shield as fire balls rained on him. The hits to his shield pounded a nasty throb behind his eyes. When they stopped, the mist faded to a cold, cloudy night. Jenova's presence had evaporated from his skin after conveniently kicking the 'Die in peace, preferably without hemorrhaging' project in his to do list and poking a hot poker with her name to his brain.
Sephiroth picked himself up and huffed.
His final wish, huh?
He turned to the back gate where he parked his motorcycle. The guards' bodies were sprawled forgotten on the ground, and silence jogged along with him.
After he saw his mother's grave with his own eyes, he had come to adapt to a self sufficient existence where she didn't exist. That never smothered the questions in his mind, though. When Jenova sunk her claws that night at Nibelheim and tugged him to a pool of answers, he plunged head first. In that hell, Jenova yanked a locked chest about his mother from his tight grip, and made sure he memorize her laugh when she burned it to crisp. Nothing left but a faint wish, a fleeting thought that flickered out faster than it zapped in, not even half-formed in his consciousness.
He revved the bike to a full throttle. Light drizzle wrapped a freezing hood on his face, washing him with waves of time that pressed a tight grip on his throat. The phantom pain finally took a solid shape and refused to let go of its hook on his mind's eyes.
Shinra had manipulated him and lied to him his whole life; he had nothing he could use to seek the truth. Now he had her name and her face. Dr. Lucrecia Crescent: a doctor, not some unnamed woman anymore. No wonder Hojo was excited to experiment with her on creating the perfect weapon. Did she work for Shinra? Did they keep her files? Did she give her consent on the experiment? Were the research notes at Shinra Mansion true?
What really happened to her? Was she really alive?
Night raged along the speed of his bike. He killed the engine at the top of a hill far outside Midgar's border. The city waved merry lights at him, even when rain finally granted them its presence. The sky was dark, but somewhere out there she could be seeing the same horizon right at this moment.
Sephiroth wiped the rain from his face and raked his hands on his now-soaked hair.
If life granted him one last wish, if he could just do one more thing before this fine body betrayed him...
She didn't even have to answer anything. He would keep quiet and bury his questions to his grave in exchange for this wish.
He breathed against the twisting ache in his chest.
Mother... I just want to see you before I die.