From the author of
An Autobiography of Vincent Valentine
Phoenix Down.
Part Delta
Hesed
"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,"
(Edgar Allen Poe 'The Raven')
(Sephiroth continues about his adolescence)
Yes. A mother. Sephiroth wished that he had a mother. Every time he brought it up with Hojo, he would be dismissed or ignored.
Once, Hojo snapped at him.
"Shut up. Don't ask. Now, are you ready for your injection? Where is that arm?"
Sephiroth sighed, rolled up his sleeve, and would think about something else.
It wasn't the pain, or the needles, it was the routine of it all.
Daily Mako injections.
Hojo told the young Sephiroth that it was for his own good. His health depended upon it. Hojo told him that he simply aged differently than other boys.
Sephiroth accepted that, because he lived with it his whole life. It's just the way things were.
The Mako injections DID- for the most part- greatly slow his aging process (It just took the right dosage to work properly.) It nearly slowed down to that of a normal rate. A year would be a year, not five.
"Hey, Seph, how's it goin'?"
Sephiroth had his head on the desk. He sat alone in the lab. He felt lonely, as many a teenage boys often feel.
"...Fine."
"Tiered?"
"...Yeah."
"Did you hear about professor Gast?"
"Yeah."
"Did you know that he had a little girl?"
"...No."
"They say that she's a Centra. Well, half-breed. Wonder what happened to Ifalna."
Sephiroth raised his head.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, you know, Gast and Ifalna were-"
"Yeah, I know."
"And Gast was sticking his nose into business that wasn't his. Ifalna had his baby- SHE was a Centra. And-"
"And-"
"The baby is gone."
"Oh. So." Sephiroth lowered his head, and rested it upon his crossed arms.
"Cheer up."
"No...I hate this. I hate growin' up in a fuckin' lab like I'm some sort of experiment. You know? I really- REALLY envy you."
She went silent and stood in the shadows. She knew Sephiroth WAS in fact, an experiment- or so that's what the rumors say.
"I was doing some reading..." Sephiroth continued quietly.
"Yeah?"
"And... Well, I don't know. Funny that you mentioned Centra." He raised his head, and looked at her.
"There is a lot of stuff in this lab. Old files. Stuff like that. Books. A lot of old stuff. Did- uhm- Hojo ever say anything to you about my mom?"
"No. Why?"
"I don't know who she is. I run over things that mention Centra. Maybe my mom was a Centra."
"Oh. I don't know, Seph. I'm... I'm sorry..."
"Sorry about--?"
"Your mom."
"Oh." Sephiroth looked puzzled. What did SHE have to be sorry over. He didn't know if his mother was dead or not. He didn't even know her name.
"Gast was studying Centra. That's what the whole thing about Ifalna was about." She added.
"Yeah, I know." Sephiroth muttered as he slowly stood.
"How is your SOLDIER training with Hojo goin?"
"Shitty. He pisses me off. I don't want to join SOLDIER."
"What do you want to do, then?"
"Won't laugh if I tell you?" Sephiroth's serious expression slowly cracked into a grin. She shook her head.
He walked over to another ill lit lab desk, and uncovered an antique looking radio/tape player. He pushed a pile of papers off of it, and dusted off the buttons with his fingers.
"What's that?"
He didn't reply, but his grin remained.
He pushed the silver on button.
The radio came on.
"...KQM. 104.8. This is Mathias filling in for Arabell. Hey! Have you ever wanted to get rid of those unwanted nose-hairs? Ew- gross! Then why don't you try new, "exploda-hair!" Works like a charm! Just pop the top and BAM- explode those hairs away! BAM! 'Mandy, have you been using 'exploda-hair?' your nose looks so hairless!' 'Why, yes, thank you for noticing, Cheri! The only side-effects are burnt lips, blisters, weight-gain, bloating, dry mouth, alien abduction, spontaneous human combustion, and in some instances and rare occurrences, death!' 'Oh, really, Mandy?! I should try it then, boy, is my nose hairy!' 'Holy shit, Cheri-"
Sephiroth changed the channel, he continued flipping through it until a classical opera peered through the static filled wave and ancient speaker grate.
