Destiny Revisited

Part 2:Fear in the Abnormal

A small, peaceful town slept quietly under the pale moonlight. A soft breeze blew through the air. Crickets chirped loudly and the howling of Nibel wolves could be heard far away. Small children stirred in their sleep and adults quietly talked to themselves. But destruction would soon arise. He was coming.

Sephiroth flew quickly over Gold Saucer. He had just become a god. Now he would experience fate as it was always supposed to be. His birthright was to be the ruler of the world. And he would see to it.

***

"My son...how will I tell him? The tragedy of your life...is something no one should have ever experienced. I remember... Hojo didn't even let me hold you. He deprived you of human comfort. Your childhood was torture. You were treated as an inhuman specimen when you were really just a lonely little boy. If only I could have been there, Sephiroth..." Lucrecia held her head in shame. "It was all my fault. I caused it all to happen. So now I must tell you the truth, son. The truth of your being." The sanded mother wept silently, thoughts of her son's birth floating through her mind.

~Flashback~

Lucrecia screamed as she felt another surge of pain throughout her body. "Push...it's ok." Vincent, her love, said soothingly as he held her hand comfortingly. Through all the tears of agony she smiled up at him.

While Vincent was here with her, her 'husband' Hojo, was just watching afar from behind a glass wall. "I love you..." she said to Vincent softly. Vincent sighed and held her hand tighter. His eyes shown with a genuine concern for the woman he loved. Suddenly the doctor gave her the alert. "Here comes the head...and the shoulders are sliding out..." Lucrecia strained as the baby was being delivered. Beads of sweat poured down her forehead. Vincent quietly hushed her. "Come on....just one more push." She sighed, took a breath, and closed her eyes. All of a sudden she heard the cry of a little baby. Lucrecia beamed and took another deep breath. "Congratulations, ma'am." said the doctor proudly. "It's a boy."

Lucrecia smiled warmly up at Vincent. "His name will be Sephiroth..." she said softly to the doctor. The doctor nodded and was just about to hand baby Sephiroth to his mother when Hojo burst in. "I'll take this specimen now." said Hojo in an uncaring, monotone voice,. The doctor's eyes went wide. "Sir, your son has just been born. I think your wife wants to hold him-" suddenly the doctor was cut off as a group of Shinra guards grabbed the infant and shot the doctor. "Sephiroth..." said the baby's mother tiredly. "Sephiroth...I must hold you..." then she fainted. The childbirth had been really tough on her. Not to mention the Jenova cells and mako treatments she had been receiving This was no ordinary childbirth.

Hojo walked off with young Sephiroth, being careful not to hold him too close. "Have number 1 put into an incubator. I will be giving him his first treatments first. Oh, and don't forget to tattoo him as well." Hojo laughed to himself as his young son was carried away into the laboratory.

That night little Sephiroth was given his first mako treatment and his first dosage of Jenova cells. Not once was he held by his father. Not once was he comforted. If he cried, he was left alone. It was the beginning of a nightmare for Sephiroth. One that would never end.

Lucrecia had passed away later on...it seems the Jenova cells had finally taken their toll. Vincent was furious, but when he confronted Hojo about it he was never seen again.

Lucrecia could remember her final hours. She sat in the Nibelheim hotel begging to see her son. she told Vincent to talk to Hojo, but he didn't return. She died with her son's name on her lips.

~End Flashback~

***

Sephiroth neared Nibelheim. The town that was unfortunate enough to contain the secrets of the Great General Sephiroth. Those very secrets are what led to the towns destruction. It had been burnt to the ground when Sephiroth went mad. He couldn't handle what he read, and he took out his anger on Nibleheim's residents. Blood and fire everywhere. No one was spared. Men, women, and children all caught up in the senseless slaughter.

But the town had been rebuilt by Shinra. Of course. What would the public think when they heard that SOLDIER's great General had done something like this? Shinra, Inc., would be crushed. The business would never go back to it's greatness. So they covered it up. They rebuilt the town and hired actors to play as townspeople. They even printed out fake papers that said Sephiroth was dead. Of course, it was genius.

But the town still wasn't fireproof. And it certainly wasn't safe from a super powerful ex-SOLDIER who wielded masamune and had just recently became a god. No. It was going up in smoke for the second time.

The dark angel laughed to himself as he entered the town's gates. This was going to be enjoyable.

Suddenly he was interrupted. By a voice in his mind.

"Sephiroth? Can you here me?"

It was Mother. It had to be. Only she could talk to him. But she had been killed, hadn't she? No of course not! He had been foolish to think that. But she sounded differently.

"I can hear you, Mother. What do you want?"

He waited for a while, and then there was an answer.

"How do you know I'm your mother? Well we don't have time to talk anyway. I am running out of energy. Please meat me in the nearby waterfall cave."

Sephiroth frowned. His mother in trouble? Perhaps Cloud and Co. had injured her. He needed to fulfill his mother's wishes.

"I am coming Mother."

But there was no answer. He decided to set out now.

***

"She is here. I can fell it. Wait...they are both here. I must find them." Cloud wandered the lifestream aimlessly. The gaping slash across his body was gone now. The green mist swirled around him gently. He was searching...for her. For Aeris. But he had realized Tifa was there too. And the rest of his friends had to be there! Cloud ran faster and faster. He had to find them. He wasn't alone in here...

