It didn't take long for the fire to burn all of the grass, nor did it
take long for all of the bodies to burn. Rather thankfully, none of the now
carbonized bodies belonged to a member of SOLDIER, so everyone was rather
intact, albeit a bit shaken by Sephiroth's display of power. Still, after
the shock wore off the soldiers began to grow a bit cocky, somewhat
justified in their belief that Sephiroth was invincible. Even Tseng began
to wonder why he had thought Sephiroth couldn't get him back to Midgar
without anyone else's help.
Sephiroth, on the other hand, was almost frightened. It was true that Godo had trained him to be the best warrior to ever live, and it was also true that for some reason he was far more powerful than anyone he had ever met, but none of this could truly explain to Sephiroth how he had been able to dodge those thousands upon thousands of weapons fired at him. Sephiroth had expected his actions to daunt the enemy with his boldness to the extent that he could come upon their forces before anyone dared to attack him. When all of those arrows had come down upon him he had actually feared for his life. Now, now he feared himself. Never would he have thought himself capable of that. In fact, he never would have imagined anyone else capable of that. Perhaps it was a sign from the Planet, a sign that he was superior to everyone else. ---Yes, I am superior. Not even Godo could stop me. Not even all of those thousands of soldiers could beat me. Not even the Planet itself could beat me. I've survived them all. There is nothing that can destroy me. All that opposes me shall perish. Indeed, I am supreme amongst all living within this mortal coil!---
Passing through Mt. Nibel was an easy task. Few monsters ever dared to attack the traveling soldiers, and those that did met a quick death at Sephiroth's blade. Nonetheless, Tseng walked uneasily through the system of tunnels that would lead to Nibelheim.
---Jenova is here. If Sephiroth finds her the inherent Jenova cells within him might react. If that happened he could temporarily lose sanity, and if that were to happen I would be in serious danger. Without any restrictions, without anything that would register me as an ally instead of a foe...death would most certainly claim my mortal soul.---
Tseng tried and tried not to think about what would happen if Sephiroth visited the reactor and visited her, but the thoughts raced through his head. It had been proven that people with Jenova cells within them were somehow affected by being close to Jenova. Some showed no symptoms, and some weren't affected at all, yet as proximity to Jenova and the amount of Jenova cells within the body increased so did the probability, and severity, of a person being affected. For someone with as many Jenova cells as Sephiroth, the chances of his being affected were absolute, and the affects would be devastating. Insanity, increased power, near-invincibility, all were proven affects of Jenova.
Noticing that Tseng was deep in thought, and by that deeper in thought than he usually was, Sephiroth decided to inquire what seemed to be on Tseng's mind. When asked, Tseng merely placed his hand to his chin and increased the furrows in his brows. He blankly stared at the ground, turning on the winding path through Mt. Nibel when he needed to rather absent-mindedly. Sephiroth was about to ask again, but then realized that if Tseng didn't answer his question the first time, the odds were rather low that he would the second time.
Sephiroth himself then went into deep though, pondering over what Tseng was thinking of. He decided to use a skill Godo had taught him. Through deep concentration he could pick up on the fundamental auras of people. When Sephiroth had asked what that meant, Godo had explained it as being able to detect the dominant emotion in someone else: fear, anger, happiness, the list went on. When Sephiroth examined Tseng's aura, he could see fear. It was strong on Tseng. With others the aura would usually be somewhat conflicted, yet fear held complete dominion over Tseng at the time. Sephiroth found himself yet again pondering over what would make the almost always cool and composed Tseng so afraid.
As he thought, a soft buzzing sound began to grow in his mind. The sound slowly increased in pitch and volume, and eventually it became a sharp, constant ringing sensation. Sephiroth fell to his knees and without knowing it put his hands to his ears, trying to make the noise stop. Through the midst of it all he could hear a heartbeat, slow at first, but then becoming faster and faster. Sephiroth began to scream in agony as the shrill noise instigated wave after wave of pain in his head. He then felt a sudden sharp sensation go through his body, and with that the world turned black.
Tseng paced nervously through the inn at Nibelheim. After Sephiroth had blacked out the other members of SOLDIER had carried him through the rest of Mt. Nibel. After arriving at Nibelheim they had then carried him to the inn and laid him down on the bed. Tseng had decided to stay and monitor Sephiroth while the others left to report to the nearest Shinra post, Shinra Mansion. Tseng could have gone with them, and eventually he would need to go to Shinra Mansion and complete his current assignment, but if Sephiroth woke up still under the affects of Jenova, Tseng would have to insure to give him an "anti-Jenova vaccine". The fact that the only such "vaccine" was really just a solution concentrated mainly from very lethal cyanides didn't matter all that much to Tseng when it came to the preservation of his life.
