Author's Note: This chapter's a little short, but it felt right to end it where I did. Hope you enjoy it. I promise little Seph will make an appearance next chapter.


Questions of Fate

Chapter II – Safe Harbour

March 16, 1968. Banora.

The helicopter circled slowly, scanning the area with its spotlight. Landing lights flared to life, illuminating the road and front lawn of the Rhapsodos household. Lucrecia could see a young man standing amidst the blade-induced maelstrom, gesturing them down. Dark, shaggy hair and black slacks flapped and sailed on the air. Few lights were on in the house.

The helicopter came down smoothly; bouncing only slightly as it touched down in the Banora dirt. With a whistle the engine shut off, leaving only the small running lights on.

"Okay, we're here," Charon announced, unclipping his belt. Lucrecia followed suit, wearily rising from the chair. Her watch said four AM, and goodness could she feel it. When the door slid open she was hit by a rush of cool air and the smell of nature. Soil, trees, water… It felt brilliant. Especially compared to the claustrophobic vehicle she'd spent the last three and a half hours in. She reached for her luggage but Charon stepped between her and the rack.

"Get some fresh air. I'll get these."

He really did remind her of Vincent.

Lucrecia carefully stepped free of the helicopter, ducking underneath the blades even though they'd ceased spinning. The young man who'd been directing their landing trotted up to her. His eyes were hazel, and the olive shade of his skin made her wonder if he'd come from Gongaga or Costa del Sol.

"Lucrecia Crescent, I presume?" he inquired, extending his hand. "Arturius Rhapsodos."

"I can't thank you enough, Mr. Rhapsodos. I don't know where else I would have gone."

"Think nothing of it. We know well enough what it's like to have a child that Shinra considers its property."

Charon emerged from the helicopter with Lucrecia's luggage and made his way toward them. "Do you have any particular room in mind, Arthur? If you've got a hidden one…"

"The painting of Leviathan on the wall of the right-hand upstairs corridor. Behind it there's a keypad. If you hit three-four-three the wall panel will open."

"Good. That'll work," Charon replied. "May I?"

"Certainly. Siobhan's inside. And Marie will show you up."

"Thanks." Charon dragged the luggage up to the mahogany door and slipped indoors.

"Hojo's little guy?" Arturius asked once the Turk was out of earshot.

"Project, yes," Lucrecia replied, following him as he led her toward the house. "Son, no."

He nodded. "Didn't think anyone would willingly reproduce with that. You should have heard Doctor Hollander railing about Hojo's nerve at 'toying with his own child's life!'"

Lucrecia smiled. "Nice to know that not all the men in the department are heartless sadists."

"I never liked Hojo either," Arturius remarked. "He had no regard for the sanctity of human life. Or any life for that matter. It was damn good of you to get away from him." He drew open the manor's door and gestured for Lucrecia to enter. "Welcome to Rhapsodos Manor."

Lucrecia was struck by the grandeur of the interior the moment she stepped across the threshold. On the outside it had looked like any other building in the town—aside from its size. But inside was an opulence that rivaled some of the stately residences in Mideel. Paintings lined the walls—paneled mahogany a'la sixteenth century. A grand, full-length Corellian rug trailed the hall out of the foyer. Before her was a split staircase, banister ends topped with carved lions.

Arturius closed the door and warmth enveloped them. The smell of woodsmoke told of a roaring fireplace.

"It's beautiful," Lucrecia remarked, looking around at the large room and its vaulted ceiling.

"My wife has a flair for style," Arturius replied, smiling fondly.

"She must," Lucrecia breathed. "Puts Midgar's best to shame."

"Well then, allow me to introduce you. She'll be in the sitting room."

Lucrecia followed Arturius down the corridor, passing paintings of ancient summons and even more ancient gods and goddesses. Kjata, Leviathan, Bahamut, Shiva, Odin, Ramuh, Gaia. There was even one of Chaos and Omega.

Ah, Vincent. You follow me everywhere.

Arturius opened the third door on the left and Lucrecia heard the tiny coo of a baby as she followed him inside.

"Siobhan, darling. This is Lucrecia. Lucrecia, Siobhan."

In front of the rather ornate fireplace were two large, black leather armchairs. Rising from one was a woman, her flame red hair curled and cascading over her shoulders. Even in the dim light Lucrecia could see that the woman's eyes were bright, azure blue. In her arms was a small bundle wrapped in a soft green blanket. Only a little head was visible—covered in a fine layer of vibrantly red hair.

The one and only Genesis Rhapsodos.

