Bright Seraphim
Eight
The movie marathon consisted of several of the best sci-fi and fantasy movies, accompanied by a roomful of loud, costumed fans. Sephiroth understood little of what was going on, but thought that the films were interesting anyhow.
After two movies, Jaz, Sephiroth, Jamie, and Katie were invited to one of the other suites by an enthusiastic group of friends who wanted to watch television shows instead. The term "drinking game" came up more than once; after some deliberation, Katie took Jamie up to bed before he fell asleep where he sat. Jaz took the opportunity to change into normal clothing - jeans and a green velour shirt - and Sephiroth put on the jeans and gray sweater again. Then they and Katie joined several members of the Space Station Monongahela Star Trek fan club in their suite to play the Dr. Who drinking game.
...Which would have been fine, had someone not thoughtfully spiked all five bottles of Pepsi about halfway through "The Horns of the Nimon". After that episode, someone decided to change the game and put in several episodes of Lost in Space and Dark Shadows. Both of those shows had drinking games that inherently involved more drinking.
Jaz was having trouble keeping her balance by the second episode of Lost in Space, at which point she decided that she should be going back to her room. Sephiroth, who had watched (but luckily not participated in) the proceedings with some amusement, was quick to pick up on Jaz's leaving motions.
"But it's only 4:30!" Someone called after her as the door closed. At this point, Jaz couldn't help it - she giggled.
"Gawd, I wish I was her," a female voice - not Katie's, for once - carried loudly through the door. Jaz began to laugh harder and would have fallen had Sephiroth not held on to her arm.
On the elevator up to their floor, Jaz fell heavily against his chest, knocking him back against the wall. She laughed again, more quietly this time, and said something. She seemed to forget to pull away; Sephiroth had the distinct idea that she would have, had she been thinking clearly, and pushed her away just enough so that she was upright again. She said something else, still smiling, but he caught the self-mocking tone in her voice. He sighed, helping her to walk as the elevator doors opened.
"...What did they put in that soda, anyway?" Jaz mumbled, fumbling for her suite's key card in her jeans. She finally found it and opened the door. She dropped the card as she stumbled inside; Sephiroth picked it up and laid it on the table near the door.
Jaz seemed to be about to fall off of her feet, so Sephiroth led her into the bedroom and let her slip down onto the bed.
It was very late. He had a battle to prepare for.
He stooped to make sure that his armor and sword were still where he'd left them, under the bed. When he looked up, Jaz was leaning out over the edge of the mattress so that her face was all of three inches away from his.
"So," she asked, pretending to be far more confident than she actually was. "Are you sure you don't want to take advantage of me?"
Sephiroth stood and picked up his folded "costume" pants from the dresser by the window. Then he turned, waved goodnight to her, and headed for the door.
"No? Oh... okay." Jaz turned over so that she was looking at him upside down. "Your loss." She reconsidered and shrugged. "Or mine. Or something. Whatever. ...Boy, I think that tomorrow morning, I'm going to be very glad that you don't speak English."
Sephiroth pushed the door knob's lock button before closing the door behind him.
He was very tired. The boy's video games had been a pleasant distraction for most of the day, but for the past several hours he'd been fighting off sleep. He couldn't sleep until it was safe, until he was alone.
He knew that at the end of the day, something had happened. One of the video games had been... had shown... He forced himself not to remember. Remembering weakened him and allowed Jenova to speak. She was the one weakened now, her only body a few cells within him that lacked the necessary Mako environment to regenerate, but her spirit could still be powerful. At all costs, he could not allow her to take control again.
"~~You must sleep eventually, boy,~~" Jenova purred, her shining blue form stepping into his field of vision. "~~Soon, now, I think.~~"
Sephiroth wordlessly pulled his sweater off over his head and sat down on the couch.
"~~Why do you force yourself to forget, weak one?~~" She smiled nastily, revealing pointed teeth. "~~You're nothing but a child's game in this world. You saw.~~"
"~~It doesn't matter.~~" He removed his sneakers and the black jeans, resisting the urge to fling them at her. He pulled on his silken black pants before wrapping himself in the throw blanket and lying down on the couch.
"~~Doesn't it? You saw her. The Flower Girl. The Cetra. Only a flat image, not even a hologram.~~" Jenova walked around him and sat next to the fireplace, where he'd been the night before. "~~You do not exist. You are a story from someone else's mind, designed to frighten little children.~~"
Now Sephiroth laughed. "~~Whose mind, mother? Yours? You are no more real here than I.~~"
Jenova spoke in a low hiss. "~~I. Am. Not. Your. Mother. I do not accept such a pathetic being as yourself as my offspring. Your mother was a foolish human woman.~~"
"~~No human would ever claim me, Jenova. There is too much of you in me.~~" He held himself steady, fighting against the sudden bitterness that she'd sparked in him. He waited for the pain to start in his bones again. When it didn't come, he relaxed a little. "~~I am myself, Jenova, real or not. And now I am your prison.~~"
"~~You are not!~~" She snapped, losing her temper. "~~You are my vessel! You are nothing but a shell for me to use.~~" But she was losing control of him. The longer he stayed in this Mako-less world, the less he belonged to her.
