DISCLAIMER: I do not own ff7-verse nor these characters. They still belong to Squaresoft. Hmm, I wonder why I'm not that surpriced? Um yeah, the poetry belongs to whoever wrote it. (I love quotes.)
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is an epic A/S story. I luv the pairing + Sephiroth's been my secret obsession for like since time began. Any OOC behaviour you may notice in this fic is entirely due to the fact that I refuse to accept Sephiroth as the ultimate evil-guy. How could anyone that pretty be that evil.. Just not possible. To make matters worse for all of ya people who expect quality: english is not my native tongue, so if you see any weird language, that'll be me making silly mistakes. Oh yeah, and do expect me to ramble in this manner in the future also.. It's what I live for. ^_^ Thanks to all of you who have or will review me!! I really appreciate it!!
CHAPTER 1.
And all my days
are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy grey eye glances,
And where thy footstep gleams -
In what ethereal dances,
By what eternal streams.
- Edgar Allan Poe -
What's taking you so long? Sephiroth gently rubbed his temples as he felt Jenova reach further into his mind. Her impatient voice had been shrieking in Sephiroth's ears for hours now, causing his head to throb in pain. He didn't bother to answer his mother, knowing she was expecting him to. Instead he slid into the stairway of Shin-Ra Headquarters quietly as a shadow. As the metallic door closed behind him, Sephiroth's pasific green eyes scanned the upper platform. The staircase was eerily silent, the only sound being the gentle humming of Shin-Ra's air-conditioning vents. Sephiroth held his weapon of choise, the long-bladed Masamune, tightly in his grasp, searching the silence for any nervous footsteps. After assuring himself he was indeed alone, Sephiroth rested Masamune's blade against his shoulder, and began the ascent towards the upper floors.
Out an old habit Sephiroth moved with his back against the wall, looking further ahead for any enemy resistance. He was too close to Jenova to let it all fall into pieces because of a moments carelessness. Sephiroth! Jenova bawled, with such intensity Sephiroth was forced to stop.
"Yes?" He asked quietly, resting the back of his head against the cold surface of the concrete wall behind him.
Where on earth are you!? Jenova asked, her voice slightly irritated.
"You know I'm on my way.." Sephiroth answered wearily. He had voiced these same thoughts several times already, and Jenova's apparent lack of trust for him made Sephiroth feel a little offended. "Have a little faith.. for goodness' sake.." Sephiroth said with an evilish grin. His words seemed to soothe Jenova's nerves though, as he soon felt Jenova loosening her grip on his mind. After wiping a few pearls of sweat from his forehead, Sephiroth took another cautious step towards his destination.
It had been a stroke of luck for Sephiroth that the seventh sector of Midgar had collapsed the day he had planned to rescue Jenova. He hadn't spotted any guards outside the building, Sephiroth figured they had been sent off to investigate the collapse or to search for any possible survivors. Still, thinking like the SOLDIER-general he used to be, Sephiroth despised such negligence of security. President Shinra had become unwary on his old days, Sephiroth thought, and to the benefit of his enemies. Without the character flaws President Shinra had, his cocky and overly confident behaviour, such resistance groups as the AVALANCHE would never have been born. Not that Sephiroth really cared, he loathed the President since the man never did his own dirty work. Sephiroth could still remember the smug grin on the Presidents face, when he had discovered yet another way to crush Shin-Ra's enemies. He would send Sephiroth to do the hard work for him, while he sat in his office, being massaged by his secretary. President Shinra never woke up with cold sweat all over his body, hearing the screams of the people he had killed still echoing his ears. No, all the President had to cope with was the statistics that 'the problem' was solved without losing any men.
Even the way Shinra had taken control over the entire world had been cowardly in Sephiroth's opinion, since he had only grown his empire of Mako-energy, slowly overrunning all the local authorities. There was never any major bloodshed, people merely submitted to the circumstances, and payed the huge electricity bills Shin-Ra incorporated kept sending them. With every gil Shinra got, he strengthened his dominance over the entire world.. People probably knew it all back then, but couldn't refuse the comforts Shin-Ra was offering them. Mako was used for heating houses in the winter, for cooking meals, for watching TV and for lighting up streets. All that meant a lot more to the humans than the truth of Shin-Ra's activities. Sephiroth knew the prize the Planet was paying.