He ran and ran through the stream. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice. "I have been waiting for you." the voice whispered. "I have been waiting very long." it breathed. Cloud's face softened when he realized who it was. "A-A...Aeris?" he asked. "Yes, it is I.." said the voice, innocently and sweetly, as if belonging to the very nature of good itself. Cloud walked further to the voice, his eyes searching through the green fog. "Aeris...Aeris..." he repeated as he kept going. He had been wanting to see her and nothing was going to stop him now. He ran and ran, searching to see where she was. Suddenly he heard the voice again. "I told you I'm right here." said the voice, dripping with impossible sweetness.. Cloud turned around, a look of everlasting joy on his face. Then the expression of joy turned into a twisted look of fear when he saw, standing in Aeris's place, was a horrifying creature.

It stood about 5 feet tall. It's shape was human, except for the fact that It had a long tail-like lower body instead of legs. The monster 's features also included pale, blue skin and red-brown wings protruding out of its back. It's eyes glowed black and long, sharp fangs gathered at the tips of its mouth. A long, snakelike tongue swiped across them.

Suddenly the heavenly voice turned into a raspy whisper as the being murmured. "Hisssss... I know. Hisss... I know you Cloud. Hissssss...." Then it turned around and licked its fangs.

"Jenova..." Cloud said, his voice trembling.

***

Sephiroth walked quickly. He had to help his mother. His mother was in trouble. He kept this in mind as he hurried along, flying as fast as possible. The cool wind blew against his face. His eyes were set to their destination. Sephiroth smirked to himself as he saw the cave.

He landed on the ground, beating his wings softly. Once on the ground, he walked over to a small dark cave covered by a waterfall. "This must be it." he thought to himself as he entered. "Mother, I am here to see you." he announced.

But his jaw dropped when he did not see Jenova. Instead, a young looking female scientist ghost stood at the center of the cave. Her expression was unreadable, but Sephiroth knew she had planned something. "What do you want with me, mortal?" he scoffed., folding his arms. "You claim to be my mother but that is a lie. My mother is Jenova." The woman lowered her head and walked slowly over to him. Tears streaked down her face. "Son...please listen..." she was cut off again by Sephiroth. "I will not listen to your lies, fool. I will spare you this time but watch out, for next time I may not be so kind." Sephiroth disappeared and left Lucrecia standing there all alone.

***

"Jenova..." Cloud repeated, this time his voice was full of disgust. "What did you do with Aeris?" Jenova simply went silent. Then it replied. "Hisss...Aeris was never real. She was simply a creation of mine to help distract you from Tifa-the one who knows you best. She would have told you everything before my son even got the Black Materia. Hissss...hiss Aeris not only distracted you from her, but also silenced Tifa as well. She was the one who made Tifa forget the truth. Hisssss... After, however, Aeris was no longer useful so Sephiroth disposed of her."

Cloud stood, not moving. He had not felt like this since the time Sephiroth reviled that he was only a failed clone of himself. Then his face turned red and he began to scream at the creature. "What are you talking about? Aeris was the woman I loved...not some beast!" Tears were forming at the corners of his eyes. "It's not true! You can't fool me again! I learned not to trust you or your 'son' for that matter!" Cloud clenched his fists so tightly they turned white. "Nothing you can say will affect me. You here that?" He cried. Jenova remained calm. "All right then, Cloud. Hissss....hiss... answer me this...how come Aeris isn't in the lifestream? All the others were." Suddenly, there was an image of all of his friends. Barret, Cid, Vincent, Cait Sith (Reeve), RedXIII, Yuffie and...Tifa were there. But...Aeris was not. They were all hugging each other and crying.

"Don't you see? It's so incredibly simple! Hissss.... It just so happens that you are too ignorant to understand everything that me and my son wanted to accomplish. Hisss..." Cloud swallowed. "That's why....hissss...my son...Hisssshissss...you have failed me." Cloud jumped back, his rage building. "Lair!" he screamed. "You are not my mother. And Aeris is a human being. You are just full of it, aren't you! You think I don't know what the hell's going on, right? Well I got some news for you! I do and I believe the truth. So you can just get your smelly ass out of the lifestream before I have to take care of you again." Then Jenova seemed to laugh.

"What in the hell are you laughing at?" demanded Cloud, whose visions was about to go red. Veins were popping out of his forehead and sweat covered his face. "TELL ME DAMNIT!" screamed the angry blonde. Jenova laughed again, and then stopped. "Fool! I have never hiss...fought you in my true from. If we were hissss... to fight now-" Jenova was interrupted by Cloud jumping at Jenova, ready to use Omnislash. And he did.

But his face fell when he jumped back and saw Jenova completely unharmed. His eyes narrowed. "Wha...what...but Omnislash never...never fails..." Cloud said, in a state of awe. "Hisssss...you haven't seen anything yet..." taunted Jenova. "We'll see about that," replied Cloud.

***

"My son. I must try and contact him again. I must." sighed Lucrecia. "I must prove it to him somehow..." she said tiredly. "I...I just don't know how." Then suddenly she heard something. It was a man's voice. A comforting voice. "Lucrecia my love do not worry." Lucrecia's eyes glazed over. "V...Vin...Vincent?" she said awkwardly. "Yes my darling it is I. Please just give our son one more chance." answered the man. Then Lucrecia nearly fainted. "Our son? But Hojo..." She stopped short. "Yes, Lucrecia. It is true. I read it in one of Hojo's diaries after I awoke in the Shinra mansion. Although he never admitted it. I am the father of Sephiroth."