Tseng then began to fall into deep thought. Such habits seemed to have become characteristic of Tseng lately. This time he began to wonder about Sephiroth's episode. He had known that Sephiroth's cell make-up was rather highly concentrated with Jenova cells and Mako. After all, he had been treated with the two from conception. Still, how had the main body of Jenova affected him when he had been so far away from her? Tseng couldn't figure that out, although he had no doubt Sephiroth had been affected. Tseng eventually gave up and, seeing as how it was now night, turned in for the day.
Most everyone had peaceful dreams that night, but as for Sephiroth; the lingering effects of Jenova haunted his dreams. He found himself alone on the top of a hill. At the base of the hill were people who wore raggedy clothing and showed signs of starvation and within some there was a sense of madness. Within all of their eyes were infinite pools of despair. They were all ranting about something; from the looks of it Sephiroth guessed they were begging for mercy. But why were they begging him for mercy? As Sephiroth tried to figure it out, his hand, acting independently from his body, crept over to the hilt of his sword. Instead of his usual blade, though, he drew a long and slender sword. With incredible speed the sword was drawn, and on it was a dry, red residue. At first Sephiroth thought it was rust, but on second notice he found it to be blood.
Then he suddenly ran. He hadn't wanted to, he just did. It seemed like he was trapped within his own body, unable to control anything. He then leapt forward and came down at the base of the hill where all of the people were. They seemed relieved, but their relief lasted only a second. Sephiroth whipped his sword to the right, decapitating one of those begging for mercy. He then moved, as swift as light, and slaughtered them all. --- It's...an execution. They were begging for mercy, they were begging for their lives.--- Sephiroth tried to take control of his body, but it was futile. He had no control over the ruthless form he was in.
Moments later, all of his victims were dead. Some were in one piece, some in two, some in many. Sephiroth looked down and saw the ground, tainted a crimson red from the bloodbath Sephiroth had created. The scene then shifted to what appeared to be the inside of a Mako reactor. There was an ornamental angel statue lying on the ground, and what was once that statue's base stood in front of some...thing. It was humanoid, and it almost had beauty, but its skin was blue for some reason.
Then pain flashed through Sephiroth. "Tifa, my mom, my hometown, everything. Give it back!" Sephiroth looked down and saw a giant metal blade sticking through his stomach. Why had someone stabbed him, and what was he talking about? Try as he might, he just couldn't think of anything. Eventually, the blade retreated from Sephiroth's stomach, and he fell to the ground, feeling the cold metal stick to the wound in his chest, from which blood now flowed freely. The scene shifted back to the foot of the hill, and the people Sephiroth had killed were alive once more, vengeance etched into their features. They closed in on him and proceeded to beat him in his weakened state. After a while, satisfied that Sephiroth's life would soon end, they left him to die. Sephiroth used what little energy he had left to roll onto his back, and it was then that he saw it.
A giant meteor, approaching the planet. Upon it stood the blue creature Sephiroth had seen in the reactor earlier in this twisted nightmare. The thing appeared to almost be riding the meteor, hoping to be part of the catastrophic event that would occur should the giant stone plummet to the Earth. Sephiroth then felt the ground begin to soften, and then turn into a liquid. He sunk into it until he hit a green current, the Lifestream. The agony once more went through Sephiroth's body as he was carried through its winding path. Soon enough he was dumped into a pit, and the Lifestream swirled around him and crystallized, forming a neat crystal. Then a black orb pierced the shell of the crystal, and the crystal suddenly became too heavy and crashed downward. Instead of stopping upon hitting the ground, it passed through it. The crystal shed layer after layer until Sephiroth was completely free of its grasp, and all the while he traveled further downward.
After a long, torturous fall Sephiroth finally stopped. He was in what appeared to be some sort of vortex. There was no ground, only space, and that space changed colors from green to red to blue. Sephiroth could hear chanting in an ancient language, and he felt more vulnerable than he had ever felt before. His fear grew by the second, until Sephiroth was paralyzed by it. Then, when his fear and vulnerability reached their highest extent, something materialized in front of him.
It looked like Sephiroth, only very different. The hair was pure white instead of silver, and the eyes were filled with pure hatred and menace. The left arm was fine, but in place of the right arm was a wing. Instead of legs, the manipulated version of Sephiroth had six white, narrow wings that were tipped with violet. Sephiroth was awed at the sight. It imposed fear and spoke of death, yet it had an almost regal, majestic edge to it.
