Author's Note: Again, i just want thank all my reviewers. I'm glad you all decided to take this journey with me and you are enjoying the ride as much as I am! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm paid nothing, so please don't sue me! :)

Forgiveness

Chapter 12: Sephiroth's Nightmare

Rufus looked at Tifa before bringing up a video file. "Before we start looking at his past, I have to see what happened to my people."

Tifa glanced at Rufus and felt bad for him. He knew it would be gruesome, but he still had to view it. She nodded and turned her face to her screen. "I'll watch it with you, Rufus."

"Thank you," he said before starting the surveillance cameras.

They both watched Sephiroth open his eyes before shattering the tube that held him with one punch to the surface. He kept his wing wrapped around his naked body as he disappeared through the warehouse entrance as Tseng and the scientists entered from the main hallway. Tifa narrowed her eyes as the female scientist checked one of the monitors and seemed to become angry.

"Any idea what happened there?" Tifa asked.

Rufus grimaced slightly. "She just discovered that Professor Xander had increased the mako in Sephiroth's stasis field without anyone's knowledge…including me. Tseng said she gave him hell."

"Good for her," Tifa said as she returned to footage in front of her.

They both flinched when the professor struck her before kicking her in the stomach. Tifa felt like she was watching a horror film when Sephiroth entered the room from the hallway and made his way over to the professor without his knowledge. He savagely grabbed the man by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground before piercing his abdomen with a sword and twisting it in his belly. Tifa expected him to smile maliciously or something, but his face remained impassive as he just stared down at the dying man coldly. He must be a monster to be so detached when being so brutal, Tifa thought to herself.

When she watched him violently flip the table the other scientist was hiding under onto its side, she wanted to turn away. She was afraid for what he had in store for that woman, yet as she watched she became confused. Granted, he still handled her roughly as though her comfort was of no concern to him, but instead of brutally murdering her as he had her colleague, he simply slid a syringe into her arm before dropping her to the ground. Tifa frowned and looked over at Rufus.

"What just happened?" she asked.

He turned and shrugged as his icy blue eyes met her mahogany gaze. "Tseng said her autopsy showed she died of a mako overdose. It's a slow death, but relatively painless."

"Why would he grant her the mercy of a painless death?" Tifa asked with a frown.

Rufus thought for a moment. "Dr. Cross was the only one who ever took Sephiroth's continued threat seriously…aside from Tseng. And that was why I asked her to keep an eye on Professor Xander. I didn't trust him and she seemed to respect Sephiroth. Her colleagues said she was gentle when retrieving any samples from him and often talked to him as she worked. Some thought it was strange, but others thought she was smart to treat him as thought he was a normal person or patient."

"But Sephiroth was a monster," Tifa said as she shook her head.

"He wasn't always a monster," Rufus said quietly. "Unfortunately, Shinra made him one all for our own gain."

Tifa frowned and watched Sephiroth retrieve his borrowed sword from the professor's body before leaving the room. The footage continued as the multiple cameras throughout the new Shinra building tracked and showed his travels that led him out of the science division. He killed as he went, brutally slashing and maiming scientists as he went. It was a massacre that reminded Tifa of Nibelheim…so many people whose crime was being in Sephiroth's way. Eventually, Tifa had to look away and didn't return her gaze to the screen until Rufus assured her that it was over.

"How can that monster show mercy to a woman one minute and then rip other people apart the next?" Tifa asked.

Rufus shook his head. "I don't honestly know."

Sephiroth flinched as the needle entered his vein. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's for the greater good," Hojo said.

"Don't believe him," Angeal said as he grasped Sephiroth's hand and helped him into a seated position on the lab table. "You'll become a monster."

"We're all monsters," Genesis said with a smirk as he appeared beside them.

"My children are not monsters," Jenova said softly, her voice deceptively sweet and serene.

"Mother wants our help," Genesis said as Jenova caressed his cheek. "And we must do everything we can to help her."