He understood that Mako was in fact the lifeblood of the Planet, the spirits of humans, plants, animals.. even his own ancestors. And all those empty years at SOLDIER he had been promoting the destruction of those souls, in order to let more peple have central heating! Sephiroth clenched his fist in anger, as the thought of President Shin-Ra enjoying such decay around him grew unbearable. Shinra had to die. But to Sephiroth, everyone else was just as guilty as the President. If people had any decency, they would've stopped Shinra years ago. Even if they knew, Sephiroth concluded, they wouldn't want to give up anything. The selfish, egoistic bastards humen are.. They had made their bed, Sephiroth smirked evilly, it was time they slept in it.
Jenova understood how he felt, since she herself had been betrayed by humans. The both of them knew that sometimes, violence was the only language people understood. Sephiroth agreed with his mother, that humans had no place on this earth, since they only damaged it. The cetra were different.. They were superior to the humans, and tried to protect the planet instead of destroying it. They were the only one's who had a right to live. Bitter hatred fueling his being, Sephiroth paced faster up the stairs, towards the summoning voice of Jenova. Any infinite power he might receive along the way was only a bonus. Not that he complained, Sephiroth chuckled. God-status meant everything for someone like him, who had once sworen to become so strong nobody would be able to hurt him again..
* * * * *
Aeris Gainsborough opened her eyes slowly, almost as if she was afraid of what she would see first. To her relief, Aeris noticed she was alone in a brightly lit laboratory. She remembered vaigly, how she had been brought here from Sector 7. She remembered the explosion as the plate above collapsed on top of the slums below. It had been too horrible to comprehend, Aeris sighed. All those lives destroyed, just because the President of Shin-Ra Incorporated wanted revenge for AVALANCHE blowing up their reactors. Aeris realized people had also died when the Reactors were exploded.. She had never thought anybody's death could be a good thing, but now, as she was held captive in Shin-Ra's laboratories, Aeris was beginning to see the point in AVALANCHE's struggle to end it all whatever the cost. The slum residents had died just because they had been in the way - as if it wasn't enough for Shinra to let them live their lives in poverty, he also had to kill them like they were not even proper humans.. Aeris shuddered, and discarded President Shin-Ra from her mind. It wasn't healthy to think about such a person too much.
Aeris stood up from the floor, and noticed that she was being held in a tank that had walls of thick glass. As she leaned against the cool, smooth surface of the glass, she wondered if Cloud and the others had made it out of Sector 7 slums before the plate above collapsed. She bit her lip in worry, but her instincts told her everything wold work out. Aeris smiled to herself, as she thought of the blond haired man who had literally appeared out of nowhere and crashed into her life. She did feel attracted to him, Aeris finally admitted, but she couldn't help feeling she was getting in between Cloud and Tifa. Even though Tifa constantly denied there was anything going on between the two, Aeris noticed the nervous glances Cloud and Tifa exchanged all the time. It was so obvious, Aeris sighed, she wondered how come Cloud hadn't already picked up the signals Tifa was sending him. Maybe it was because they had so much history, Aeris pondered, it was possible Cloud considered Tifa to be nothing more than a friend. Maybe there was still a chance for Aeris after all.. But Aeris didn't feel right about stealing Tifa's childhood sweetheart from her. It was one of those unwritten rules of friendship, never get involved with your friends boyfriends. So what, if she couldn't have Cloud.. At least she had friends. Aeris sighed, she hadn't felt as lonely in a long, long while. "Urgh. Stop thinking about this, Aeris." She told herself in a quiet voice, almost as if she was afraid of someone catching her talking to herself.
Aeris began to study the surrounding laboratory with a concentrated expression on her face. The walls were covered by similar tanks as hers, only they were filled with disgusting monsters preserved in yellowish liquid. In the middle of the room there was a metallic examination table. Aeris shivered as she took a long look at the black leather belts resting on top of the table. Something told her this was a very evil place. She could not tell whether it was the Planet talking to her, or just her common sence. Aeris had to close her eyes, as she looked more carefully at the monsters in the tanks. She saw a hint of something.. human in them. Who could turn humans into such twisted beings, Aeris wondered? She concluded such a man would surely be more of a moster than any of his creations.
Aeris sat down on the floor, feeling a bizarre ache clenching her heart. Something about this place seemed familiar to her. Allthough Aeris remembered practically nothing of her childhood, of the times before the tragic death of her biological mother, Aeris doubted she could have ever visited such a creepy place. But why did this place fill her soul with such sadness, that she felt tears burning her eyes? It was such a bizarre feeling, Aeris mused, and it wasn't the first time she had ever felt it. Five years ago, when Zack had dissappeared, Aeris had felt it too - not as strong as now though. What did it mean? Aeris bit her lip in worry. Was Zack still alive? She reached for the white materia pearl, that she had once attached to the pink ribbon holding up her hair.