Then black appeared at the corner of Sephiroth's vision, and it slowly advanced, consuming Sephiroth's sight. When the darkness was complete, the blue figure returned again, this time noticeably missing a head. Sephiroth felt something in his hand, and glanced at it to see why the blue figure had no head. Sephiroth felt a wave of revolt go through his body, and he shut his eyes tightly. He could feel his presence in this world of nightmares begin to fade, but just as consciousness was about to return to him, he heard a single sentence.
"The future awaits you, my puppet."
Sephiroth sprang upright with a scream of sheer terror. He found that he was breathing rather heavily and that his heart was pounding in his chest. Sweat slowly dribbled down his face before dropping into the bed sheets, which were cold and clammy. He climbed out of his bed and limped into a bathroom. He turned on the sink and inundated his face in cold water. He then took a towel and dried his face. As the towel cleared his eyes Sephiroth froze. Within the mirror was the face of the dream version of him, with white hair and eyes full of spite. He rubbed his eyes and when he looked back into the mirror his face greeted him. He shook his head and, try as he might, couldn't stop the fit of laughter that came next. What was happening to him? He was becoming more and more insane by the minute!
"Whatever might you be laughing about, Sephiroth?" said an all too familiar voice. Even without turning around or glancing at the mirror in front of him, Sephiroth easily identified it as Tseng.
"Oh, nothing much, Tseng." Sephiroth replied. He didn't need to tell Tseng about his nightmare, nor did he want to. Besides, it was just a dream. It had about as much grounding in reality as some of the fairy tales that young children had been told. Sephiroth then thought about those age- old fairy tales. He had never been told them. There was never a real parental presence in his life, and Sephiroth had never had friends as a child. For the most part, he had been isolated, and on purpose at that. Under Hojo's orders, the only friends Sephiroth could make were the sword and books on the great military leaders. Supposedly it was for his own good, but Sephiroth found it fascinating that someone like Hojo, who had never bothered to incorporate himself into Sephiroth's life, could decide what exactly was best for Sephiroth.
Sephiroth then thought of something. Supposedly Hojo was in Shinra Mansion. Perhaps he could pay his father a visit.
Hojo stood over his newest specimen, taking notes in his journal. The subject still failed to respond to any stimuli. Hojo took out a knife, and slowly ran the blade across his subject's stomach. A red line followed the knife, and blood slowly oozed from the wound, but the specimen didn't move. Hojo glanced over to some of his machinery. It was all hooked up to the specimen's body, looking for changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, brain wave patterns, anything possible. None of the readings showed any changes. Hojo swore under his breath. It was so hard to bring life back into someone when they weren't even aware of what has happening to them.
The charts then jumped up and down. Heart rate was up from 80 bpm to 143 bpm. Respiratory rate up 167%. Brain waves consistent with fear and....joy? Odd, but Hojo was grateful that the specimen was showing some signs of life.
The intercom in Hojo's lab then buzzed three times in rapid succession. Someone wanted to visit him. Hojo quickly exited his basement laboratory, making sure to lock the door behind him, and headed up to see who was visiting him. ---This better not be Tseng.--- Hojo thought, ---If I have to undergo even one more of his insufferable progress reports, I'll see to it that President Shinra demotes him all the way down to staff aide.- -- As Hojo closed the secret basement entrance behind him, he glanced at a security camera monitor he had installed. Thankfully, it wasn't Tseng. It was some other person, and that person appeared to be making small talk with one of the aides. Shinra Mansion was fairly small, but it was staffed beyond its capacity. Entering the mansion, you could quite literally see tens of cubicles arranged in the on the first floor. There were several offices too, one of which belonged to Reno, who was on assignment in Nibelheim. Despite the business of the place, everyone was very quiet. Even the softest of sounds carried all the way to the basement. The only people who didn't care about that fact were the aides, who made sure to talk loud and clear to everyone. Several times Hojo had bungled an experiment because they were too loud. It was for that reason that Hojo was constantly pushing for Shinra Mansion to become Hojo's private laboratory. President Shinra was slowly caving in on that issue, but it could very well take years for Hojo to have his wish granted.
Hojo descended the stairs from the second to first floor, and as he did so he looked at the visitor. He had long silver hair, and his eyes had a Mako glow to them. Hojo thought he remembered the face. At one time he had held it dearly to him, some once-in-a-lifetime experiment or something to that extent.
