AUTHOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Amarie and JessAngel. I had decided that if I didn't get any reviews I wan't gonna finish it, so it's because of you I continue......even more thanks because this is my first FF fic, and they took a gamble on me ^_^

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!! I know there are millions of Sephiroth resurrection stories. He's one of the coolest villians ever; naturally people want to know more about him. And I know that this has been said before, but I'm trying to do something different. I always wondered what Sephiroth would be like without Jenova's taint, so this is my way of trying to figure it out. Obviously his own ambition is what set him on the path to what he became, but can a person be evil if they don't know who they are? I can't really explain any more without revealing the plot, which is something I am trying not to do. Please bear with me, and if you have any questions or ideas, please email me at sol_strakes@hotmail.com, because I want people to like this story and I need feedback to do it!

*****

He was drifting.

No sensation, no sound, no feeling. Just the knowledge that he was existing, neither alive nor dead. Hovering just beyond the edge of both. Eons had passed, or perhaps years, it didn't matter. Not here. Not in this place. Some part of his mind knew that he didn't belong here, that he was destined elsewhere. Slowly the realization grew that he was trapped here, forever, and something akin to panic began to spread through him. He was remembering now, memories flowing through him and he knew with utter grim realization that there was no way to leave this place, that he had been sent here for that reason. An intense urgency he couldn't comprehend was eating away at him.

He couldn't stay here. He had to leave. He had to belong somewhere ...

-NO-

The cry thundered through his thoughts, and had he been able to vocalize his pain he would have.

- You belong here ... -

No! He thought desperately, No I don't, I don't -

- ... damned yourself -

Something was stirring in the depths of his memory, struggling to surface. He clutched at it, trying desperately to understand what he had done, what had happened that he found himself here, suspended in limbo, in a place where he was neither living nor dead. Like quicksilver it slid from his grasp and spiralled into the darkening chasm that was rapidly growing in his mind. He knew then that there was no greater punishment than what he was experiencing; existing her in this void that defied all thought.

LET ME GO He howled to the stillness, the nothingness.

- ... belong here ... -

I can't! I don't!

Agitated, he searched through thoughts, through his entire being for the answer to this terrible question. He was no longer capable of comprehensive thought; everything was a churning, chaotic mass of battling voices intent on driving him mad.

- ... sealed your fate ... -

- ... belong here ... -

No!

- ... never leave ... -

- ... damned ... -

No ...

- ... cannot fight ... -

- You damned yourself ... -

- ... sealed your own fate ... -

- ... your penance ... -

And the one screaming wail, louder and so full of some turbulent emotion that it terrified him ...

- SEPHIROTH -

*****

He sat bolt upright, chest heaving. It took him several moments to realize where he was, that he had been dreaming. He raised his hand before his face to find, in the dim light of the overhanging light bulb, that it was trembling violently. He swallowed loudly, and closed his eyes. He could still hear the harsh anguish in the last tremendous cry, could still feel the sorrow, the guilt, the horror it had created in him. He slid out from beneath the blankets and padded into the bathroom. He switched on the light and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was wet from tears that he hadn't known he'd been crying. He was pale, and there were dark shadows beneath them. His thick mass of silver hair was twisted and knotted as if he'd been thrashing in his sleep. He gazed at the eyes that in turn gazed back, wondering at what he saw there. In their green depths he saw shadows lurking, the remnants of his nightmare. He raised his hand and pressed it to the mirror.

Who am I?

There was no answer, and his reflection smiled bitterly at his foolish hope that there would be. He sighed, overwhelmed. He needed to know who he was, why he was here. He understood nothing other than the fact that he was alive, and didn't even have a reason for that. He lowered his hand and sighed again.

-SEPHIROTH-

That word ... a name? It was still echoing in his head from his dream, and he was likely never to forget it. A thought occured to him; he watched his eyes darken in the mirror as he mulled it over in his mind.

A name ... my name?

He had no way of knowing. It didn't sound familiar, but then, nothing did. It was merely a word, a sound. But it had been in his dream, and the dream was not something he would take lightly. Not that dream, not that awful voice screaming that one word ...

He shut off the light abruptly and left the bathroom. He switched off the overhead room light before crawling once again between the blankets. Arms crossed beneath his head he stared pensively into the dark. It was a long time before he fell asleep again.

*****

When next he woke, it was to the sound of voices. He was lying on his stomach, sleepily he rolled over and listened. Rad's voice, and too others, both higher. Rad's work companions? Thin rays of light trickled through a small window above his head, blocked out for the most part by a heavy curtain. He yawned and stretched before getting out of the bed and heading for the small shower in the bathroom. For a moment he was baffled by the complexity of the showerhead and the faucets, but again the knowledge from the unknown source within him prevailed, and soon he was enjoying the feel of hot water beating away the tension and fear of the previous night. During his shower he pondered his dream and its significance, its meaning. After the shower he donned his clothes and dried his hair as best he could with the towel provided before letting it fall down his back in damp waves. He left his coat on the bed before opening the door to the main area.

"Good morning!" Rad said cheerfully, catching sight of him from where he sat on the small bed. "How was your sleep?"