"Oh, Seph, what are you doing?" She giggled.
"Sh- Wait. What is this?" Sephiroth closely listened to what was playing. The moment he recognized the piece, he began singing beautifully along.
"Lunge da lei
per me non v'ha diletto!
Volaron già tre lune
dacchè la mia Violetta
agi per me lasciò, dovizie, amori;
e le pompose feste
ov'agli omaggi avvezza,
vedea schiavo ciascun
di sua bellezza..."*
*(Life without her
holds no delights for me!
Three months have passed already
since my Violetta
gave up riches, love affairs
and splendid parties for me,
a life where she was courted
and where she enslaved everyone
with her beauty..."**
**Taken from the opera: La Traviata
Il Trovatore
DE' MIEI BOLLENTI SPIRITI (... OF MY IMPETUOUS SPIRITS)
Music: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Translation: Phoenix Down.
She nearly fell backwards in her chair giggling. Sephiroth immediately stopped, and looked at her seriously.
"Am I really that bad?" He asked
"No.. no no. God, no. Your just so good! I'd have never thought-"
"What?" He asked, clicking off the radio, and feeling slightly embarrassed.
He felt the blood rush to his face as he turned bright red.
He was TRYING to impress her, and she was just laughing.
"I'd have never thought that YOU were an- uh- OPERA singer!"
"Well, I like music."
"Yeah, I know." She said kicking her feet as she sat.
"I want to start a band." He said absently.
"An opera band?" She laughed.
"NO!" He snapped, still being feeling embarrassed and red.
He dropped his head.
"Seph?" She asked.
"Yeah?" He responded, not raising his eyes to meet hers.
"Will you... kiss me?"
"Kathryn... I..." He looked up at her, and before he could gracefully close his eyes or know what to do in this situation, she closed her eyes and forcibly kissed him.
The kiss was awkward.
He didn't know what do with his tongue; it was after all, his first time.
He put his hand on the back of her copper red head.
She kissed like an experienced fifteen-year-old, slightly wet and slobbery and her tongue was everywhere.
She pulled away, having taken charge. He smiled into her freckly, tanned face and light blue eyes. Her fan of orange lashes brushed against his cheek.
He was STILL bright red.
Butterflies danced in his stomach.
He had no idea what to say, and when he tried to say anything, it was a line of cracked stutters and nervous noises.
She giggled.
She giggled a lot.
"I want to join your band." She whispered.
"Oh..." His voice cracked.
She giggled again.
"I know some people who can play instruments!"
Sephiroth was redder than her hair.
Kathryn was Sephiroth's first real girlfriend. She told him all his secrets, all his inner feelings, and all his manly aspirations. He took up, and played fairly badly, the electric guitar. He did little singing- Kathryn took up the vocals.
She sang poorly, but since she threw a fit every time that she did not get her way, Sephiroth subsided.
"Seph's whipped." Jake, the electric bassist noted.
Casey, the drummer, nodded and gestured a whip in the air. "Whuchee! Whipped, man. It's not fair, because I KNOW Seph can sing. I've like, heard him before, man. He can SING! It's not fair. His girlfriend sounds like a banshee."
Although the Mako injections slowed Sephiroth's growth rate dramatically, he still aged slightly faster than other boys. Especially when Hojo left him to do his own injections.
Often, he wouldn't take them. As a result, Sephiroth began to go gray in his late teen years.
His pimples went away faster than the other teenage boys.
He was taller than the other boys.
His voice was deeper.
Girls by the dozens had a crush on him.
He and Kathryn didn't last long-, as first romances never do.
Other boys his age admired and respected him.
He was in a band, and girls liked him. That was enough to earn heavy respect in high school.
He grew out his hair, and soon it was a long banner of silver resting on his back.
He was more mature than the other boys.
He took over the band's vocals after he and Kathryn broke up, and they played many gigs.
But soon, since his maturity blossomed so quickly, he decided to give up the band- he wanted to do something more with his life.
Plus, he hated hanging out with stoners and beat-nicks.
He decided to finally listen to Hojo, and join SOLDIER.
"After all," He said to himself, "It could quite possibly be the best adult thing to do- and college isn't really for me, I think."