Hojo greeted the visitor with a slight bow. Hojo then led the visitor to his room on the second floor, the room that connected to the basement. Hojo sat down on one of the chairs arranged throughout the room, and the visitor did the same.
"What do you want? Did Shinra send you here in place of Tseng to check up on me?" Hojo asked coldly. He was eager to get back to his experiment, this was the first time his specimen had looked and acted the part of a living being.
"Nothing much...father" the visitor then said. Hojo was baffled at the remark.
"Father?! I don't have any children." Hojo then thought long and hard. It came to him that he had indeed had a son at one point in time, but he was dead. It was a shame too; he was proving to be the perfect specimen. That was it! This person had the same face of the person he had experimented on. How could Hojo have forgotten about his experiments on Sephiroth? He had come so close to creating the perfect soldier, only to have his dreams stolen from him by the rebels. Regardless, Sephiroth was dead. He had plunged into the Lifestream, and no one could survive that. Or, perhaps they could? Hojo could test him quickly to see whether or not this was Sephiroth. Only nine people knew Hojo had ever had a child, and none of them would dare be the source of an information leak.
"Tell me. What is your name?" Hojo asked nonchalantly, trying to contain his excitement.
"Sephiroth." Hojo jumped out of his seat and felt like he could dance, albeit no amount of happiness would actually get him to dance. Hojo rushed over to one of his scientific tool kits and brought it over to Sephiroth. Hojo took out the instruments and began to poke and probe Sephiroth, taking measurements. Sephiroth showed signs of discomfort, but Hojo didn't mind that. He poked a needle into Sephiroth and drew a blood sample. It was at this point that Sephiroth grew fed up with Hojo's lack of non-scientific interest in him. He sprang up and shoved Hojo across the room and walked out slowly. He didn't seem as angry as he was sad at having confirmed something. Hojo watched him leave, puzzled with Sephiroth's actions. He didn't think he had done anything to offend him. He shook his head and began to head downstairs to the basement, only to be stopped by the intercom. He looked over to the security camera monitor, and grimaced as he saw Tseng. ---Great.---
Tseng tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Hojo. The aide who had greeted him at the door was attempting to talk with him, and Tseng found the aide most annoying. He was tempted to just leave, but unfortunately he knew all too well that eventually he had to meet with Hojo, and it was better to get it done with. After he checked up on Hojo, he could go and meet Reno, which Tseng felt was an urgent matter.
Tseng noticed Hojo walking slowly down the stairs, and, as usual, was disgusted with Hojo's appearance. Some people said that he and Tseng appeared somewhat similar, and Tseng always considered that an insult. Hojo's back was bent forward from years of inactivity and many other poor health decisions. His hair was of similar color and length as Tseng's, but was uncared for and hideously dirty. Then of course, there was how utterly grotesque Hojo's skin was. Tseng was just as busy as Hojo, but he made sure to get out into the sun. Hojo, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't been outside in years. His skin was pale to the point of appearing translucent.
Of course, Tseng disliked meeting Hojo for a plethora of other reasons, but still he had to meet with Hojo. He just had to put his personal dislike of the scientist aside for the meetings. He knew that Hojo had no love for him as well, but if he could get over that for their meetings, so could Tseng.
Reno watched the meeting intently through his network of hidden cameras. Perhaps Tseng could weasel out of Hojo what exactly it was that Hojo did with all of those unaccounted hours. He seemed to disappear from Shinra Mansion, and yet the guards around the mansion never saw him leave. Rumor was that when Professor Gast had managed to get President Shinra to build the place, he had a hidden room installed. Unfortunately, nobody had ever found the entrance. Perhaps Hojo had managed to do so.
Bringing his mind back to the discussion Tseng and Hojo were having, Reno noted that they appeared to be playing a game of chess with their words, baiting the other into giving up information that person didn't want the other to know. As Reno looked at Tseng, he had to stifle his laughter. Three days had passed, but still Reno found the situation hilarious. When he had brought his laughter under control Reno looked back at the monitor and swore. Hojo was walking back to his room and Tseng appeared to be approaching the offices. That meant that he was now going to check up on Reno. Reno fumbled with the dials on his monitor and managed to make it display the latest news from Midgar just as Tseng entered his office. Reno breathed a sigh of relief, but made sure that Tseng couldn't notice that he was doing so.