"Fine," he lied quietly. The other two in the room had turned to look at him as soon as he had caught Rad's attention. One was another man, slightly taller than Rad but of the same ageHe was bearded and sandy haired. The other was a girl, small and petite, with pale hair. At the sight of him her eyes widened alarmingly.

"Hello," Said the new young man warmly, "I'm Shayn. Rad told us all about you. This is Ailee," he gestured to the girl. She said nothing, merely stared at him a second longer before bolting out the door. Rad and Shayn frowned at each other in confusion.

"Girls," huffed Rad. "I'll go see what's the matter with her. Shayn, could you give our guest some breakfast?"

"Sure thing," Shayn replied, moving to get the food as Rad left them. The visitor sat down where Rad had been sitting politely answered all of Shayn's curious questions. His mind was on the girl; what had he done to frighten her so? Several minutes later Rad entered again, chuckling.

"What's her problem?" Shayn asked, handing the vistor a plate of what looked to be pancakes.

"Get this: She thinks he's Sephiroth. "

Shayn snorted. The visitor nearly dropped his plate. He struggled to keep his astonishment and confusion from his face, but the other two were too busy laughing to notice his expressions.

"That's our Ailee," Shayn said ruefully, "Ever the wild imagination. I'd better go to talk to her."

Rad shook his head with a smile as Shayn left. He caught a glimpse of the look on the visitor's face and said, "Don't let Ailee's behaviour bother her. She's a little strange sometimes."

"Rad, " the other said carefully, "Who is Sephiroth?"

Disbelief passed over Rad's face, "Don't tell me you don't know who ... I forgot, you have no memory," He sighed and loaded a plate of his own with food from the pan on the stove. He sat down beside the other. "It's a long story, and I don't know all of it ... it happened six years ago. But," he added, seeing the interest on the other's face, "I'll tell you what I can."

In between mouthfuls, he began his story. The other ate very little, more interested in what Rad had to say. As the story progressed, something cold settled in the pit of his stomach. It was not a happy story, but a violent one. The more he heard the worse he began to feel. As Rad trailed off finally, some time later, he found himself frantically praying that what he suspected was not true.

"There's quite a bit I don't know," Rad said, standing and taking the other's plate and piling it into the small sink along with his own. "I was pretty young at the time. If you're more interested, you might want to check out a library somewhere once you get off this mountain. Which reminds me; I think we might have found a way to get your memory back. Shayn mentioned some sort of doctor in Kalm that specializes in supressed memories and amnesia. I think he uses mako energy for healing, or something. That seems to be all the rage these days. If you're interested, Shayn can take you there. He has to leave again this afternoon to head back to his home. He's on vacation for the next week and he's going home to Nibelheim."

"That would be fine," the visitor said, his thoughts elsewhere. "Rad ... do I look like this.....Sephiroth?"

Rad turned and regarded the other for a moment, "I guess you might," he said finally, "Your hair is kinda the same, I think. But his eyes glowed because of the Mako infusions he received in SOLDIER, at least that's what they say. I never saw him myself, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has. Most didn't survive the encounter. Besides," he said with a slight smile, "Sephiroth is dead. No one knows where or how he died; everyone was pretty hush hush after the whole Meteor ordeal. I would imagine Shinra is keeping quite a bit of what happened under wraps."

The other frowned. He had heard Rad mention this Meteor in his talk about Sephiroth, but not Shinra. "What is Shinra?"

"It's a corporation, a huge one, that deals in Mako energy. I can't tell you much more than that, though, because they're pretty secretive about what they do. I definetly think you should check out a library once you're off this mountain."

"I will," the other said, having already made up his mind to do so. Shayn came back, still chuckling about Ailee's "asinine" idea about their visitor being the great Sephiroth. Shayn asked the other if he wanted to accompany him off the mountain and back to the mainland, to which he agreed. Two hours later, which the visitor spent listening to the conversational banter of the two young men, Shayn declared they were ready to leave. Rad walked them outside to the vehicle they would be using to descend down the mountain. The visitor stared at it, fascinated. It was large and consisted of six wheels, and when started it roared like a beast. Laughing at the visitor's expression, Rad bid him farewell and told him to come and visit once he remembered who he was. The visitor responded he would, and genuinely hoped his suspiscions were wrong so that he could fulfill his promise. Rad had proven kind and helpful when he had been in desperate need of assistance. Ailee refused to come and say goodbye, and without much further ado, they began their descent.

After talking for several minutes, a companionable silence fell between Shayn and his passenger. As Shayn concentrated on manouvering the vehicle, aptly dubbed "the crawler", the other began sorting through his muddled thoughts. When they reached he base of the mountain a couple hours later, he had come to his conclusion.

He could be Sephiroth. The dream, coupled with the girl's insistence that he was indeed the infamous figure, could not be denied their facts. It explained, however little, the situation he found himself in. It didn't explain his loss of memory, or his awakening in the crater, but he couldn't deny it. The dream was more than just a dream, he knew, and it had given him back his name. The realization brought a sick feeling to him, because after everything Rad had told him about Sephiroth he didn't want the identity. There were so many unanswered questions he had that must be answered.

Why was he alive again?

What had given him life?

He squared his jaw resolutely, unaware that as he did so his eyes glinted. He would unravel the truth, no matter what it took.

And it would begin with the search for knowledge for anything to do with Sephiroth.