Behind Every Great Man – When You Come to the End...Stop


I pondered over the words that Vincent gravely foretold before he vanished. I had acquired an enemy worthy of being called 'the worst' and this person was dubbed Shadow. The name didn't ring a bell as I cracked open the giant door leading into Sephiroth's house. The main room smelled of dust and aged wood as light littered the walls from the open door. It may have been raining, but it was more light than this house had seen in a long time. The front room didn't hold much – a few pieces of furniture covered in sheets, a bare fireplace, and the occasional piece of tapestry or decoration. I let my fingers grace the cotton sheets as if they were fine silks instead of the cheap thread. I wearily traveled towards the rickety staircase leading to the second floor. The boards creaked and moaned beneath my weight and I questioned whether or not they were safe enough to climb. I gave a sigh of relief as I reached the top and treaded down the short hallway to the main bedroom.

A giant four post bed took up most of the space and I was sure that at one time, it was a sight to behold. To the bed's right was a pair of French doors leading out to the only balcony adorning the house. The door held the only unbroken windows of the house and I quickly opened them to air out the bedroom. Grey light flooded the area and I smiled warmly as I reminisced the times I had spent in this place and the freedom it allowed its owner to be himself. Stationed in front of the bed was a full length mirror that had been bought specifically for my grooming purposes. It had been given to me so that I wouldn't complain about the lack of mirrors in the house. Across the hall was the bathroom that still housed the claw foot tub I had loved to bathe in while Sephiroth was out of town and to its left was the library. It was supposed to be a second bedroom, but the handy general had converted the attic in to a guest bedroom, although guests were rare. I coughed from the dust that clouded my lungs when I burst into the room.

Stacks of books ranging from the greatest poets to the most intellectual scholars adorned the bookshelves and I giggled excitedly as I flipped through the hard covers. This had been one of my biggest surprises when learning about him. He had teased me relentlessly about keeping my nose stuck in those ridiculous things when in all reality; he had his own extensive collection. I plopped down on the musty reading chair that seemed to swallow my lithe frame. A cloud of dust escaped the velvet material and I gagged for the relief from fresh air. Time had done little to the house except age it and as the old saying went; 'it's like a fine wine – it gets better with time' didn't ring more true than now. I recalled one of the shelves holding a locked cabinet that the general kept his important documents in and I scanned the walls for the only clue to the existence of the piece of furniture: a small brass keyhole. One would think that a cabinet would be easy to find but its owner was a particularly introverted individual who liked to keep his privacy, including a place to hold papers and files. The cabinet was camouflaged by a painted mural depicting a large collection of books and to the naked eye, it seemed just that: another book shelf. But hiding underneath a first edition of a collectible story was a tiny brass hole. I ran my fingers over the wood until the appendages found the tiny crevice that confessed the location of a door and with most delicate of movements, I swept Nemesis' blade into the space and pried the door open. The lock was now a mess of twisted metal thanks to my scythe's sharpened edge, although I didn't intend to leave anything behind for scavengers. I anxiously began to poke around the dark cabinet with my nervous hands until they touched something smooth and hard.

The first objects my hands curved around were two leather bound books that held written out plans and a log intended for SOLDIER personnel. I skimmed through the pages and realized that the hype over Sephiroth's heroism wasn't exaggerated. The man was a brilliant warfare tactician and his detailed plans were practically flawless. I shut the second book and returned to the small cabinet. Three leather folders and a small journal were the only items left. I glanced at the first folder and noticed a gold embellished name at the top – Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class. I grinned as I opened the cover to reveal a polished picture of the notorious flirt in the uniform he had grown so accustomed to. There was very little residing in the file except for a small biography of the talented young man and a receipt for the awards he had accumulated before he died. The next file contained Athos' information. He was a decorated member of SOLDIER, higher in rank than Sephiroth but retired due to an injury that would keep him out of duty. It listed the adoption papers he had signed the day I was born and the names of my parents followed by the word 'deceased' in parenthesis. So that's what happened? A year by year log was kept in the file as well and featured pictures of my childhood along with a caption stating a string of scientific code. I tucked the folder to the side and flung open the final one. This one had my name in silver embellishments followed by a slick photograph of myself with bold statistics. I flipped to the next page and was met with a photo of a man holding a baby. I could only guess who he was for the next few pages were expertly cut and blotted out so that any more information was withheld. Something wasn't right. Why on earth would Sephiroth keep two full files but a cut and paste job of my own? I caught the movement behind me and guessed that Vincent had never really left.