Sephiroth frowned as they disappeared from the lab and ended up in the slums of Midgar, the plate still hanging above them. "I thought you wanted your SOLDIER honor restored."

Genesis smirked. "Of course I do Sephiroth, but I do enjoy tormenting our 'mother' so much!" Jenova hissed at him and Genesis chuckled. "Besides, you, of all people should know that SOLDIER honor is a lie that serves better as a punch line for a joke than anything else!"

"We all believed in it," Sephiroth said with a frown as he looked around the familiar slums.

"You never believed that lie," Angeal countered.

"I did," Sephiroth protested.

Angeal waved a hand and suddenly they were standing in the middle of Nibelheim as it burned in his wake. "Would a man who had any honor do this to a town?"

Sephiroth glared at him. "You don't understand. After Genesis told me the truth of how I was created, I spiraled out of control!"

"Of course," Genesis said dryly as he rolled his eyes. "Blame me for your mental instability. All things considered, I think I would prefer my physical degradation than having such a perilous grip on my mental faculties."

"You should feel no guilt," Jenova said soothingly. "You had to punish them for what they did to me…your mother." The scene before them changed yet again and Sephiroth watched himself ascend the stairs at the reactor towards the Jenova chamber. "They kept me locked away and no one wanted you to find me."

"I couldn't stop myself," Sephiroth murmured as he watched himself gently touch the door that separated him from Jenova.

"I'm sure she understands," Genesis said mockingly as he pointed to a teenaged Tifa as she charged blindly up the stairs, wielding his blade.

Sephiroth watched as his past self easily stopped her assault before brutally slashing her with his blade and tossing her down the metal stairs.

Jenova caressed Sephiroth's cheek. "She wanted to stop you. You couldn't allow that."

"I…" Sephiroth began, but stopped as Genesis sauntered over to Tifa's fallen form and knelt beside her. He shrugged Jenova off as he moved closer and stood over Genesis threateningly. "Don't even think of touching her."

Genesis raised his eyebrows and smirked up at his friend. "And why not? Surely you don't care about what happens to this girl? Look what you did to her. How could I possibly do any more damage than what you have done? And correct me if I am wrong here, Seph, but didn't you just give this girl another taste of your blade skills?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Genesis, I'm warning you…"

Genesis mockingly raised his hands to his heart in a dramatic gesture. "Oh no, the feared Silver General of Shinra is warning poor little me! I care not for you threats, my friend. Besides, a gentleman always enquires about a young lady's health after an injury," he said with a smirk as he examined Tifa's wound. He clicked his tongue before looking up at Sephiroth again. "How could you mar such perfect flesh? There was a time when you would have found more interesting ways to amuse yourself with an attractive young woman. You should be ashamed for wasting such vile anger on such a beautiful young thing."

"Shut up," Sephiroth growled.

"The son of Jenova has no need of such weak-fleshed children!" Jenova snapped.

Sephiroth glared at Jenova, about to say something, but stepped back in surprise as Genesis got to his feet and helped Tifa to hers. She turned and faced him, her face ghostly white as the impossibly long gash on her chest continued to bleed heavily.

"I trusted you to help us," she said sadly. "I trusted you with my life and you killed my father. You nearly killed me. I thought you were the one good thing about Shinra."

Genesis chuckled maliciously as he stood beside her and gently grasped her chin, tilting her face so she was looking into his eyes. "That was your first mistake, milady. There was never anything good about Shinra…least of all SOLDIER."

Sephiroth looked up as Zack's body was suddenly thrown from the Jenova chamber. He turned and looked at Sephiroth, his eyes bearing so much hurt and sadness that Sephiroth had a difficult time maintaining eye contact.

"My heart broke to see what you had done," Zack said as he stared at Sephiroth. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to stand on the other side of Tifa. "Genesis defected and had always treated me like I was less than dirt on his shoe. Angeal was my mentor…and my friend. I had to fight and kill him. You were all I had left and you did…this! You burned this town and tried to kill me. You tried to kill Cloud and Tifa too, and for what? Jenova?" he asked disgustedly. "Hojo came for me and experimented on me for years, but I escaped…only to end up like this."