"Pleasure to meet you at last, Lucrecia," Siobhan smiled and extended her free hand. "I'm glad you got here safely."

"Thank you," Lucrecia replied, taking Siobhan's hand. "But, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know about me. Hojo kept the whole thing a secret."

Siobhan laughed softly. "Hollander let slip a few things."

"What did he say?"

"That he feared that you didn't understand what Hojo was doing. I always got the impression he thought Hojo had raped you."

Lucrecia swallowed. "Unfortunately it was all consensual. And I did understand what was being done." She felt her cheeks grow hot with shame. "I should have known better."

"We all have our reasons," Siobhan remarked. "I honestly can say I know how you feel. I volunteered my baby for Hollander's research. While Robert's no Hojo, I suppose it still wasn't fair."

Arturius stepped up to Siobhan's side. "He's fine. No claws or tails. Just a normal little boy."

"Speaking of whom… Lucrecia. Meet our son." The redhead closed the distance between them, giving Lucrecia a clear view of the bundle in her arms. "We called him Genesis."

Lucrecia smiled as the baby stirred. Fine, silky, auburn hair covered the top of his head, and when his eyes opened and flicked to her she saw perfect spheres of blue. They lacked only the glow of Mako they would one day possess.

"How old is he?"

"Ten months," Siobhan replied. "Little demon he was for a while there. I dread to think what he'll be like as a toddler."

Lucrecia reached out, tickling the boy's button of a nose. One tiny hand reached up to grasp her finger and Genesis cooed.

"Wow. He must like you," Arturius breathed.

"Oh, I don't know. He—"

"No. Really. He usually throws horrendous fits when strangers touch him," Siobhan interrupted. He's only ever been this content with us and Mrs. Hewley."

Anyone with Jenova cells, Lucrecia thought, smiling at the boy. She felt the alien cells within her stir. They urged her toward Reunion, but she ignored the urge. Jenova could rot in Ifrit's hell for all she cared. This boy was the one person Sephiroth had truly loved in his short life. She wouldn't allow anything to harm either of them.

A distant, alien rage stirred at the edge of her consciousness and she felt Sephiroth shift uncomfortably. No doubt he could feel Jenova's presence. She supposed it was a good sign that he instinctively drew away from it.

"He's beautiful," Lucrecia remarked.

"His mother's son for sure," Arturius added, gently brushing the soft red down on the baby's head. At the touch Genesis squealed in delight, wiggling in Siobhan's arms. Lucrecia couldn't resist her grin. She wondered what Sephiroth would look like when he was born.

A soft knock at the door interrupted the moment, and all three occupants of the room turned to look. A young woman stood on the threshold, her hair—as red as Siobhan's—tied back.

"Mr. And Mrs. Rhapsodos," she addressed. "The guest room is ready. The Turks are getting ready to leave."

"Shall we see them off?" Arturius inquired.

Siobhan and Lucrecia made for the doorway, following the maid out to the front of the house. Siobhan paused to thank the girl—Marie, if Lucrecia heard correctly. The helicopter's engine was already running, its blades whistling in the cool air. Matt was running his pre-flight checks for the fifth time that night. Charon was beside the vehicle, checking the hull around the fuel tanks.

"Off already?" Siobhan questioned.

"I don't want Shinra getting too nosey. We spend too much time here they'll be suspicious." Charon made his way over. "We still have to make the Chocobo Ranch by 5:30."

Lucrecia nodded. "Don't let me keep you. It's enough that I got you tangled up in this…"

"Hey," Charon interrupted. "It beats you poisoning yourself."

She swallowed, awkwardly hugging him over her swollen belly. "Thank you, Charon."

"Don't sweat it."

He turned to leave and as he stepped up into the chopper, Lucrecia darted once more to his side.

"Be careful of Hojo," she urged, her tone turning conspiratorial. "It wasn't a lab accident that killed Vincent Valentine."

Charon frowned, drinking in the warning. "Didn't think so."

"He's dangerous, Charon. If he suspects you for a second…" she let the sentence hang.

"I'll watch my back," the Turk replied. "Don't worry."

With a squeeze to his hand, Lucrecia backed off. "Good luck."

"You too."

Charon stepped inside the squat black machine; shutting the hatch with a mock salute, and Lucrecia backed clear. With a scream of engines the helicopter—and the red logo emblazoned on its side—lifted into the air. The moon was glinting off its hull like the carapace of some large, exotic beetle when it turned and soared off into the night. It was gone. She was free.

She took a deep breath of the Banoran air, taking in the scent of nature for the second time that night. Trees, grass, soil… Mako. Well, natural Mako.