An Autobiography of Vincent Valentine
Phoenix Down.
Part Delta
Hesed
"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,"
(Edgar Allen Poe 'The Raven')
(Sephiroth continues about his adolescence)
Yes. A mother. Sephiroth wished that he had a mother. Every time he brought it up with Hojo, he would be dismissed or ignored.
Once, Hojo snapped at him.
"Shut up. Don't ask. Now, are you ready for your injection? Where is that arm?"
Sephiroth sighed, rolled up his sleeve, and would think about something else.
It wasn't the pain, or the needles, it was the routine of it all.
Daily Mako injections.
Hojo told the young Sephiroth that it was for his own good. His health depended upon it. Hojo told him that he simply aged differently than other boys.
Sephiroth accepted that, because he lived with it his whole life. It's just the way things were.
The Mako injections DID- for the most part- greatly slow his aging process (It just took the right dosage to work properly.) It nearly slowed down to that of a normal rate. A year would be a year, not five.
"Hey, Seph, how's it goin'?"
Sephiroth had his head on the desk. He sat alone in the lab. He felt lonely, as many a teenage boys often feel.
"...Fine."
"Tiered?"
"...Yeah."
"Did you hear about professor Gast?"
"Yeah."
"Did you know that he had a little girl?"
"...No."
"They say that she's a Centra. Well, half-breed. Wonder what happened to Ifalna."
Sephiroth raised his head.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, you know, Gast and Ifalna were-"
"Yeah, I know."
"And Gast was sticking his nose into business that wasn't his. Ifalna had his baby- SHE was a Centra. And-"
"And-"
"The baby is gone."
"Oh. So." Sephiroth lowered his head, and rested it upon his crossed arms.
"Cheer up."
"No...I hate this. I hate growin' up in a fuckin' lab like I'm some sort of experiment. You know? I really- REALLY envy you."
She went silent and stood in the shadows. She knew Sephiroth WAS in fact, an experiment- or so that's what the rumors say.
"I was doing some reading..." Sephiroth continued quietly.
"Yeah?"
"And... Well, I don't know. Funny that you mentioned Centra." He raised his head, and looked at her.
"There is a lot of stuff in this lab. Old files. Stuff like that. Books. A lot of old stuff. Did- uhm- Hojo ever say anything to you about my mom?"
"No. Why?"
"I don't know who she is. I run over things that mention Centra. Maybe my mom was a Centra."
"Oh. I don't know, Seph. I'm... I'm sorry..."
"Sorry about--?"
"Your mom."
"Oh." Sephiroth looked puzzled. What did SHE have to be sorry over. He didn't know if his mother was dead or not. He didn't even know her name.
"Gast was studying Centra. That's what the whole thing about Ifalna was about." She added.
"Yeah, I know." Sephiroth muttered as he slowly stood.
"How is your SOLDIER training with Hojo goin?"
"Shitty. He pisses me off. I don't want to join SOLDIER."
"What do you want to do, then?"
"Won't laugh if I tell you?" Sephiroth's serious expression slowly cracked into a grin. She shook her head.
He walked over to another ill lit lab desk, and uncovered an antique looking radio/tape player. He pushed a pile of papers off of it, and dusted off the buttons with his fingers.
"What's that?"
He didn't reply, but his grin remained.
He pushed the silver on button.
The radio came on.
"...KQM. 104.8. This is Mathias filling in for Arabell. Hey! Have you ever wanted to get rid of those unwanted nose-hairs? Ew- gross! Then why don't you try new, "exploda-hair!" Works like a charm! Just pop the top and BAM- explode those hairs away! BAM! 'Mandy, have you been using 'exploda-hair?' your nose looks so hairless!' 'Why, yes, thank you for noticing, Cheri! The only side-effects are burnt lips, blisters, weight-gain, bloating, dry mouth, alien abduction, spontaneous human combustion, and in some instances and rare occurrences, death!' 'Oh, really, Mandy?! I should try it then, boy, is my nose hairy!' 'Holy shit, Cheri-"
Sephiroth changed the channel, he continued flipping through it until a classical opera peered through the static filled wave and ancient speaker grate.
