Final Fantasy VII: God Play
"Before God, we are all equally wise...and equally foolish."
–Albert Einstein
"Sleep my friend, and you will see, That dream is my reality."
–Metallica, Master of all Puppets
Foreword
AGTCGATTACTGTCTAGAJENOVATACGACAGCTGGATCTATG W arning. The story you are about to read is the tale of Sephiroth's past and some events centering on him, Hojo, his guardian Miriam, and Professor Gast. But you already knew that. What I'm warning you about is the writing itself. You might find it enlightening. That's fine. You might also find it sick, twisted, and demented. That's fine too. But if you have any doubts, I suggest you turn back now. Seriously, the story is a real downer. The whole thing is basically a tragedy. I'm warning you, this is your last chance to leave! You still there? Alright. I'm going ahead then. Welcome to Final Fantasy VII: God Play.
Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Chapter I: Till Death Do Us Part
A graveyard was a pleasant place to think.
He stood in a small patch of grass along the path of the Nibelheim cemetery, wearing a khaki colored trench coat, a black umbrella in his hand. The rain beat down from the turbulent skies above. There was a brief flash of lightning followed by a drum roll of thunder. Hojo didn't mind the rain; he merely observed his surroundings in a detached, disinterested way as the thoughts swirled around and around again. Still, he saw everything. The way each individual raindrop slid down the leaves of the gnarled oaks lining the path, rolling to the very tip and hanging there almost in suspended animation, then falling as a gust of wind flung them from their perch. The way the lightning zigzagged down as if the sky was cracking in half, and then disappearing without so much as a trace. The way the long grasses swayed around his wife's tombstone, caressing it with thin green fingers. It all seemed so...appropriate. The gravestone was a plain granite slab with a bas-relief of a rose and leaves near the top. It read simply:
Lucrecia Hojo
XX year to XX year
"Roses are forever"
She was gone, and soon to be forgotten. She didn't matter at all. There was still him. There was still the child. That was all that mattered.
The grounds keeper Henry Rutherford sloshed along the sidewalk in his rain slicker and black galoshes. Another one of the famous Nibelheim storms had come up again, unexpectedly as always. If it didn't stop soon, if would fuck up everything he had planned for the afternoon. You couldn't take the wife and kids out on a picnic during a damn thunderstorm. And you certainly couldn't watch the game on TV when the damn power was out. That was the thing about the storms; sometimes you got off okay, and sometimes you got royally screwed.
He rounded the corner outside the cemetery and stopped, forgetting momentarily about picnics and baseball. Through the wrought iron gate he could see Professor Hojo, the Professor Hojo, standing over his wife's grave with an umbrella in his hand. Why he just couldn't wait for the storm to clear up was beyond him. In fact, the wind seemed to be blowing a bit harder. Henry could see oak branches scattered all over the sidewalk. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Professor, I think you better get inside!" he shouted. "I think something big is coming this way."
Hojo turned and nodded cordially, "Yes, you're probably right," he said. "I'll be down shortly. You should get inside as well."
"Thank you, sir," said Henry. "Take care now." He fixed his rain hat and went on his way. Hojo turned back to the gravestone. Yes, the man was right about one thing. There was something big coming this way. Very big. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose. It was red as blood and practically flawless. Hojo examined it clinically for a moment, turning it in his fingers, then set it atop the headstone.
And smiled.
Two Weeks Ago...
Even before she took a step, Lucrecia knew she was dying.
It didn't come on suddenly; she hadn't been feeling well all day. But then, she thought it was because she was due any time now. She knew that soon all this would be over, and she could hold her little baby boy in her arms for the first time. She felt something else though, something she didn't like. Her head felt very fuzzy and the light hurt her eyes. Any sound she heard was amplified to a screaming pitch that made her skull feel like splitting. Hojo's in the bedroom, Lucrecia reassured herself. If anything happens... She didn't finish her thought. A ripping pain racked her body. She fell off the chair, clutching her stomach, and fell to the floor. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Oh God, I must be having a reaction, she thought, her mind strangely calm. It must be the Jenova cells.
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 3 XX month XX day XX year ...an ancient preserved in a 2000 year old geological stratum. It has been code named Jenova. Preliminary tests show it is still alive. Samples were taken of its cells and DNA. Our predictions were correct; the Cetra have a much higher compatibility and resonance with materia than normal humans (see overleaf 3a). Further testing is still required...
Lucrecia put her hand to her brow. It burned beneath her palm and was slick with sweat. She looked up from the wooden floor causing the world to sway sickeningly before her eyes. Her disorientation was so strong that she squeezed her eyes shut again. If she could get up and make it into the bedroom, it would be okay. She just had to make it through the hall. Reaching out with a shaking hand, she grabbed the edge of the table and hoisted herself up. Her legs felt like lead weights as she stumbled out of the study and into the hall. The corridor couldn't have been more than six meters long, but it looked as if it had lengthened into infinity. There was one bright speck at the end, the open bedroom door. The light at the end of the tunnel, she thought deliriously. She took a tentative step into the hallway and fell against the wall with a cry. Her shoulder thudded on the wood. The image of the hall split into two, then tripled, quadrupled, and finally converged back upon itself. I'll never make it, honey. I'm so sorry.