So, how am I doing? She thought, wondering if Gaia was listening.

Footsteps crunched behind her and Arturius' voice greeted her. "Want some tea?"

"Yes. Thank you," she replied, gratitude seeping into her voice. She took another moment to take in the scenery before turning back to the house and following her new host back inside.


Seated in the deep, comfortable armchair, Lucrecia could almost forget that only four hours ago she'd been ensconced within the steel and glass megalith where Shinra hid from the world. You didn't get cozy armchairs at Shinra. You got ergonomic office chairs. And you certainly didn't get fireplaces. They had furnaces for that. They had nothing that even compared to the Rhapsodos' manor.

Heavy, dark green, velvet curtains concealed the windows, matching the green of the rug that spanned the entire space. Bookshelves stood on either side of the fireplace, lined with leather-bound volumes and small statuettes. Family photos lined the mantle. Pictures of Siobhan and her husband, of their parents, and of a man that had to be Arturius' brother standing next to a rather impressive black Chocobo.

"Why did you do it?" Lucrecia asked, looking from the mantle to the woman in the next armchair.

Siobhan swallowed her tea and glanced at Arturius, her face melancholy as if the mere memory was painful. Brushing a lock of red hair behind her ear she cleared her throat.

"Genesis was… well, he was a sickly baby. The doctors here told me that he wouldn't make it full term. That he'd be stillborn. I insisted that they find a way to save him… but there was nothing they could do.

"That was when I learned that Gillian was working with a Shinra doctor. I thought if anyone could save my son, it'd be him."

"So you went to Hollander…"

"He told me he could guarantee Genesis' survival if he used the same experimental processes that he'd used on Gillian's child."

"Did he tell you what the experiments involved?" Lucrecia took another sip of her tea.

"Yes. From the start," Siobhan leaned back in her chair. "He explained what would be done to my child. He told me about Jenova. About how its cells were to be spliced with my son's. Along with Gillian's."

Lucrecia gulped, feeling guilt grip her. At least Siobhan had known what she was getting into. She'd still believed Jenova was a Cetra when she'd agreed to Hojo's half-baked plans. "Did you ever regret it?"

"No. I worried for a while—about what he would become. But I never regretted my decision." Her blue eyes studied Lucrecia with the intensity of a hawk. "Do you?"

"Sometimes… But what's done is done."

Arturius glanced up from his tea. "Now you sound like Mr. Hewley. Why did you do it?"

Lucrecia sighed, feeling her gut twist in disgust at the memory, as distant as it was. "Because… Because there was a time when I loved him. At least, I think there was. I wanted to make him happy."

"Hojo?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, yes."

"And he wanted to turn a child he believed to be his into an experiment?"

Lucrecia nodded, glancing down at her belly where Sephiroth was curled, soon to be born. "Maybe he knew that he was Vincent's after all. He always told me he was going to make him better."

Arturius scoffed, his opinion of that made perfectly clear. "Hollander's a fool to want to be like him."

"Arthur," Siobhan scolded. "Don't be like that. Robert's been nothing but professional. Yes, he's a little competitive, but…"

"But he still replicates that mad shit's experiments."

"The road to Ifrit's Hell is paved with good intentions," Lucrecia muttered, briefly remembering the man who'd first said that to her. And how his good intentions had killed him.

"Yet so is the road to the Promised Land," Siobhan returned, looking from Lucrecia to her husband.

Arturius glanced at his mug in thought and then raised it. "To good endings for our good intentions."

Lucrecia and Siobhan raised their own mugs.

"Hear, hear," Siobhan replied.


The room was small, but cozy and comfortable. There was no window, but that would have simply defeated the purpose of a hidden room. It was actually quite ingenious. From the hall the door was invisible—completely indistinguishable from the wall. With a large painting hung over it, it didn't look like a likely spot for a secret passage. But enter the right combination on the keypad behind the painting and the panel swung inward, revealing a short hall into another room. A small, well-furnished guest room. There was even an excuse for the keypad should anyone ever come searching. Another combination opened a safe in the wall next to it. It was enough to fool just about anyone.

Inside, against one wall, were a twin bed and a dresser. Against the other was a desk. There was a small closet to her right. It wasn't the height of sleek, modern design—like the quarters at Shinra—but it was better than anything she could have imagined. It was perfect. For the next few months, this would be her home.

Lucrecia sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking her belly. "Tomorrow, Sephiroth. Tomorrow you'll breathe free air."

Within her, he stirred, squirming restlessly.

"I can't wait."