"Oh, Seph, what are you doing?" She giggled.
"Sh- Wait. What is this?" Sephiroth closely listened to what was playing. The moment he recognized the piece, he began singing beautifully along.
"Lunge da lei
per me non v'ha diletto!
Volaron già tre lune
dacchè la mia Violetta
agi per me lasciò, dovizie, amori;
e le pompose feste
ov'agli omaggi avvezza,
vedea schiavo ciascun
di sua bellezza..."*
*(Life without her
holds no delights for me!
Three months have passed already
since my Violetta
gave up riches, love affairs
and splendid parties for me,
a life where she was courted
and where she enslaved everyone
with her beauty..."**
**Taken from the opera: La Traviata
Il Trovatore
DE' MIEI BOLLENTI SPIRITI (... OF MY IMPETUOUS SPIRITS)
Music: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Translation: Phoenix Down.
She nearly fell backwards in her chair giggling. Sephiroth immediately stopped, and looked at her seriously.
"Am I really that bad?" He asked
"No.. no no. God, no. Your just so good! I'd have never thought-"
"What?" He asked, clicking off the radio, and feeling slightly embarrassed.
He felt the blood rush to his face as he turned bright red.
He was TRYING to impress her, and she was just laughing.
"I'd have never thought that YOU were an- uh- OPERA singer!"
"Well, I like music."
"Yeah, I know." She said kicking her feet as she sat.
"I want to start a band." He said absently.
"An opera band?" She laughed.
"NO!" He snapped, still being feeling embarrassed and red.
He dropped his head.
"Seph?" She asked.
"Yeah?" He responded, not raising his eyes to meet hers.
"Will you... kiss me?"
"Kathryn... I..." He looked up at her, and before he could gracefully close his eyes or know what to do in this situation, she closed her eyes and forcibly kissed him.
The kiss was awkward.
He didn't know what do with his tongue; it was after all, his first time.
He put his hand on the back of her copper red head.
She kissed like an experienced fifteen-year-old, slightly wet and slobbery and her tongue was everywhere.
She pulled away, having taken charge. He smiled into her freckly, tanned face and light blue eyes. Her fan of orange lashes brushed against his cheek.
He was STILL bright red.
Butterflies danced in his stomach.
He had no idea what to say, and when he tried to say anything, it was a line of cracked stutters and nervous noises.
She giggled.
She giggled a lot.
"I want to join your band." She whispered.
"Oh..." His voice cracked.
She giggled again.
"I know some people who can play instruments!"
Sephiroth was redder than her hair.
Kathryn was Sephiroth's first real girlfriend. She told him all his secrets, all his inner feelings, and all his manly aspirations. He took up, and played fairly badly, the electric guitar. He did little singing- Kathryn took up the vocals.
She sang poorly, but since she threw a fit every time that she did not get her way, Sephiroth subsided.
"Seph's whipped." Jake, the electric bassist noted.
Casey, the drummer, nodded and gestured a whip in the air. "Whuchee! Whipped, man. It's not fair, because I KNOW Seph can sing. I've like, heard him before, man. He can SING! It's not fair. His girlfriend sounds like a banshee."
Although the Mako injections slowed Sephiroth's growth rate dramatically, he still aged slightly faster than other boys. Especially when Hojo left him to do his own injections.
Often, he wouldn't take them. As a result, Sephiroth began to go gray in his late teen years.
His pimples went away faster than the other teenage boys.
He was taller than the other boys.
His voice was deeper.
Girls by the dozens had a crush on him.
He and Kathryn didn't last long-, as first romances never do.
Other boys his age admired and respected him.
He was in a band, and girls liked him. That was enough to earn heavy respect in high school.
He grew out his hair, and soon it was a long banner of silver resting on his back.
He was more mature than the other boys.
He took over the band's vocals after he and Kathryn broke up, and they played many gigs.
But soon, since his maturity blossomed so quickly, he decided to give up the band- he wanted to do something more with his life.
Plus, he hated hanging out with stoners and beat-nicks.
He decided to finally listen to Hojo, and join SOLDIER.
"After all," He said to himself, "It could quite possibly be the best adult thing to do- and college isn't really for me, I think."