Tseng took two steps and walked the length of the office. He found a chair to his liking, and sat down on it. His face carried a composure that masked the frustration he had to be feeling after his meeting with Hojo. Reno decided to see if he could get Tseng to lose that composure. It was a game that he played with Tseng every time they met, and every time Reno managed to win. Reno just had to know exactly what he needed to do to trigger Tseng's anger.
"So, Tseng. How was your trip to Rocket Town? I hear someone took the town by siege." Reno asked innocently.
"Yes. That was a misinformed mistake. The person had no ill intentions towards Shinra." Tseng's mask seemed to slip a bit. Reno had confirmed what he had thought. Now it was time to move in for the kill.
"You know, for some reason, the official records of the hospital in Rocket Town showed that someone had visited the hospital, but a day later, all records of that person ever having been in the hospital magically vanished." Reno pointed out, keeping his town flat and unassuming.
"That is rather odd. Perhaps we should have someone check in on what happened there. I'm shocked that someone could bribe the hospital staff into erasing their name from the records." Tseng barely managed to keep his control. His mind continually wondered as to whether or not Reno knew. He couldn't know. Tseng had had his name struck from the records. But then again, if an entire day had passed before he had woken up. Maybe Reno did know.
Reno reveled in how nervous Tseng had become. Tseng's eyes darted nervously from side to side, and his forehead began to perspire. The time for small talk was just about over.
"You know, I just now got your latest lecture on the methodology of battle on tape. Listening to it proved very instructive. You know, based on what you say, following your guidelines will make someone invincible in battle. Do you really believe that?"
"Why, of course I do. If I say it I mean it." Reno grinned, he had just backed Tseng into a corner in the conversation.
"Tseng, you can't still think that. Especially after getting the pants whipped off of you in battle!" Reno took great pleasure in finally revealing to Tseng that he knew. Tseng's eyes widened and his panic became evident.
"Look, Reno. I don't mind you knowing all of this too much. It just shows that you can never be invincible in battle." Tseng wasn't surprised at all with how easily the lies came to him. "Just don't go spreading this kind of information. You'll undermine Shinra's authority."
"Too late! Half of Midgar knows by now! I called Rude and told him! He must've been laughing for hours!"
"What?! You son of a..." Tseng leapt out of his chair and over Reno's desk in an attempt to strangle the Turk. As he did so he noticed how hard Reno was laughing. He had won again. Tseng began to breathe deeply, attempting to ease the anger he felt. He picked himself up off of Reno's desk and sat back down in his chair. His mind began to think of more professional ways to get Reno back for what he had done. Tseng valued his image almost as much as his life. If people began to lose their respect for him like Rude, and then Reno, had done, he would be too embarrassed to set foot outdoors ever again, and would wind up like Hojo, a thought that had absolutely no appeal to Tseng. The idea came to Tseng quickly. The plan he had created would work perfectly, and would rankle in Reno's mind for some time.
If there was one thing Reno valued above everything else, alcohol and women not included, it was knowledge. If there was one lesson Tseng had given Reno that had actually stuck, it was that with knowledge comes great power. With knowledge you know your opponents weakness, and Reno's complex mind forced him to want to be superior to others. Tseng could make Reno feel inferior to Tseng if he were able to convince Reno that he had key knowledge that Reno didn't. Perhaps then he could also get the brash Turk to fall in line with Tseng. After that it would be easy to get Rude to respect him. Tseng almost began to laugh as he thought of his plan, but checked himself. He would appear insane and somehow lose even more of Reno's respect.
Tseng smiled slyly and resumed his conversation with Reno.
Sephiroth stood at the center of town, wildly slicing through the air with his sword. His sword moved with such velocity that he could hear it going through the air, and all of his strokes with the sword carried a great deal of power with them, yet Sephiroth's attacks also carried a preciseness and fluidity. The members of SOLDIER watched him, impressed with his skill. To them he was merely brushing up on his technique, but this was something totally different to Sephiroth.
For Sephiroth, whenever he had his sword in hand he felt a sense of power. Every time he used the sword in battle he came out the victor, and it always felt right when the hilt of the sword was clenched in his palm. It was as though he was destined to use the sword. For him, the only moments of tranquility and serenity came in the chaos and brutality of battle. It was just the way things were. Perhaps Hojo could be accredited with having done one thing right. The sword did really seem to be his friend, offering his solace in his anger and his sadness.