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 15 XX month XX day XX year This Cetra has DNA that has several introns not in humans (see DNA map, diagram 15b) and it acts in a bizarre way in contact with other DNA. It enters over the nucleus of a cell and replicates itself like a cancer. While too much exposure causes extreme mutation, DNA exposed to small doses of these Jenova cells takes on its characteristic introns. We have reason to believe that these are what create the higher magic power (see overleaf 15a). The question is what would happen if human cells were exposed to this DNA...?
Centimeter by centimeter, Lucrecia traversed the hallway. She felt her heart beating so fast she was sure it would burst. Every panting breath she took felt like taking in molten metal. The brass door handle danced in front of her, the reflections of the lights leaping off of it and spearing her eyes. She reached out and grabbed the handle. It felt cool in her hand. She turned it, expecting it to be locked, expecting to die in the hallway alone, but it opened. She fell into the bedroom at the feet of her husband. "Hojo, I'm...," she said weakly, and trailed off. It just felt so good to lie here on the floor. She noticed idly that it was rather dirty, and that she should get the maids to come in and sweep up after this was over. "Please," she whispered. "Take care of yourself...and Sephiroth." Then darkness came over her senses and she drifted into unconsciousness
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 27 XX month XX day XX year ...those infused with Jenova cells display increased magic powers and abilities. However, their DNA does not have the full set of introns. Perhaps if the cells were infused into a fetus...
Lights. Bright lights rushing past before her eyes, burning streaks onto her retinas. Voices speaking all around, voices speaking incomprehensible nonsense. Lucrecia turns her head on the stretcher. There is a man sprinting beside her, pushing the stretcher, white coat flying out behind him. He speaks something about an emergency Cesarean section. She thinks about her son, Hojo, and Vincent, God, why is all this coming back now? Tears start streaming from her eyes as the stretcher slows down and stops under a mass of white lights. Hojo is there standing over her. She smiles weakly, but he is not smiling, a look of cold concentration
(indifference) on his face. She lifts up an arm to touch him, to see if he is real. She sees that her hand has an IV taped to it. It shakes as she whispers, "Hojo," only it doesn't feel like a whisper, it feels like a scream. He regards her calmly, oh so calmly, and says something to a man next to him. The mask comes down on her face, and the last thing that she ever sees, or thinks she sees, is a single rose petal, red as blood. And all is darkness.
"Before God, we are all equally wise...and equally foolish."
–Albert Einstein
"Sleep my friend, and you will see, That dream is my reality."
–Metallica, Master of all Puppets
Foreword
AGTCGATTACTGTCTAGAJENOVATACGACAGCTGGATCTATG W arning. The story you are about to read is the tale of Sephiroth's past and some events centering on him, Hojo, his guardian Miriam, and Professor Gast. But you already knew that. What I'm warning you about is the writing itself. You might find it enlightening. That's fine. You might also find it sick, twisted, and demented. That's fine too. But if you have any doubts, I suggest you turn back now. Seriously, the story is a real downer. The whole thing is basically a tragedy. I'm warning you, this is your last chance to leave! You still there? Alright. I'm going ahead then. Welcome to Final Fantasy VII: God Play.
Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Chapter I: Till Death Do Us Part
A graveyard was a pleasant place to think.
He stood in a small patch of grass along the path of the Nibelheim cemetery, wearing a khaki colored trench coat, a black umbrella in his hand. The rain beat down from the turbulent skies above. There was a brief flash of lightning followed by a drum roll of thunder. Hojo didn't mind the rain; he merely observed his surroundings in a detached, disinterested way as the thoughts swirled around and around again. Still, he saw everything. The way each individual raindrop slid down the leaves of the gnarled oaks lining the path, rolling to the very tip and hanging there almost in suspended animation, then falling as a gust of wind flung them from their perch. The way the lightning zigzagged down as if the sky was cracking in half, and then disappearing without so much as a trace. The way the long grasses swayed around his wife's tombstone, caressing it with thin green fingers. It all seemed so...appropriate. The gravestone was a plain granite slab with a bas-relief of a rose and leaves near the top. It read simply:
Lucrecia Hojo
XX year to XX year
"Roses are forever"
She was gone, and soon to be forgotten. She didn't matter at all. There was still him. There was still the child. That was all that mattered.
The grounds keeper Henry Rutherford sloshed along the sidewalk in his rain slicker and black galoshes. Another one of the famous Nibelheim storms had come up again, unexpectedly as always. If it didn't stop soon, if would fuck up everything he had planned for the afternoon. You couldn't take the wife and kids out on a picnic during a damn thunderstorm. And you certainly couldn't watch the game on TV when the damn power was out. That was the thing about the storms; sometimes you got off okay, and sometimes you got royally screwed.
