Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FFVII characters, places, etc.

A/N: Finally!

Chapter 50: Father

"Have you decided to give up then?" Leviathan demanded, all of his teeth gone and his scales chipping like broken ceramic. Godo looked at him, chewing on his lip, frightened. He hadn't been so scared since he was a boy. "Your time is up. Decide now to embrace the sun and pass it along, or just hand it over to the harpies."

Godo's muscles bunched, and he rocked back and forth gently. He had been trapped here for far too long, and he was forgetting everything. He couldn't even remember the face of the mermaid girl, and he only had a nebulous understanding that there was an heir to Da Chao, but had forgotten he was the father.

"What will happen? Don't we have to protect it from them?" He asked, looking at Leviathan with terror in his eyes.

"The reason we protect it is to pass it down. You have to pull the sun out of the ocean! Hurry! It's time to wake up!" Leviathan urged. Godo swallowed hard, and was frightened. He didn't know what to do, or even how to dredge up the sun. He'd forgotten.

Godo felt the distinct invasion of an unfriendly presence, and his old habits kicked in fiercely. He sat up straighter, turning his attention away from Leviathan, and focused on locating the problem. A sword hissed free, and Godo's self preservation kicked in. There was the strange vertigo of not being sure where he was, as a floor, ceiling, and walls superimposed themselves over the endlessness of sky and sea. He could see a human on the other side, unshaven, with a calm exterior.

"State your business," he said with a razor sharp edge. An ominous feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, as a the man flung a girl down before him. Her head struck the floorboards, and she was panting heavily. Godo didn't let his attention wander, not even as the woman lifted her bleeding face to gaze up at him.

"It's time for the Kisaragi legacy to go to the heir," the man stated, bending and pulling the woman's face up. She grimaced.

"Don't listen, grandpa! I'm not the heir!" she said, and Godo's eyes flashed to her.

"Silence. You'll speak when spoken to," he snapped, again looking at the interloper. The ocean and sky were beginning to fade, while the rays of sunlight seemed to draw closer. The man smiled amiably.

"You certainly must have been a father of ice," he complimented, jerking the woman roughly. She winced and cried out, her hands trying fruitlessly to pry her assailant off. "But I'm not interested in parenting. I'm not even here to judge the way you've fractured your family. I'm here to take the Kisaragi legacy." He lifted the sword so that the blue-white steel rested lightly against her throat. Godo made no move to save her. Leviathan rumbled beside him.

"A Kisaragi's duty is to keep the legacy away from the Tanaka branch," Godo answered. "If indeed that is my heir, then it is her place to understand that our lives are better forfeit and losing the legacy then passing it on to you." The girl's voice hitched, and her eyes filled with tears.

"You would let your own daughter die?" she demanded, looking at him in terror.

"Honor and duty require sacrifice," Godo replied sternly.

"You coward!" she spat. "It's no wonder Yuffie was always gone! You're a fool!" Her eyes turned to ice, and in that instant, Godo felt something in his mind give way. The ocean and waves cracked as Leviathan's scales bristled, before everything shattered and fell away. Godo blinked a few times, and recognized again his own room, and knew that he was sitting on a futon, and not in a boat. He saw the man clearly, and he looked at the woman glaring at him with passionate hatred.

"Yuffie," he frowned, but it was not she. He knew his daughter and heir's face better then his own, and this was a skilled impersonator. He thought again, and realized it was Shunji, Yuffie's reflection. He recalled something nasty that Miho had given him for a cold, and the pieces fell into place for him.

"Ah, I see now," he nodded, and pounded on his chest. He coughed, and laying his palm flat on his bony breast, used the cure magic from a materia he had entirely forgotten about, locating the source of his hallucinations and physical ailments. Pulling his hand back, a small and unrefined globe of materia rested in his palm, bearing the cause of affliction. Raw mako infused with magic that addled the mind. In short, Miho had melted a confuse materia down and fed it to him.