No. It wasn't the world that was making him stronger. It was that girl. She was ignorant of Sephiroth's true nature and past, and therefore treated him with a simplistic common kindness (along with her other rather primal reactions). The boy was holding on to that unreasoning faith as an anchor.
Jenova huddled into a ball. She'd have to try to get rid of the girl again, and do it right this time.
"~~You are wrong, mother,~~" He responded quietly. "~~Your power grows weaker. You can no longer punish me. ...I won't let you have this world. I won't let it happen again...~~" Sephiroth fell asleep, still defiant.
Jenova sat and thought. Her only physical body here was Sephiroth's, and it was currently not hers to control. But if she could break him again, as she had once... to do that, she'd have to remove this girl.
She didn't necessarily need a physical body in order to push events in the proper direction. All she needed was a little contact.
She reached out, forcing her way through this world's thick, polluted ether, searching for dreaming minds. Dreams opened doors.
Eventually, Jenova found what she was looking for. She'd seen evidence of it all day - this place was ripe with unstable minds.
She curled into the mind that she'd found and explored, then found the proper buttons to push. The wordless concepts formed easily in the fracturing mind.
Females.
Rejection - being passed over.
Can't stand any more.
Jenova pushed a little further, savoring the violent turn that this one's dreams so readily took. Her victim barely needed any help... but her needs were specific. Red hair. Mocking. Kill.
There. It wouldn't be long before this one awoke, ready to act. It would be a simple thing to point this one in the girl's direction...
Just now, Jenova was too tired. Any action in this world required a great effort on her part. If she lost too much energy, she would be unable to return to her cells in Sephiroth's body, and she would... die.
Jenova skulked back into Sephiroth's sleeping form, exhausted by the time she made it back inside. It would've been so much easier if he had been dreaming...
All this work to attain the simple goal of godhood. She wasn't even sure if that would be possible on this world - she'd come so close on the Mako-Earth, only to have it taken away at the last moment.
Jenova sighed. Dictatorship might have to do.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its story, and characters (particularly Sephiroth) are the property, copyright and trademark of Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes. The same goes for Clock Tower, Tekken 2, Soul Blade, Star Trek, Dark Shadows, Lost in Space, Pepsi, and any other games, television shows, movies, etc. mentioned in this fanfic: all belong to their respective owners. Clock Tower, its story, and characters (particularly Scissorman) are the property, copyright, and trademark of Ascii Entertainment.
Eight
The movie marathon consisted of several of the best sci-fi and fantasy movies, accompanied by a roomful of loud, costumed fans. Sephiroth understood little of what was going on, but thought that the films were interesting anyhow.
After two movies, Jaz, Sephiroth, Jamie, and Katie were invited to one of the other suites by an enthusiastic group of friends who wanted to watch television shows instead. The term "drinking game" came up more than once; after some deliberation, Katie took Jamie up to bed before he fell asleep where he sat. Jaz took the opportunity to change into normal clothing - jeans and a green velour shirt - and Sephiroth put on the jeans and gray sweater again. Then they and Katie joined several members of the Space Station Monongahela Star Trek fan club in their suite to play the Dr. Who drinking game.
...Which would have been fine, had someone not thoughtfully spiked all five bottles of Pepsi about halfway through "The Horns of the Nimon". After that episode, someone decided to change the game and put in several episodes of Lost in Space and Dark Shadows. Both of those shows had drinking games that inherently involved more drinking.
Jaz was having trouble keeping her balance by the second episode of Lost in Space, at which point she decided that she should be going back to her room. Sephiroth, who had watched (but luckily not participated in) the proceedings with some amusement, was quick to pick up on Jaz's leaving motions.
"But it's only 4:30!" Someone called after her as the door closed. At this point, Jaz couldn't help it - she giggled.
"Gawd, I wish I was her," a female voice - not Katie's, for once - carried loudly through the door. Jaz began to laugh harder and would have fallen had Sephiroth not held on to her arm.
On the elevator up to their floor, Jaz fell heavily against his chest, knocking him back against the wall. She laughed again, more quietly this time, and said something. She seemed to forget to pull away; Sephiroth had the distinct idea that she would have, had she been thinking clearly, and pushed her away just enough so that she was upright again. She said something else, still smiling, but he caught the self-mocking tone in her voice. He sighed, helping her to walk as the elevator doors opened.
"...What did they put in that soda, anyway?" Jaz mumbled, fumbling for her suite's key card in her jeans. She finally found it and opened the door. She dropped the card as she stumbled inside; Sephiroth picked it up and laid it on the table near the door.
Jaz seemed to be about to fall off of her feet, so Sephiroth led her into the bedroom and let her slip down onto the bed.
It was very late. He had a battle to prepare for.
He stooped to make sure that his armor and sword were still where he'd left them, under the bed. When he looked up, Jaz was leaning out over the edge of the mattress so that her face was all of three inches away from his.
