The four of them walked into the dusty town of Nibelheim.
"Cloud, you're home now. Take the bloody helmet off." Zack said to his spiky haired friend. The blonde shook his head in protest. Zack sighed with defeat and stopped at the inn. The man named Cloud followed him closely as Sephiroth and Lightning took their time getting to the inn. A brown haired girl dressed as a cowgirl wandered over to the four and tipped her hat to them.
"Welcome to Nibelheim! I'm Tifa Lockhart and I will be showing you around Mount Nibel for the next few days. I'll see you tomorrow!" She exclaimed and then skipped off to join a group of girls her age.
"Ok!" Zack called after the bubbly young woman.
Sephiroth led the others into the inn and stared out the second floor window. Zack wandered up the staircase to find Sephiroth blankly staring out the window. "Lightning, what is he doing?" Zack asked the pink haired spy who leant against the wall next to Sephiroth.
"Beats me." Lightning replied and then turned to Sephiroth with a concerned expression.
"Sephiroth? Are you alright?" Zack asked.
"Strange... Nibelheim seems so familiar... I have no idea why, but it does..." Sephiroth replied and turned to Lightning.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. We've got a lot to get through tomorrow, we better get some sleep." Sephiroth said and then wandered into the room furthest away from the stairs.
"I'll go see what's bothering him. Don't worry about him. He'll be fine." Lightning replied. Zack followed Cloud into the room next door and Lightning sighed before wandering into the room after Sephiroth.
"You seem troubled... What's up?" Lightning asked. Sephiroth took off his coat and threw it onto the edge of his bed.
"I don't know... I think I'm going crazy..." Sephiroth replied and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Lightning removed the suspenders from his belt and ran her hands down his torso.
"I just think you're tired. But you're too proud to admit it." Lightning said with a smile and kissed Sephiroth's cheek.
"Maybe you're right. I haven't had enough sleep in ages." Sephiroth replied. Lightning chuckled as she ran her fingers through his silky silver hair.
"Then, maybe you should get some proper sleep tonight. You won't be calling yourself crazy after a good night's sleep." Lightning said and briefly pressed her lips up against his before pulling away again.
"Your kisses are amazing." Sephiroth said and kissed her again.
"You are amazing." Lightning replied and wrapped her arms around him before kissing his neck.
"I love you." Lightning cooed.
"I love you too." Sephiroth replied and kissed her cheek.
Lightning released her grip on him and sat on her own bed next to his. The neutral colours of the room really set off just how desert like Nibelheim was. Sephiroth lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. Lightning got off of her bed and sat on his. She softly traced her finger down his perfectly toned body.
"Look at you..." Lightning mused and chuckled. Sephiroth took her left hand and ran his lips down her ring finger. Lightning sighed with content and chuckled as Sephiroth slowly tried to work her leather jacket off of her body. Lightning whipped her jacket off and threw it against the back wall. She sat on his stomach and caught his bottom lip in between her own lips. Lightning nipped at his lower lip as his hands rested on her lower back. Lightning gently worked her tongue into his mouth and his tongue caressed hers fiercely. Their lips parted and Lightning lay down next to him, resting her head on his bare chest.
"Lightning?" Sephiroth asked and placed his hand on her arm.
"Yes?" Lightning asked in reply. She placed her hand on his bicep and then gently squeezed it, feeling the muscle in his arm.
"Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Sephiroth asked. Lightning laughed.
"Sephiroth, you know I'd love to. But we have to stay professional for the moment." Lightning replied.
"Don't know if I'd be able to sleep without you." Sephiroth said with a smirk.
"Aw... we'll see." Lightning replied, kissed his lips and got up. She sat on her own bed, took off her boots and climbed under the covers.
"Goodnight." Lightning mused and closed her eyes as she rested her head against the pillow.
"Goodnight." Sephiroth replied with a sigh before taking off his own boots and sneakily climbed into bed with Lightning. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek before nestling into her neck.
The sun rose and its rays poured into the room through the window. Sephiroth opened eyes and felt Lightning's soft, pink hair brush up against his chest. He gently pulled away her hair and kissed her ear. Lightning slowly opened her eyes and found her head resting against Sephiroth's bare chest. Sephiroth chuckled and kissed her head.
"Morning." Sephiroth said and repeatedly kissed her neck.
"Why are you in bed with me?" Lightning asked.
"Because I love you." Sephiroth cooed.
"I love you too." Lightning whispered and pressed her lips up against Sephiroth's. His hands rested on her lower back and slowly worked their way up her shirt as their kiss intensified. Lightning ran her hands up his abs and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck as their lips endlessly locked and unlocked.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. The couple pulled away and stared at the person knocking at the door.
