Title: All Comes Back to This

Chapter: Chapter 2 – Year Zero

Author: SBX

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

Pairing: Hojo/Lucrecia, Vincent+Lucrecia (hinted)

Rating: PG-13

Archive: To Fanfiction (dot) Net and eventually my website. If you'd like to archive it, just tell me where it's going to end up.

Disclaimer: Almost all the characters belong to Square Soft.

Warnings: Alternate universe, eventual yaoi

Notes: The birth of Sephiroth. Or what happens immediately after his birth, that is. (If anybody knows if Sephiroth has an official birthday, could you please tell me? Thank you.) I like Lucrecia as much as I like Shera for some reason. It may be because she is already 'dead' and can't get in the way of a budding relationship between Cid and Vincent. Heh, that's probably it. Anyway, pay close attention to this chapter. The first of the differences between the official story and mine take place here. Also, a little plot twist that'll be really important later is hinted at as well. A cookie to anybody that figures out what it is. Now on to the chapter!

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Year Zero Shinra Manson, Nibelheim

Lucrecia stared down at the infant laid out on the table as the he stared up at her. She found it a little bit odd that the boy had yet to cry once since his birth a few days ago. Didn't normal babies cry a lot when they want something? But then, her child was anything but normal. Hojo made certain of that.

Oh how she hated that man. She hated him for what he did to her and her child. He had no right to hurt his own wife and child in such a way. She hated him for fooling her into thinking that the experiments were for the good of science and the world. Now she knows that they are only for the good of himself and Shinra. Most of all, she hates him for what he did to her dear friend, Vincent.

Poor Vincent! That monster made him suffer so much, and then sealed him away to an eternity of sorrow and grief. She knows how he feels. Lucrecia knows the guilt Vincent feels for not being able to help her or her child. She knows that he is not at fault, that it was her own foolishness that doomed her, and she hopes that someday her dear friend will come to understand that.

A tug on her sleeve brings Lucrecia's attention back to her child. She has come to learn this action means he's hungry. The boy's mind was already developing at an astonishing rate. He was already learning to communicate his desires efficiently and clearly. She would have been proud of him had she not known the development was unnatural.

As she prepared a bottle for the infant (Hojo wouldn't even leave her the right to breast feed her own child), Lucrecia thought on how unnatural everything has become, including herself. Her waking hours were plagued be horrendous visions of what she has come to realize was the future. Her heart cries out in sorrow every time she witnesses the actions of her son, resulting from his lost innocence and sanity. But soon she made another realization.

The visions represented only one possible future. At night her dreams are filled with images of her son at peace and happy, surrounded by people he loves and who love him back. These dreams give her hope that all is not lost, that her son still has a fighting chance against Hojo's twisted machinations. And oddly enough the only common factor in both possible futures is another boy. Blonde hair and bright blue eyes that either drove him mad with hate or fill his heart with tenderness. This boy is the key to her son's future, and she can only hope for the best.

Finished preparing the bottle, Lucrecia scoped the infant up in one arm and fed him using the other. He made content sounds as he suckled at the bottle. His mother smiled down at him sadly. He really was a little angel. Too bad Hojo was going to try his hardest to turn him into a demon…

As if by some turn of fate the devil himself walked into the room just as the baby was finishing his meal. Hojo raised an eyebrow at the tenderness in his wife's expression. "I hope you aren't getting too attached to the subject, Lucrecia. It is part of an experiment and is therefore expendable if it fails," he stated emotionlessly. Lucrecia tensed at his words, suddenly furious. Damn him…damn him! How dare he speak of her child like that!

The infant, sensing the sudden change of mood in his caretaker, squirmed in her grip. Lucrecia very carefully set him back down on the table before turning to face her tormentor. Hojo was momentarily taken aback by his wife's obvious fury. Realizing his lapse, he carefully schooled his features back into an emotionless mask. "Is there a problem, Lucrecia? You seem a bit upset," he queried, tone a model of indifference. This response only infuriated her further.

"Upset? You speak of my son as if he is a mere object, and you have the nerve to ask what the problem is? You won't even let me name him!" The words were spoken with the quite, contained anger that only a mother who wanted to protect her child but couldn't quite push aside her civilized upbringing could produce. Her fists clenched and her eyes glowed brightly with the mako that she had been injected with in the name of 'science,' and Hojo was suddenly reminded of how much of an advantage she now had over him; an advantage he had given her.

Even faced with his wife's wrath, Hojo maintained his composure, and once again raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why you're angry with me. You agreed to participate in this program. Nobody forced you," he said with a hint of disdain. He turned away from her, picked up a notebook, and started reviewing his notes. "The moment you gave your consent to participate in this phase of the project you gave up all rights to call the subject your son. As far as I'm concerned 'he' is an object," he added almost as an afterthought.

Lucrecia stared at him in horror and disgust. "How can you say that! He's your son, too, isn't he!" she hissed, her anger finally starting to boil over. Hojo paused in his perusal of his notes and regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. Lucrecia hated that smile. It was the smile he got when he knew something she didn't and wasn't going to admit it until it was far too late to matter. "Yes, indeed, I suppose it would be. Had circumstances been different it may have made a wonder apprentice, but alas, now it'll never be," he stated, almost wistfully. He was still staring at her with that disturbing smile. Lucrecia held still under his gaze, refusing to admit how much her husband unnerved her.

Hojo finally seemed to reach some kind of conclusion. He closed his notebook and approached the table that the infant lay on. Lucrecia tensed at his proximity to her child but didn't stop him. She would be damned if she let him get a reaction out of her. Hojo gazed at the infant thoughtfully before saying, "Very well, you may name him."

Lucrecia blinked, thrown by the sudden statement. Catching her startled like, he smirked at her. "You complained about not being able to name him. I assume you already have one picked out," he clarified. Lucrecia stared at her husband suspiciously before looking at her child. After a moments thought she responded. "Yes, I do. I want to name him Sephiroth."

Hojo's smirked grew into a full grin. "After the angel of retribution from one of the ancient religions. How symbolic," he almost purred, amusement shining in his eyes. 'You have no idea,' Lucrecia thought dryly. One way or another, her child would seek retribution…the only question was on who.

Hojo laughed at the dark look on his wife's face. "Very well, Sephiroth it is then. You'll have your wish," he said. He looked back down at the newly christened infant, his grin turning nasty. "Well, 'Sephiroth,' I have plans for you."

Sephiroth, as if sensing the bleakness of his future finally cried, his wail echoing in the laboratory and in his mother's heart.

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Notes #2: Had a little trouble writing this chapter. I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out but then again it could be a lot worse. Oh, and about the "angel of retribution" thing…well that was inspired by doing a search on Wikipedia for 'Sephiroth.' What I found at first was a list of different subject matters that bore the name 'Sephiroth.' One, of course, was the video game character. The other two involved Jewish occultism. The one the "angel of retribution" was loosely based on the entry that vaguely mentioned that 'Sephiroth' was the name of an angel in 'so-called' "Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses." That's it. That's all it said. But it was enough to get my imagination going. Sooooo, our dear silver haired bishi is now named after a fictional "angel of retribution." Fitting, no? Also 'Sephiroth' looks a helluva lot like 'seraph,' and he's called the "One Winged Angel." No brainer really.