Thinking about Hojo sparked his anger again. He held no importance to his own father. Hojo had been happy to see him only so that he could study the person who emerged from the Lifestream. Hojo didn't care if he died, and wouldn't have given Sephiroth a second thought had he never resurfaced from the dead. He would have just gone on with his experiments. If Hojo had ever expressed any sadness over Sephiroth's disappearance, or any remorse over how he greeted his long-lost son, it would probably only be because he didn't take full advantage of the opportunity to get that one last blood sample of tissue sample, or perhaps because he ran one of his tests wrong.
Sephiroth's workout grew even more furious, and more movement became part of his routine. He leapt from side to side, and used all of the open space within Nibelheim to continue his practice. As he did so he noticed a young boy with spiky blond hair admiring him alongside the rest of Sephiroth's spectators. A great many people had gathered to watch Sephiroth in action, perhaps thinking it was a display of how powerful SOLDIER was. Sephiroth didn't know why, but the boy caught his attention. Maybe it was just the odd hairstyle. Regardless, Sephiroth decided to put on quite a show for everyone. His movements became a blur, and he was barely able to notice the applause and cheers he got.
A noise pierced through the applause. It sounded like the piano being played, and for the most part no one noticed it. But Sephiroth saw that the little boy's attention was no longer on Sephiroth. In fact, the boy was wandering off to the source of it, and as he heard it, Sephiroth began to calm down. His attacks grew less and less violent, and he slowed down before he finally stopped. His spectators gave him one last round of applause before they went off to return to their daily lives. After he had calmed down, Sephiroth noticed how much he had exhausted himself during his frenzied workout. He staggered over to the hotel and went into his room, snatching a bottle of water from the sink in the bathroom of his room. He gulped it down quickly and tossed the bottle into the trash.
He walked over to the window of his room and opened it, listening to the piano music that filled the air. It managed to relax him, and he plopped down into his bed. He closed his eyes as he listened to the music, and before he knew it he had fallen into a deep sleep.
Sephiroth, on the other hand, was almost frightened. It was true that Godo had trained him to be the best warrior to ever live, and it was also true that for some reason he was far more powerful than anyone he had ever met, but none of this could truly explain to Sephiroth how he had been able to dodge those thousands upon thousands of weapons fired at him. Sephiroth had expected his actions to daunt the enemy with his boldness to the extent that he could come upon their forces before anyone dared to attack him. When all of those arrows had come down upon him he had actually feared for his life. Now, now he feared himself. Never would he have thought himself capable of that. In fact, he never would have imagined anyone else capable of that. Perhaps it was a sign from the Planet, a sign that he was superior to everyone else. ---Yes, I am superior. Not even Godo could stop me. Not even all of those thousands of soldiers could beat me. Not even the Planet itself could beat me. I've survived them all. There is nothing that can destroy me. All that opposes me shall perish. Indeed, I am supreme amongst all living within this mortal coil!---
Passing through Mt. Nibel was an easy task. Few monsters ever dared to attack the traveling soldiers, and those that did met a quick death at Sephiroth's blade. Nonetheless, Tseng walked uneasily through the system of tunnels that would lead to Nibelheim.
---Jenova is here. If Sephiroth finds her the inherent Jenova cells within him might react. If that happened he could temporarily lose sanity, and if that were to happen I would be in serious danger. Without any restrictions, without anything that would register me as an ally instead of a foe...death would most certainly claim my mortal soul.---
Tseng tried and tried not to think about what would happen if Sephiroth visited the reactor and visited her, but the thoughts raced through his head. It had been proven that people with Jenova cells within them were somehow affected by being close to Jenova. Some showed no symptoms, and some weren't affected at all, yet as proximity to Jenova and the amount of Jenova cells within the body increased so did the probability, and severity, of a person being affected. For someone with as many Jenova cells as Sephiroth, the chances of his being affected were absolute, and the affects would be devastating. Insanity, increased power, near-invincibility, all were proven affects of Jenova.
Noticing that Tseng was deep in thought, and by that deeper in thought than he usually was, Sephiroth decided to inquire what seemed to be on Tseng's mind. When asked, Tseng merely placed his hand to his chin and increased the furrows in his brows. He blankly stared at the ground, turning on the winding path through Mt. Nibel when he needed to rather absent-mindedly. Sephiroth was about to ask again, but then realized that if Tseng didn't answer his question the first time, the odds were rather low that he would the second time.
Sephiroth himself then went into deep though, pondering over what Tseng was thinking of. He decided to use a skill Godo had taught him. Through deep concentration he could pick up on the fundamental auras of people. When Sephiroth had asked what that meant, Godo had explained it as being able to detect the dominant emotion in someone else: fear, anger, happiness, the list went on. When Sephiroth examined Tseng's aura, he could see fear. It was strong on Tseng. With others the aura would usually be somewhat conflicted, yet fear held complete dominion over Tseng at the time. Sephiroth found himself yet again pondering over what would make the almost always cool and composed Tseng so afraid.