"You're burning daylight, let's go already!" Zack exclaimed and then headed downstairs to meet up with Cloud and Tifa. Sephiroth and Lightning just looked at each other in shock and got out of bed, Sephiroth quickly putting on his coat. Lightning picked up her gunblade and followed Sephiroth out of the inn.
Once everyone was outside and ready to go, Tifa led the others up Mount Nibel. Lightning kept a sharp eye out for any signs of the plaque. The mountainous ranges were barren of life, not a single monster jumped out to attack them.
"This is weird..." Jack commented.
"Found anything yet?" Lightning asked the silver haired warrior.
"Nope. Haven't even a piece of a plaque yet. You?" Sephiroth asked her in return.
"No such luck." Lightning replied with a shake of her head. Soon, they arrived at the abandoned reactor. Lightning could feel the reactor having an evil presence about it, almost as if something was in there, waiting for any one of them to mess up and take them out.
"Sephiroth, you and Zack go inside and check out what's wrong with it. I'll keep searching out here. Let me know if you find anything." Lightning instructed and Sephiroth nodded, briefly pressing his lips up against hers before pulling away and leading Zack inside the reactor. Tifa tried to wander in and Cloud barred her path. Tifa stomped in protest and crossed her arms. Lightning snuck around the back of the reactor to try and find the plaque.
Inside the reactor, Zack was looking at the monsters in the tubes whilst Sephiroth searched for the plaque.
"What are these?" Zack asked and poked at the glass.
"Experiments. With Jenova cells. That's all you need to know at the moment." Sephiroth replied and then looked up at the door marked 'Jenova'. He stared at it in wonder.
"Sephiroth? What exactly are you looking for?" Zack asked. Sephiroth turned away from the door and stared at his fellow first class SOLDIER.
"That is not for you to know." Sephiroth replied and continued his search for the plaque, occasionally looking up at the door with 'Jenova' above it.
Suddenly, Genesis wandered into the reactor through the door marked 'Jenova'. He sat down on the stairs and threw a dumbapple into the air before catching it again.
"My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey, in my own salvation, and your eternal slumber." Genesis said with a sly smile.
"You love quoting Loveless, don't you? You never change Genesis." Sephiroth replied coldly. Genesis only laughed.
"What are you here for?" Zack asked. Genesis stared at Zack and shook his head.
"I'm here to find out where Sephiroth's loyalties lie." Genesis replied.
"It's certainly not with you, that's for sure." Sephiroth said with a scowl.
"But it should be. You, Angeal and I are all the same. We're all monsters. Even one of the people outside is a monster. And you're not here for the reactor. You're here to strengthen the monster outside by finding the plaques." Genesis scorned. Sephiroth looked at his former friend in surprise.
"How do you know about the prophecy and the task plaques?" Sephiroth asked.
"Let's just say I have a connection." Genesis replied with a smirk.
"Zack, leave. I must find what he knows. Alone." Sephiroth instructed. Zack shook his head.
"I'm part of this too!" Zack exclaimed in reply.
"No, you're not Zack. Just because you have his sword doesn't mean that you are a part of the prophecy." Genesis retorted. Sephiroth stared at Genesis in confusion.
"What do you know?" Sephiroth asked. The auburn angel laughed and held his dumbapple up into the light.
"You see, the gift of the goddess isn't the Jenova cells like I thought it was... Ragnarok was tasked with destroying Gaia, because Gaia holds the soul of the Maker. Destroy the cage, and the bird is set free. Destroy Gaia, and the Maker may recreate Cocoon and Gran Pulse. And the dying Lifestream shall become one with Valhalla, bringing us to the lands of wealth. That wealth is the gift of the goddess." Genesis replied and tossed the dumbapple to Zack. Zack caught it and placed it on the ground.
"You're crazy." Zack said and violently shook his head. Genesis laughed and pulled a piece of concrete out of his pocket. Genesis looked down at the plaque and smiled.
"The second task leading to the completion of Ragnarok. Rose of Cocoon, Servant of Gran Pulse... awaken your violent self and destroy the one chosen to fall under your grasp. Take out the weakling l'Cie and your journey continues, with your lover by your side." Genesis recited and tossed the plaque to Sephiroth. Sephiroth caught it and placed it in his pocket.
"How can you read Cocoon script?" Sephiroth asked. Genesis chuckled.
"The power of a fal'Cie is never to be underestimated." He replied with a sly smirk and walked over to Zack.
"As for you... Your Focus shall be to die at the hands of Ragnarok." Genesis said and stepped out of the way. A shadowy figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was a mechanical beast with a face resembling that of a human. He laughed evilly as Genesis wandered over to him.