"So," she asked, pretending to be far more confident than she actually was. "Are you sure you don't want to take advantage of me?"
Sephiroth stood and picked up his folded "costume" pants from the dresser by the window. Then he turned, waved goodnight to her, and headed for the door.
"No? Oh... okay." Jaz turned over so that she was looking at him upside down. "Your loss." She reconsidered and shrugged. "Or mine. Or something. Whatever. ...Boy, I think that tomorrow morning, I'm going to be very glad that you don't speak English."
Sephiroth pushed the door knob's lock button before closing the door behind him.
He was very tired. The boy's video games had been a pleasant distraction for most of the day, but for the past several hours he'd been fighting off sleep. He couldn't sleep until it was safe, until he was alone.
He knew that at the end of the day, something had happened. One of the video games had been... had shown... He forced himself not to remember. Remembering weakened him and allowed Jenova to speak. She was the one weakened now, her only body a few cells within him that lacked the necessary Mako environment to regenerate, but her spirit could still be powerful. At all costs, he could not allow her to take control again.
"~~You must sleep eventually, boy,~~" Jenova purred, her shining blue form stepping into his field of vision. "~~Soon, now, I think.~~"
Sephiroth wordlessly pulled his sweater off over his head and sat down on the couch.
"~~Why do you force yourself to forget, weak one?~~" She smiled nastily, revealing pointed teeth. "~~You're nothing but a child's game in this world. You saw.~~"
"~~It doesn't matter.~~" He removed his sneakers and the black jeans, resisting the urge to fling them at her. He pulled on his silken black pants before wrapping himself in the throw blanket and lying down on the couch.
"~~Doesn't it? You saw her. The Flower Girl. The Cetra. Only a flat image, not even a hologram.~~" Jenova walked around him and sat next to the fireplace, where he'd been the night before. "~~You do not exist. You are a story from someone else's mind, designed to frighten little children.~~"
Now Sephiroth laughed. "~~Whose mind, mother? Yours? You are no more real here than I.~~"
Jenova spoke in a low hiss. "~~I. Am. Not. Your. Mother. I do not accept such a pathetic being as yourself as my offspring. Your mother was a foolish human woman.~~"
"~~No human would ever claim me, Jenova. There is too much of you in me.~~" He held himself steady, fighting against the sudden bitterness that she'd sparked in him. He waited for the pain to start in his bones again. When it didn't come, he relaxed a little. "~~I am myself, Jenova, real or not. And now I am your prison.~~"
"~~You are not!~~" She snapped, losing her temper. "~~You are my vessel! You are nothing but a shell for me to use.~~" But she was losing control of him. The longer he stayed in this Mako-less world, the less he belonged to her.
No. It wasn't the world that was making him stronger. It was that girl. She was ignorant of Sephiroth's true nature and past, and therefore treated him with a simplistic common kindness (along with her other rather primal reactions). The boy was holding on to that unreasoning faith as an anchor.
Jenova huddled into a ball. She'd have to try to get rid of the girl again, and do it right this time.
"~~You are wrong, mother,~~" He responded quietly. "~~Your power grows weaker. You can no longer punish me. ...I won't let you have this world. I won't let it happen again...~~" Sephiroth fell asleep, still defiant.
Jenova sat and thought. Her only physical body here was Sephiroth's, and it was currently not hers to control. But if she could break him again, as she had once... to do that, she'd have to remove this girl.
She didn't necessarily need a physical body in order to push events in the proper direction. All she needed was a little contact.
She reached out, forcing her way through this world's thick, polluted ether, searching for dreaming minds. Dreams opened doors.
Eventually, Jenova found what she was looking for. She'd seen evidence of it all day - this place was ripe with unstable minds.
She curled into the mind that she'd found and explored, then found the proper buttons to push. The wordless concepts formed easily in the fracturing mind.
Females.
Rejection - being passed over.
Can't stand any more.
Jenova pushed a little further, savoring the violent turn that this one's dreams so readily took. Her victim barely needed any help... but her needs were specific. Red hair. Mocking. Kill.
There. It wouldn't be long before this one awoke, ready to act. It would be a simple thing to point this one in the girl's direction...
Just now, Jenova was too tired. Any action in this world required a great effort on her part. If she lost too much energy, she would be unable to return to her cells in Sephiroth's body, and she would... die.
Jenova skulked back into Sephiroth's sleeping form, exhausted by the time she made it back inside. It would've been so much easier if he had been dreaming...
All this work to attain the simple goal of godhood. She wasn't even sure if that would be possible on this world - she'd come so close on the Mako-Earth, only to have it taken away at the last moment.
Jenova sighed. Dictatorship might have to do.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its story, and characters (particularly Sephiroth) are the property, copyright and trademark of Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes. The same goes for Clock Tower, Tekken 2, Soul Blade, Star Trek, Dark Shadows, Lost in Space, Pepsi, and any other games, television shows, movies, etc. mentioned in this fanfic: all belong to their respective owners. Clock Tower, its story, and characters (particularly Scissorman) are the property, copyright, and trademark of Ascii Entertainment.