As he thought, a soft buzzing sound began to grow in his mind. The sound slowly increased in pitch and volume, and eventually it became a sharp, constant ringing sensation. Sephiroth fell to his knees and without knowing it put his hands to his ears, trying to make the noise stop. Through the midst of it all he could hear a heartbeat, slow at first, but then becoming faster and faster. Sephiroth began to scream in agony as the shrill noise instigated wave after wave of pain in his head. He then felt a sudden sharp sensation go through his body, and with that the world turned black.
Tseng paced nervously through the inn at Nibelheim. After Sephiroth had blacked out the other members of SOLDIER had carried him through the rest of Mt. Nibel. After arriving at Nibelheim they had then carried him to the inn and laid him down on the bed. Tseng had decided to stay and monitor Sephiroth while the others left to report to the nearest Shinra post, Shinra Mansion. Tseng could have gone with them, and eventually he would need to go to Shinra Mansion and complete his current assignment, but if Sephiroth woke up still under the affects of Jenova, Tseng would have to insure to give him an "anti-Jenova vaccine". The fact that the only such "vaccine" was really just a solution concentrated mainly from very lethal cyanides didn't matter all that much to Tseng when it came to the preservation of his life.
Tseng then began to fall into deep thought. Such habits seemed to have become characteristic of Tseng lately. This time he began to wonder about Sephiroth's episode. He had known that Sephiroth's cell make-up was rather highly concentrated with Jenova cells and Mako. After all, he had been treated with the two from conception. Still, how had the main body of Jenova affected him when he had been so far away from her? Tseng couldn't figure that out, although he had no doubt Sephiroth had been affected. Tseng eventually gave up and, seeing as how it was now night, turned in for the day.
Most everyone had peaceful dreams that night, but as for Sephiroth; the lingering effects of Jenova haunted his dreams. He found himself alone on the top of a hill. At the base of the hill were people who wore raggedy clothing and showed signs of starvation and within some there was a sense of madness. Within all of their eyes were infinite pools of despair. They were all ranting about something; from the looks of it Sephiroth guessed they were begging for mercy. But why were they begging him for mercy? As Sephiroth tried to figure it out, his hand, acting independently from his body, crept over to the hilt of his sword. Instead of his usual blade, though, he drew a long and slender sword. With incredible speed the sword was drawn, and on it was a dry, red residue. At first Sephiroth thought it was rust, but on second notice he found it to be blood.
Then he suddenly ran. He hadn't wanted to, he just did. It seemed like he was trapped within his own body, unable to control anything. He then leapt forward and came down at the base of the hill where all of the people were. They seemed relieved, but their relief lasted only a second. Sephiroth whipped his sword to the right, decapitating one of those begging for mercy. He then moved, as swift as light, and slaughtered them all. --- It's...an execution. They were begging for mercy, they were begging for their lives.--- Sephiroth tried to take control of his body, but it was futile. He had no control over the ruthless form he was in.
Moments later, all of his victims were dead. Some were in one piece, some in two, some in many. Sephiroth looked down and saw the ground, tainted a crimson red from the bloodbath Sephiroth had created. The scene then shifted to what appeared to be the inside of a Mako reactor. There was an ornamental angel statue lying on the ground, and what was once that statue's base stood in front of some...thing. It was humanoid, and it almost had beauty, but its skin was blue for some reason.
Then pain flashed through Sephiroth. "Tifa, my mom, my hometown, everything. Give it back!" Sephiroth looked down and saw a giant metal blade sticking through his stomach. Why had someone stabbed him, and what was he talking about? Try as he might, he just couldn't think of anything. Eventually, the blade retreated from Sephiroth's stomach, and he fell to the ground, feeling the cold metal stick to the wound in his chest, from which blood now flowed freely. The scene shifted back to the foot of the hill, and the people Sephiroth had killed were alive once more, vengeance etched into their features. They closed in on him and proceeded to beat him in his weakened state. After a while, satisfied that Sephiroth's life would soon end, they left him to die. Sephiroth used what little energy he had left to roll onto his back, and it was then that he saw it.