"I don't…I don't understand. Did I even exist?" Vincent remained quiet as I pulled the tiny journal from its hiding place and stacked it up with the files and books on the large mahogany desk settled in the middle of the library.

"Your existence is…complicated." I twisted my body around to meet the eyes of a stranger. I had figured that it was the former Turk but instead found a white haired man with kind laugh lines gracing his aging features. His beady blue eyes resembled that of the man holding the infant in the picture and I cautiously took a step back. "Please, Seraph…please don't be afraid of me. I have waited a long time to meet you and I don't want to ruin this reunion. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Greg Morrissey." I gawked at the man before me and slowly took his hand. "I was afraid that Sephiroth had destroyed all of your information in an attempt to protect you from the truth. I was right, I suppose. He edited the only copy of your file before he left for Niebelheim…the rest is history. Perhaps if he had told you the whole story then maybe…" He rubbed his wrinkled forehead and sat down in the green reading chair. The way he just let his weight melt into the velvet told me that he had been carrying a burden for a long time, and the years just made it heavier for him.

"Dr. Morrissey…what the hell happened to me?" I positioned my body on the edge of the desk and eased myself into a comfortable position. The storm outside became a bit heavier, as if it were setting up a magnificent stage for the doctor's story.

"Sephiroth was an impeccable specimen. Shinra was so delighted with the results that they created a new account for us. Funds were unlimited and they asked for us to duplicate Sephiroth's perfection but on another completely different level. How do you make perfection…more perfect? That was the riddle we needed to solve so we decided to mutate the Jenova cells so that they created something entirely different. It just so happened that a young woman in another department had learned she was pregnant with a girl. We were delighted to learn that she was willing to take part in the experiment in the name of science." I tried to imagine what kind of mother would subject her child to something so horrendous.

"You injected me with the mutated cells?" He nodded and continued on.

"I didn't realize they wanted to create you for the sole purpose of SOLDIER until they revealed their intentions with Sephiroth. By then, you were a tiny infant and your parents were killed on a train raid by Wutai spies. Athos was more than happy to adopt you under the condition that you would be raised on his terms and not Shinra's. You had a completely happy childhood with Athos as your guardian – the total opposite of Sephiroth's upbringing. It was the one variable we could control in this portion of the experiment, after all, and you quickly exceeded all of our expectations. Where Sephiroth was introverted, you were extroverted. Where he excelled in physicality and intelligence, you lacked. You…completed each other, to put it romantically. But we never expected you two to actually…" He struggled with the words to form the rest of his thought. I gasped as I felt my heart quicken suddenly and the painful shot of memories striking my brain. I grasped my head and fell to the floor as the good doctor rushed to my side. My last recollection before blacking out was his concerned cries.

I giggled softly as a single snowflake tickled the tip of my nose. It was going to be a light winter but the signal of the first snowfall was always a celebration in my own mind. There was something about the peacefulness of the land's hibernation until spring's visit of renewal that put me at ease. It was the comfort I took in knowing that in this very moment, silence was golden and even though this world was battered and war-torn, a single snowflake could still dance its way down from heaven. I smiled at the movement beside me as Sephiroth turned towards me and brushed the melted ice from my skin. SOLDIER had kept him incredibly busy and although I was constantly by his side, we never had that solitude together to just…be together. Since the afternoon where we had shared that first embrace, he stole every possible second alone with me so that he could keep the embraces up. Sometimes pretty words were exchanged but other times, no words were needed at all.

