Author's Notes:

Jenova deals with the thorn in her side.

"Estuans interius

Ira vehementi"

Sephiroth tossed in his bed, deep in some mysterious dream. Little known to him, his alien 'benefactor' had been sending him every dream he had ever had, filling his subconscious with thoughts of conquest and dominion. Tonight, Jenova had created an image of Sephiroth as her defender, her tool of terror and power. She had allowed Sephiroth to fill in the rest, and had come up with some rather interesting things. Currently, he was imagining himself in some misshapen, yet strangely ...perfect... form... Sephiroth's upper body, but with a few crucial differences. His right arm was instead a huge wing with brown, red, and dark blue membrane instead of feathers. His head and upper chest were backlit by two large interlinked golden rings, and his hair floated upward in a shimmering silver double topknot. Below his waist, however, all semblance of humanity ended. Here he had six wings covered in white feathers mixed with brilliant sapphire and yellow slowly undulated, keeping him aloft, and giving him an air of supreme grace and majesty. This strange dream-Sephiroth hovered against a gently swirling mass of amethyst and obsidian clouds, giving the impression that this being dwelt in some heavenly, otherworldly place.

In his sleep, Sephiroth mumbled a name.

Savior Sephiroth.

Once a thing is given a name, it comes into existence. Savior Sephiroth currently existed only in Sephiroth and Jenova's minds, but soon it would emerge and wreak its terrible havoc in the name of Jenova.

Sephiroth was chanting in his sleep.

*****

Professor Gast tiptoed into the dark lab, trying not to attract any attention. He looked around, then went over to his desk and started searching for his notes. And couldn't find them.

"Looking for something?" said a familiar voice. Gast whirled around in surprise, and the lights flicked on, momentarily blinding him.

"I had a feeling you might come here for your notes."

Gast gasped with shock. How had Hojo, for the voice was undoubtedly his, known?

"How did I know? I just ... had a feeling." Hojo waved the notes enticingly. "Want them? Just try. They're no longer your property. You're being cut from the Project."

"But...why? I've done nothing!" Gast was indignant.

"That's just it. You've done nothing lately. Just hanging around up North, pretending to look for artifacts! You still have most of your ties with the Shin-Ra, but you're no longer a part of the Project." Hojo turned around. "You know, these notes really are quite interesting. I'm sure they'll prove useful. You, however, are not. You have fifteen minutes to clean out your desk. if you take any longer, then you'll be shot to shit. Any questions? No? Good."

Hojo turned and left. Gast started after him, but the sudden appearance of several members of SOLDIER forced him to change his mind. He started to pack up.

*****

How fascinating! The deviousness of her favorite pawn had no limits! Now the only one who could really do anything to stop her was exiled, free to consort that Cetra wench he had lately taken as a lover. The mysteries of human love were beyond Jenova, but the small being's desire burned with a brightness that disgusted her. Let him sit around in the North and plot against her. There was no danger from the Cetra, and soon she would be able to test the strength of the sword she had forged in Lucretia's womb. She was not sure that the sword would not break, but if it did...the humans would bury the pieces and she could start anew.

*****

The crypt beneath the mansion in Nibelheim resonated with the shrieks of a madman. A coffin rocked and tossed on its base as though it was possessed, and it a way it was. Inside the shaking casket, the tortured body of a former Turk writhed and twisted in a deep and unearthly sleep.

Suddenly, it was still. In the cold darkness of the coffin, a pair of deep red eyes opened. A thin mouth parted, revealing pointed teeth, and it screamed.

Above the crypt, in the open air outside the mansion, passersby crossed themselves with terror and made the sign of the evil eye. All day long, there had been a terrible banging and clattering. Now it was silent, but it was not destined to last. The still air above the town seemed to inhale with anticipation, and then a single word was screamed from the dank earth that sounded as though it had been emitted from the bleeding throat of Hell:

LUUUCCRETIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

*****

Jenova reeled with pleasure as the waves of the being Hojo had imprisoned in the crypt's internal agony washed over her in wave after wave of exquisite pain. It was...delicious. That was the only description she could think of. Yes. How it suited the delightful sensations she was receiving through those pieces of her inside it. She commanded her microscopic servants inside of Vincent's body to increase the being's torment.

Notes:

I don't know exactly why I put in that bit with Vincent but it seemed to fit somehow and suited my idea of Jenova being someone who appreciates the pain of others, sort of like Jabba the Hutt's torture droid, EV-9D9. 'You're a feisty little one, but you'll soon learn some respect. I have need for you on His Excellency's sail barge, and I think you'll fill in nicely.' Heehee.