Chapter 3 – four months later (age; 5)

The little girl Aerith was blessed to Gast and Ifalna on the 7th of February and she was turning out to be an easy baby. It was now April and Sephiroth had just turned five and Ifalna hadn't seen Gast in the three months since Aerith had been born. She'd been keeping her distance from him every since her little outburst in the labs. She didn't plan to tell Gast about his wife being a Cetra and she hopes she never will.

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Sephiroth had been asleep for an hour now, an unnatural one. Gast knew that they would have to wake him up out of it soon, but Hojo told them to continue. Zoe watched the boy's brainwaves slowly, but surly go down as he went deeper and deeper into the sleep that he was in. His body was covered in wire, every inch of it and Hojo wouldn't stop taking blood sample from the child.

Suddenly, Sephiroth began to breath like he was chocking. Gast swiftly move Zoe out of the way and shone a torch down Sephiroth's throat. His airways were closing. Zoe looked over Gast's shoulder and panicked. She reached over and grabbed a ventilation tube from behind Hojo, but the child went into cardiac arrest. Quickly, Gast got the tube down the child's throat and begun to try and get his heart beating again. Hollander got the electrical pads and the rubber patches. Before shocking him, Gast injected the child with adrenaline then moved out of the way and let Hollander place the patches on the child's bare chest.

"Clear!" Hollander shouted.

The electricity made the child's body jolt upwards. He was about to do it a second time, but Hojo moved the rubber patches away revealing nasty burns on Sephiroth's skin where they had been. The other scientists were shocked, but Hojo wasn't surprised. Gast continued pumping on the child's chest trying to get him to come back to life.

Eight minutes had passed and the team of scientists were about ready to give in, calling time of death. Gast had stopped with the compressions and looked at his watch.

"Time of death, twenty-two thirty-eight." he said stroking the child's head.

"Shame, he had so much potential." said Hollander.

Then Gast's phone vibrated in his pocket, he answered it and tried to hold back the tears.

'Hi sweetheart.'

"Ifalna? How have you been?"

'What's wrong Gast? You sound sad.'

Gast signed, "We lost Sephy."

'I did tell you. Gast, you and your team pushed him to his death.'

"That's a little harsh." a single tear dropped from his eye.

Gast looked back at the child wiping his eyes. At that moment, the five year old began to breath and Gast nearly dropped the phone. The child's heart was beating slow and weak.

"He's back, it's like a miracle."

'His problem might be the anaesthetic.'

Gast reached out for the reversal for the drug and injected it into the child. A couple of minutes later, his breathing had almost returned to normal, but not his heartbeat. Sephiroth began to wake up.

'Is he awake?'

"Yes, do you want to speak to him?"

'Please.'

Gast held the phone next to Sephiroth's ear and Gast took this opportunity to listen to Sephiroth's heart.

'Hey Sephy. It's Ifalna. Are you ok?'

"Bit sleepy and I feel funny."

'You gave all those men a big scare you know.'

"How's you baby?"

'She's fine, I named her Aerith, although Gast wanted Aeris.'

"What's the difference? They both sound the same to me."

'I know chicken, I might bring her in so you can see her. If you like.'

"It all depends on what the men say."

'Gast will let you, he's a big softy. Now you're going to need lots of rest you know.'

"You know Ifalna, I saw a light and a woman, she had similar hair to me, but it as brown."

'That's your mother.'

"Jenova?"

The scientists all looked at each other when Sephiroth said her name and Gast pulled the phone from Sephiroth's ear.

"I'll see you later honey."

'Gast what information have you been feeding him?'

The scientist pressed the cancel button and hung up. Hojo checked on the child, he was now stable and all of the scientists were relived. Gast picked up the child and brought him into a recovery room, where he could be monitored. He put the child on a drip to make sure he wasn't dehydrated.

"Gast, why did you hang up on your wife?" the young boy said still feeling a bit weak.

"Because Seph, that woman talks to much and we needed to get you stable."

"I was stable for all the time I was talking to her. You shouldn't be so hard on her."

"I think that I'm just stressed."
"Why?"

"The President is going to be building a new facility called SOLDIER."

"Why would that stress you out?"

He signed, "Because after it has been built the wants you to start training."

"That's … Nuts."

Gast nodded, "He said it should be finished in one to two years, so you would be seven at the latest."

"I see why you're stressed."

"You would just be too young for that, a seven year old in the army. That man has lost his mind."

Sephiroth nodded, "I don't want anything like that. I wouldn't have a life, if you can even call this a life."

"What do you mean Seph?"

"Well, I'm constantly in and out of the main labs, I'm not allowed out of anyone's sight and I'm asleep for most of the day because I'm either exhausted or your all testing on me."

"We might cut down the number of times that we knock you out."

"Why?"
"Hollander thinks that the constant unnatural sleep has taken its toll on your body and it just couldn't take it anymore, so it gave way. What happened today was Hojo's fault."

"Why was it his fault? Or do you just want to pin the blame onto someone else?"

"He was the one that said to continue after one hour. I was the only one that was upset when your heart stop, oh, and Zoe panicked."

"So the others didn't care?"

"You're just an experiment to them, a specimen if you like."

"What do you see me as?"

"An intelligent innocent young boy, who needs someone to look up to. And I didn't make that up."

Gast stood up, stroked through Sephiroth's hair and left the room. Allowing the young boy to obtain some rest.