"I must be getting old for such foolery to get me," Godo sighed, setting the materia aside. "Now, where is my real daughter?" he demanded, looking up at the invader. "Ah, Sonji. The years have been good to you. Why are you beating my grandson?"

"Well, you're sane enough now to at least recognize him," Sonji tossed the boy aside, as Shunji persisted in his malevolent glare. "Now, how about it? I'm here for your life. Did you mean what you said about dying for the legacy."

"Every word," Godo answered, assuming a lotus position. He was weak, and working his legs into the proper bends was difficult. Sonji took dual note of this, and smirked.

"You've fallen so low, Kisaragi. Back in the war, you were a different man."

"Come back when your sixty and spent five years under materia poisoning. I'm sure you won't be so spectacular yourself," Godo answered.

"You don't mind if I look around?"

"I'm sure you've already poked everywhere you could think to. My saying don't put your nose where it doesn't belong won't stop you. Shunji, come here. I want to see what my daughter looks like these days." Godo motioned for Shunji to approach, and the boy lifted his head arrogantly. Sonji proceeded to rifle through the drawers, throwing things about. Godo motioned with two fingers, and Shunji eventually gave in and approached him.

"What do you want?" he sighed, crawling to his grandfather's feet. Godo took his chin and turned it this way and that, muttering things like an appraiser. In the mean time, he focused on the materia that had implanted in his body over forty years ago at his own coronation. He let the magic swell in him and wind around his veins, all the while heading for Shunji. The boys eyes widened, and Godo jerked his chin up roughly to keep him quiet.

"Well, either you've gotten prettier or she has. It'll be interesting to compare you, assuming I'm given the opportunity." Godo stated, willing the transaction to go faster. All the while he was testing his muscles, seeing how far they were willing to go, and hoping it was far enough to give Shunji a leading head start. "What has Nayuta had to say about all of this?"

"He's gotten better recently," Shunji answered.

"He should have been my heir. Your father's a remarkable man. Steadfast and honorable," Godo remarked. Shunji's eyes flashed.

"Are you implying Yuffie isn't good enough?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had feelings for her. That would twist your world further upside down then it already is." Godo said with an icy edge.

"Only the same feelings of abandonment by my father for not being ideal," Shunji spat back, rising to the occasion as well as Yuffie ever had. Godo gave Shunji's cheek a pop, and looked significantly at the door.

"A father's job is to mold their child, whether it takes a chisel or gentle hands. You'll understand if you ever have children," Godo replied. "I imagine you'll be wanting to fix your appearance in front of your mirror after this," he sniffed, and Shunji caught the double meaning. Godo patted his shoulder, casting another cure on the boy. "Well, you're at least a decent double. You even sound like her. Get out of the way and leave business to the men."

Godo had no sooner spoke then flew across the room and locked arms with Sonji. The assassin seemed to have been waiting for such a move as he smiled gleefully. Shunji needed no further prompting, and streaked out the door. Sonji moved to grab him, but Godo put himself between Sonji and his grandson.

"You're business is here with me. I thought you wanted to know about the legacy." Godo gave him a yellow smile, his sunken face looking pallid and wicked. "Come on then. If you can beat me, I'll comply and go to Miho with the legacy, and all the pomp and circumstance of abdicating the throne to the rightful rulers."

"Your such a liar," Sonji sighed, allowing Godo to remove his sword from the wall.

"Humor me. I've done nothing but sit around for five years. I can't be so much of a challenge," Godo gave the blade a few test swings, and sorely missed his youth. Well, this was for Yuffie. This was his last present to her, the only one he could give her. It wouldn't make up for all the shit, but if he was lucky, she wouldn't curse at him so hard that he ended up a rolling corpse in his own grave with no rest at all.

Wait a minute…hadn't the walrus girl given him a Leviathan materia? Yes, it was over there under his pillow. Godo drew comfort from that. He felt Leviathan's lingering presence in his heart, a piece of him that would soon belong to Yuffie.

'One more go, old man. We can make it happen,' Leviathan promised. Godo nodded imperceptibly, and caught Sonji's first strike. Youth was impatience. Thus began Godo's final waltz.