Sephiroth watched in confusion as every bullet wound his body had taken at the hands of the Shinra infantry appeared on him and he became covered in blood. Hojo appeared behind Zack and nodded.

"His body took incredible damage before giving up," he commented as he made some notes. "My experiments were a success, despite his death!" He turned and looked down at Tifa critically, his eyes sliding lasciviously over her body. "It was a shame she was taken before I arrived. I would have liked to see what I could have done to her."

"You stay away from her Hojo!" Sephiroth snarled as the others disappeared, leaving just Tifa and Hojo with him.

"She has survived so much!" Hojo's eyes danced in the dwindling light as he looked at her. "Think of what the SOLDIER protocol could do to her! I'm sure she would be almost as deadly as you, if she survived the treatments that is."

Sephiroth shook his head. "No more SOLDIER! No more experiments, you twisted old fool!"

Hojo narrowed his eyes and glared at Sephiroth. "How dare you order me around? I think it's time for more mako treatments!" He grabbed Sephiroth's hair and pulled his head to the side before roughly sliding a needle into his neck, the mako making his blood burn as it entered his body.

"No!" Sephiroth yelled before sitting up quickly. He reached for his neck, but found no needle or puncture wound. He then looked around and found himself in the abandoned Shinra building in Modeoheim he had decided to take shelter in for the night. He was covered in a layer of sweat as his eyes darted around the room to verify he was alone and not stuck in his nightmare. He closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. "More nightmares."

Your soul is tormented, Sephiroth.

He narrowed his eyes and looked around, half expecting the Cetra witch to appear before him. "Don't you have anything better to do, Cetra?"

Your heart cried out in pain and I will always answer its calls, Aerith answered.

"I feel no pain," he denied as he pushed himself to his feet and readjusted his long coat. It struck him as strange that a company, which wanted him forgotten would keep so many of his things, like his old uniforms.

You need to stop denying the guilt you feel and allowing it to push you further down this path of self-destruction, she said, interrupting his thoughts.

"When are you going to leave me alone?" he demanded to the empty room. "Why can't you just mind your own business?"

Restless souls are my business, Sephiroth, she said softly. You were a part of the Lifestream and your pain still torments this planet.

He smirked. "Good."

The pain you feel will end if you forgive yourself, Aerith assured him.

He laughed hollowly. "Forgive myself?"

It is your guilt that torments your dreams, she said.

His smile disappeared. "I don't want to forgive myself because all I have done is for the greater good! Humans don't deserve to live, surely the planet agrees since they willingly allowed Shinra to rape its resources in the name of comfort!"

The planet has no wish to die, Aerith countered sadly. And death is all you have to offer this planet.

"The planet is already dying. Finishing it off is a small mercy it should accept!" he snapped.

She sighed audibly. You seem to be offering mercy often, Sephiroth. That's a good sign, if you want to be forgiven.

"I'm not Cloud," he said with a smirk. "I do not seek forgiveness, nor do I seek the approval of others."

Don't be afraid of failure, Aerith said. Forgiveness isn't as hard as you think it is.

"I'm not afraid, witch!" Sephiroth hissed. He paused as her words sunk in. "I just know it's impossible to achieve…not after all that I have done and continue to do."

Forgiveness is always possible, Sephiroth, she assured him. No matter what has happened, you can always find forgiveness. You'll see what I'm saying is true very soon.

He frowned and looked around the room again. "What do you mean?"

Do what you must do, Sephiroth, but when the time is right, seek out Tifa Lockhart, she said cryptically. She will guide your way.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. When she didn't answer, Sephiroth growled and took his anger out on a nearby crate, destroying it with one hard punch. "Tell me what you mean!"

You'll see, Sephiroth, she answered serenely.