Secretly, I cherished these serene moments but I never wore those true emotions on my sleeve. I had to remember that the man beside me may know my feelings but he also knew that I carried a sword and when in public, the passionate fire blazing inside me had to be directed towards my training and fighting techniques.

"I'm not quite sure which part of you I admire most." I sat up from the rough shingles that graced the rooftop we had met up on. It was one of the few places where we were actually alone. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I directed a questioning glance towards the hero of the year. "When everything around you is calm, you're innocent and demure at times. But then, in the heat of battle…you're brash, and incredibly…" He pondered over the right choice of words for a moment before stating, "Seductive." I had to laugh out loud at the word. Never in my life had I been complimented with the chosen word at hand tagged on.

"Sephiroth…there are millions of words in the spoken language and you choose seductive to describe me in the heat of battle? We've never even been in a battle before. It's always…send Seraph to say this. Or make Seraph deliver this message." He was still laying on his back, watching the grey clouds hover over us.

"Don't mistake it, Seraph. The art form you are mastering is an intimate bond between a soldier and their weapon. It becomes part of you, molding its soul with your own until this perfect extension of yourself engages in an ancient dance of sorts." I scooted my body up next to his and nudged him slightly with my hip.

"That's very poetic. But you don't strike me as a ballerina, Sephiroth." He shook off my humor and sat up as well.

"The point I'm trying to make here…when a person is in the heat of battle, they're fighting with that extension of their soul. It's almost as intimate as…" He paused at the sound of a person breathing heavily from the ladder leading up to the roof. Zack was immediately in front of us, his back arched up into the air as he fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"You guys…are in…so much trouble. Lazard…sent me to come find you two. He said…it was really…important." I stood and arranged my general issued sword upon my back. I stationed myself beside my friend and patted his back in gratitude. Zack Fair was one of only three people who knew about the budding heat between the general and I and I trusted the dog with every ounce of it. Sephiroth strode passed us, his eyes never meeting my own.

"I'll go on ahead. Hopefully it will seem like I just missed his message instead of intentionally ignoring it." My eyebrows crinkled in confusion as I stared after the man who was now refusing to look at me. A tight tug on my skirt alerted me of Zack's exaggerated condition. I knelt down to his level, a generous smile spreading over my lips but the raven haired man could see past the expression.

"He's just trying to make it look…non-suspicious, Seraph." I shook my head and glared at the empty space surrounding the ladder.

"Something's off Zack. Usually, if he gets a message then he ends our little meeting and goes right to work. He never ignores business." The man beside me elbowed my ribs softly and winked with a Cheshire grin.

"Take it as a compliment! He's putting YOU before work! Big complaint from the ladies…" I eyed him suspiciously; finally taking in the fact that he had been checking his phone a bit more often these days.

"Is that her only complaint as well?" He chuckled while tucking his hands behind his head.

"Aerith has no complaints…" He reddened at the realization that the guilty always speak first and he had voluntarily given up information he wasn't quite ready to give. I chose not to rub it in but the sly smirk was enough for him to mumble under his breath and kick at the snow accumulating around us. He motioned towards the ladder with my smiling self in tow. "Shut up Seraph."

"I didn't say anything!" I took the first step on the metal ladder and began the long climb down. "So that's her name?" Zack was below me, ready to catch me if my clumsiness caught up with me on the slippery ladder.

"Shut up Seraph!"

"It's a very nice name, Zack. I think I'd like to meet her someday."


The stairwell leading up to Lazard's office was full of commotion. People were whispering against the railings and I closed the small amount of space between Zack and I. Gently squeezing my hand, he led me through the heavy doors. Sephiroth was stationed against the boss' desk, his silver tresses shadowing his features from my prying eyes. A long, mahogany box was pushed towards me and a sliver of a smirk pinched Lazard's lips.