"Good to see you again, Barthandelus." Genesis said to the fal'Cie. The fal'Cie laughed and grabbed Zack's legs, suspending him in the air upside down. With his other hand, he tapped Zack's left arm and it began to glow and eerie white. Barthandelus dropped Zack and the newly branded man fell into a deep unconsciousness. The brand of a Sanctum l'Cie scarred his flesh as the fal'Cie returned into the Lifestream. Sephiroth knelt by Zack's side and checked his pulse before examining his brand.
"What did you do Genesis?" Sephiroth asked the chuckling angel.
"Oh Sephiroth... you know that the fates are cruel. I should have been the hero, but Etro chose you. No matter, we will all be heading to paradise soon enough." Genesis replied with a laugh.
"Genesis, you are twisted." Sephiroth said and shook his head. Genesis laughed again.
"Please Sephiroth, you are as much of a monster as I am! That's right, you are like me, except you were created differently. You were a fusion of these imperfect monsters in the tubes. The fusion of such beasts, created the perfect monster. The perfect killing machine. Unknowingly, they created the perfect mate for Ragnarok. You." Genesis replied before sitting back down on the steps. Sephiroth was shocked, he wasn't sure whether to believe his friend or not. Genesis laughed and clicked his fingers.
The entrance to the reactor was opened and a shower of red rose petals and white feathers flew into the reactor. Footsteps echoed through the reactor as Genesis stood to greet the visitor.
"Welcome Ragnarok." Genesis said with a smirk. Sephiroth turned to find Lightning standing behind him, a large white angel wing extending out in her left.
"Not you too." Sephiroth uttered.
"Sephiroth, I didn't do this. It was Hojo." Lightning replied.
"Surprised to find your girlfriend is one of us?" Genesis asked.
"Lightning, how could you not tell me?" Sephiroth asked.
"I didn't even know that this was a side effect!" Lightning replied in defence.
"I'm sorry, this is too much for me to handle. We're done." Sephiroth said, placed the next plaque in her hand before going to walk out of the reactor.
"You're kidding, right?" Lightning asked, not fully grasping what Sephiroth had just said.
"I'm not." Sephiroth replied and then took another step towards the door.
"Sephiroth, please. We can make it work." Lightning said in protest. Sephiroth turned around to face the spy.
"It won't." He replied.
"Sephiroth, please don't go." Lightning said sadly. Sephiroth said nothing and continued towards the door.
"Sephiroth! Don't walk away from me!" Lightning exclaimed with a hurt tone. The silver haired warrior ignored her and continued on.
"Sephiroth!" Lightning roared, her voice reverberating through the metal structure. All of a sudden, her brand began to burn and Sephiroth began to feel a violent stabbing in his chest. Lightning's wing retreated as she buckled to the ground and grasped her chest. Sephiroth couldn't handle the darkness that pulsed trough his veins and his eyes rolled to the back of his head before he collapsed. Lightning's breathing quickened as her heart almost stopped beating. Genesis stood up from the steps, with his red rapier in his hands. He sauntered over to the unconscious Sephiroth and chuckled.
"If you won't tame Ragnarok and gain the gift of the goddess, I will. Rest in the Lifestream Sephiroth. My reign as hero begins now." Genesis said and raised his rapier over his head.
Pure rage took over and she morphed into Ragnarok's weakest form. She got between Sephiroth and Genesis before baring her teeth at the auburn angel. Genesis looked at Ragnarok with pure shock as the beast slashed at him. One of her strikes connected with Genesis' face and his head turned to the side, only to expose the massive, bleeding gash over the left side of his face. Ragnarok snarled at Genesis and began to advance on him.
"I'll be back... Don't you worry about that. I'll be back." Genesis replied and left the reactor. As soon as the black winged angel left, Ragnarok eased up and turned to the passed out SOLDIER hero. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his chest. Zack slowly came to and pushed himself up from the ground. He took one look at Ragnarok and ran out of the reactor to tell Cloud and Tifa of what he saw. Ragnarok paid no notice to Zack and kept her eyes on Sephiroth.
His cat like eyes slowly fluttered open and he groaned, reaching for his chest. Ragnarok pushed away his hand and gently licked his chest before nuzzling him again. The pain in Sephiroth's chest eased up. Ragnarok's eyes met Sephiroth's and he couldn't help but to try and explore the amount of fury in those striking eyes. Sephiroth pressed his lips up against hers for a few moments before pulling away. Ragnarok almost smiled in delight. But that delight was short lived as the beast collapsed beside him and slowly morphed back into the pink haired spy. Sephiroth sat up and took the l'Cie into his arms. He kissed her forehead and stroked the side of her face.
"I was fool. I can look past this. I love you." He said and kissed her nose. He took her into his arms and carried her to the Shinra mansion's hidden library.