"Work now, stupid thing." Aeris pouted at the shiny crystal. It held no answers for her, even if it had once belonged to her mother. Aeris wished she could speak with Ifalna, just once more, because she would certainly know if Aeris had ever visited the Shin-Ra building before. "Maybe my mum had worked here.. or my dad?" Aeris tilted her head gently, putting the shiny white orb back into it's place.
* * * * *
Sephiroth's eyes glazed over, as he stared at the long trail of blood on his sword. He had been forced to kill a few unlucky guards, that had crossed his path. Actually, he had been forced to kill some who tried to run away, too. Sephiroth smirked evilly, their lives were not of any significance to him. When Jenova's plan would be fulfilled, they would all die anyway. He would become stronger than anyone could imagine, Sephiroth grinned, wiping the blood from his sword with a white piece of cloth. He dropped the blood-stained cloth into a nearby trash-bin, carelessly jumping over corpses of dead SOLDIER members. Passing the specimen-cells' hallway, Sephiroth gave the narrow passage a quick glance.
Sephiroth! Jenova hissed poisonously. I have very little patience right now. I grant it you understand the position I'm in.. She warned, with a nervous tremor in her voice.
"Yes, mother." Sephiroth muttered.
Sephiroth had to brace himself for Jenova's contacts, that had become so intense each word seemed like a blow to his head. He nearly ran the short distance to the round cell, where Jenova was being held.
Free me now! Jenova's voice said, a bit more calmly now that it seemed nothing would stand in the way of her escape. Even though the creature imprisoned within the cell was barely alive after years of experimentation, her consiousness was anything but weak. Sephiroth could feel her mind pulsating, numbing out every sensation within his body. It was a nice feeling, sometimes it seemed he could just let go of everything.. not remembering or caring.. How he always wanted to be.. Sephiroth blinked, breaking his silent reverie.
He grabbed the metallic handle on the door, turning it until he heard the heavy mechanism klick open. The door slid open with a metallic shriek. "I hope you're grateful." Sephiroth smiled wearily at the pale, purple coloured creature inside, watching nonchalantly as it stretched it's tentacles towards him.
Naturally. Jenova laughed relieved, pulling herself out into the hallway.
Sephiroth watched Jenova drag herself towards the stairs, with an expression of pity and admiration on his face. Jenova's body was bleeding furiously, and Sephiroth realized she would need Mako to heal her injuries. Maybe there was somewhere closeby, where they could go..
"Hello?!" A young girl shouted.
Sephiroth turned his head towards the voice, searching the dimly lit surroundings for enemies. "Is someone out there?" The suffocated voice continued. Sephiroth remembered there was a laboratory nearby, one that Hojo liked to use for breeding specimen. It was likely the voice belonged to Hojo's latest playmate. "Please help me, someone..?" The girls voice broke, and she started sobbing uncontrollably. Sephiroth tilted his head towards the voice. He was curious of her, like he was practically being summoned by her voice. Sephiroth had the strangest feeling he had heard her voice somewhere, before.. a lifetime ago.
Sephiroth walked towards the brightly lit laboratory, finally seeing the girl locked up in one of the glass-tanks. She was a beautiful creature, even though her eyes were puffy and red of tears. He blinked at the sight of her, sitting on the floor of the container. She had chestnut-coloured hair and bright emerald eyes, her frail body was covered by a pink gound and a red leather jacket. She also had a black choker around her neck, and Sephiroth caught himself staring at her in the eyes.
"H-hello." The girl spoke.
"Hello." Sephiroth answered her, a bit stunned himself.
"My name's Aeris Gainsborough.. Who are you..?" The girl asked, wiping her tears with her small hands.
Sephiroth noticed she was blushing a bit, as though she was embarrassed he had found her in such a state. He smiled to himself, it was a reaction far too familiar to him. "I'm Sephiroth."
This chapter is not my personal favourite, but it's necessary for the plot.. Quite a cliffhanger there in the end, huh? I hope Sephiroth seemed evil enough? I always make the mistake of writing Seph too nice.. I have this theory you see, that he's not exactly insane in the beginning, but Jenova's presence eventually corrupts him. In the beginning of the game he has reasons to support Jenova, later he becomes a mere part of Jenova. (I call this the baby-step-mind-merge theory.) That's why he killed Aeris, he wasn't exactly himself anymore. The Seph Cloud and Tifa (and Aeris..?) knew was already dead at that point, Jenova merely used his body and memories to pursue her own goals. (Urgh. I'm rambling again..) Agree, ne?