"Congratulations, Seraph 2nd Class SOLDIER. Today, you are presented with your personal weapon." Athos emerged from an adjoining room, his snickers kept quiet by his own hand. To most within the network of SOLDIER, your personal weapon was either handed down by someone before you or given to you by the head of the organization. It was a great gift to receive if one's family didn't leave a weapon in your possession. Lazard shook his head and handed me the long chest. "I don't how Sephiroth did it, but he managed to keep you away long enough for Athos to deliver it without being detected." My line of sight sped towards my mentor but his own greenish orbs were already cast upon me. I didn't know if I were to be excited that he taken part in this or angry at his deception. I pushed the rising emotion into a dark corner of my brain and slid my fingers over the slick wood. With little hesitation, I opened the clasps and gasped as a shiny scythe appeared before me. I felt Athos' presence behind me as the pads of my fingers poked and prodded the great blade.

"Her name is Nemesis. A great warrior used this blade in battle but was so ashamed of her natural talent that she put that piece of her inside the scythe in hopes that another warrior would be able to use that talent in a way that she couldn't. If you're able to control this blade, then you're able to control the spirit inside it." My eyes widened with the recount of the story and it felt as if I had just opened the greatest gift known to mankind.

"Is that story true?" Athos patted my head and laughed off the question.

"I don't know. That's why they call it a legend, Seraph!" He moved the blade so that I could see the small print etched into her. When recited, these words would bring forth the katana within the scythe. Congratulations were shared and the small crowd finally dissipated. I was left in the room with a great blade and no understanding of how I was supposed to use it. I carefully strapped it to the back of my shoulder and turned to meet the cool leather of Sephiroth's ensemble. Without any kind of verbal notice, he handed me a necklace and clasped it around my neck. It would be the only physical present he would bestow upon me.


A sharp pain raced through my skull as I slowly began to come around. The blurry images of the library swirled around me and I had to force myself to not throw up. I could feel the wetness of blood trickling down the back of my skull and I weakly called out for Dr. Morrissey. There was no reply. I called out again and turned my head to the sound of choked gasps. Lying beside me was the dying body of the only man who could recall my past. Thick, crimson liquid poured from his throat. I closed my eyes in hopes that the whole scene was just a hallucination but when I tried to move my limbs, nothing happened. It was as if I were paralyzed from the neck – down.

"Don't try to move. It'll hurt more when your muscles come around to actual movement." A syringe fell from the hand of a figure cloaked in darkness. A dark purple hood covered the stranger's face from my view and I vaguely followed the sound of leather heels clunking against the wood as the stranger circled me. Again, the images swirled together but I couldn't hold back the vomit. The stranger understood and pushed me onto my stomach so I wouldn't choke. I gasped for air as the bile escaped my throat. "They said one of the side effects would be nausea," the silky voice said as she tossed a brown bottle at my side. A tear managed to squeeze through as I watched Dr. Morrissey struggle with his last breath.

"W-why did you kill him?" The leather heels clicked a small trail up beside me.

"He knew too much, Seraph. It had to be done. You'll come to understand all of this. But until then, I can't have you screwing around with my plan." The tingling sensation in my toes told me that my muscles were slowly coming back to life. The shrouded figure rolled me over with her leather clad foot and prodded my abdomen with her spiked heel. I would feel that later on.

"What plan?" She clicked her tongue and reprimanded me for interrogating her when I had no place.

"Seraph…just let the natural order of things fall into place. There's no need for all these questions." She turned on her heel and strode towards the door exiting the library. I called out to her once more, my mind knowing who she was without any evidence but my heart needing a desperate answer.

"Is he alive? Did I just imagine the phone call or is he truly alive?" I received no answer, just taunting laughter that echoed through the halls as she left. Thunder clapped outside as I let out a shrill scream.