He rounded the corner outside the cemetery and stopped, forgetting momentarily about picnics and baseball. Through the wrought iron gate he could see Professor Hojo, the Professor Hojo, standing over his wife's grave with an umbrella in his hand. Why he just couldn't wait for the storm to clear up was beyond him. In fact, the wind seemed to be blowing a bit harder. Henry could see oak branches scattered all over the sidewalk. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Professor, I think you better get inside!" he shouted. "I think something big is coming this way."
Hojo turned and nodded cordially, "Yes, you're probably right," he said. "I'll be down shortly. You should get inside as well."
"Thank you, sir," said Henry. "Take care now." He fixed his rain hat and went on his way. Hojo turned back to the gravestone. Yes, the man was right about one thing. There was something big coming this way. Very big. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose. It was red as blood and practically flawless. Hojo examined it clinically for a moment, turning it in his fingers, then set it atop the headstone.
And smiled.
Two Weeks Ago...
Even before she took a step, Lucrecia knew she was dying.
It didn't come on suddenly; she hadn't been feeling well all day. But then, she thought it was because she was due any time now. She knew that soon all this would be over, and she could hold her little baby boy in her arms for the first time. She felt something else though, something she didn't like. Her head felt very fuzzy and the light hurt her eyes. Any sound she heard was amplified to a screaming pitch that made her skull feel like splitting. Hojo's in the bedroom, Lucrecia reassured herself. If anything happens... She didn't finish her thought. A ripping pain racked her body. She fell off the chair, clutching her stomach, and fell to the floor. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Oh God, I must be having a reaction, she thought, her mind strangely calm. It must be the Jenova cells.
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 3 XX month XX day XX year ...an ancient preserved in a 2000 year old geological stratum. It has been code named Jenova. Preliminary tests show it is still alive. Samples were taken of its cells and DNA. Our predictions were correct; the Cetra have a much higher compatibility and resonance with materia than normal humans (see overleaf 3a). Further testing is still required...
Lucrecia put her hand to her brow. It burned beneath her palm and was slick with sweat. She looked up from the wooden floor causing the world to sway sickeningly before her eyes. Her disorientation was so strong that she squeezed her eyes shut again. If she could get up and make it into the bedroom, it would be okay. She just had to make it through the hall. Reaching out with a shaking hand, she grabbed the edge of the table and hoisted herself up. Her legs felt like lead weights as she stumbled out of the study and into the hall. The corridor couldn't have been more than six meters long, but it looked as if it had lengthened into infinity. There was one bright speck at the end, the open bedroom door. The light at the end of the tunnel, she thought deliriously. She took a tentative step into the hallway and fell against the wall with a cry. Her shoulder thudded on the wood. The image of the hall split into two, then tripled, quadrupled, and finally converged back upon itself. I'll never make it, honey. I'm so sorry.
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 15 XX month XX day XX year This Cetra has DNA that has several introns not in humans (see DNA map, diagram 15b) and it acts in a bizarre way in contact with other DNA. It enters over the nucleus of a cell and replicates itself like a cancer. While too much exposure causes extreme mutation, DNA exposed to small doses of these Jenova cells takes on its characteristic introns. We have reason to believe that these are what create the higher magic power (see overleaf 15a). The question is what would happen if human cells were exposed to this DNA...?
Centimeter by centimeter, Lucrecia traversed the hallway. She felt her heart beating so fast she was sure it would burst. Every panting breath she took felt like taking in molten metal. The brass door handle danced in front of her, the reflections of the lights leaping off of it and spearing her eyes. She reached out and grabbed the handle. It felt cool in her hand. She turned it, expecting it to be locked, expecting to die in the hallway alone, but it opened. She fell into the bedroom at the feet of her husband. "Hojo, I'm...," she said weakly, and trailed off. It just felt so good to lie here on the floor. She noticed idly that it was rather dirty, and that she should get the maids to come in and sweep up after this was over. "Please," she whispered. "Take care of yourself...and Sephiroth." Then darkness came over her senses and she drifted into unconsciousness
Excerpt from Gast's Report, Pg 27 XX month XX day XX year ...those infused with Jenova cells display increased magic powers and abilities. However, their DNA does not have the full set of introns. Perhaps if the cells were infused into a fetus...
Lights. Bright lights rushing past before her eyes, burning streaks onto her retinas. Voices speaking all around, voices speaking incomprehensible nonsense. Lucrecia turns her head on the stretcher. There is a man sprinting beside her, pushing the stretcher, white coat flying out behind him. He speaks something about an emergency Cesarean section. She thinks about her son, Hojo, and Vincent, God, why is all this coming back now? Tears start streaming from her eyes as the stretcher slows down and stops under a mass of white lights. Hojo is there standing over her. She smiles weakly, but he is not smiling, a look of cold concentration
(indifference) on his face. She lifts up an arm to touch him, to see if he is real. She sees that her hand has an IV taped to it. It shakes as she whispers, "Hojo," only it doesn't feel like a whisper, it feels like a scream. He regards her calmly, oh so calmly, and says something to a man next to him. The mask comes down on her face, and the last thing that she ever sees, or thinks she sees, is a single rose petal, red as blood. And all is darkness.