A giant meteor, approaching the planet. Upon it stood the blue creature Sephiroth had seen in the reactor earlier in this twisted nightmare. The thing appeared to almost be riding the meteor, hoping to be part of the catastrophic event that would occur should the giant stone plummet to the Earth. Sephiroth then felt the ground begin to soften, and then turn into a liquid. He sunk into it until he hit a green current, the Lifestream. The agony once more went through Sephiroth's body as he was carried through its winding path. Soon enough he was dumped into a pit, and the Lifestream swirled around him and crystallized, forming a neat crystal. Then a black orb pierced the shell of the crystal, and the crystal suddenly became too heavy and crashed downward. Instead of stopping upon hitting the ground, it passed through it. The crystal shed layer after layer until Sephiroth was completely free of its grasp, and all the while he traveled further downward.
After a long, torturous fall Sephiroth finally stopped. He was in what appeared to be some sort of vortex. There was no ground, only space, and that space changed colors from green to red to blue. Sephiroth could hear chanting in an ancient language, and he felt more vulnerable than he had ever felt before. His fear grew by the second, until Sephiroth was paralyzed by it. Then, when his fear and vulnerability reached their highest extent, something materialized in front of him.
It looked like Sephiroth, only very different. The hair was pure white instead of silver, and the eyes were filled with pure hatred and menace. The left arm was fine, but in place of the right arm was a wing. Instead of legs, the manipulated version of Sephiroth had six white, narrow wings that were tipped with violet. Sephiroth was awed at the sight. It imposed fear and spoke of death, yet it had an almost regal, majestic edge to it.
Then black appeared at the corner of Sephiroth's vision, and it slowly advanced, consuming Sephiroth's sight. When the darkness was complete, the blue figure returned again, this time noticeably missing a head. Sephiroth felt something in his hand, and glanced at it to see why the blue figure had no head. Sephiroth felt a wave of revolt go through his body, and he shut his eyes tightly. He could feel his presence in this world of nightmares begin to fade, but just as consciousness was about to return to him, he heard a single sentence.
"The future awaits you, my puppet."
Sephiroth sprang upright with a scream of sheer terror. He found that he was breathing rather heavily and that his heart was pounding in his chest. Sweat slowly dribbled down his face before dropping into the bed sheets, which were cold and clammy. He climbed out of his bed and limped into a bathroom. He turned on the sink and inundated his face in cold water. He then took a towel and dried his face. As the towel cleared his eyes Sephiroth froze. Within the mirror was the face of the dream version of him, with white hair and eyes full of spite. He rubbed his eyes and when he looked back into the mirror his face greeted him. He shook his head and, try as he might, couldn't stop the fit of laughter that came next. What was happening to him? He was becoming more and more insane by the minute!
"Whatever might you be laughing about, Sephiroth?" said an all too familiar voice. Even without turning around or glancing at the mirror in front of him, Sephiroth easily identified it as Tseng.
"Oh, nothing much, Tseng." Sephiroth replied. He didn't need to tell Tseng about his nightmare, nor did he want to. Besides, it was just a dream. It had about as much grounding in reality as some of the fairy tales that young children had been told. Sephiroth then thought about those age- old fairy tales. He had never been told them. There was never a real parental presence in his life, and Sephiroth had never had friends as a child. For the most part, he had been isolated, and on purpose at that. Under Hojo's orders, the only friends Sephiroth could make were the sword and books on the great military leaders. Supposedly it was for his own good, but Sephiroth found it fascinating that someone like Hojo, who had never bothered to incorporate himself into Sephiroth's life, could decide what exactly was best for Sephiroth.
Sephiroth then thought of something. Supposedly Hojo was in Shinra Mansion. Perhaps he could pay his father a visit.
Hojo stood over his newest specimen, taking notes in his journal. The subject still failed to respond to any stimuli. Hojo took out a knife, and slowly ran the blade across his subject's stomach. A red line followed the knife, and blood slowly oozed from the wound, but the specimen didn't move. Hojo glanced over to some of his machinery. It was all hooked up to the specimen's body, looking for changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, brain wave patterns, anything possible. None of the readings showed any changes. Hojo swore under his breath. It was so hard to bring life back into someone when they weren't even aware of what has happening to them.
The charts then jumped up and down. Heart rate was up from 80 bpm to 143 bpm. Respiratory rate up 167%. Brain waves consistent with fear and....joy? Odd, but Hojo was grateful that the specimen was showing some signs of life.
The intercom in Hojo's lab then buzzed three times in rapid succession. Someone wanted to visit him. Hojo quickly exited his basement laboratory, making sure to lock the door behind him, and headed up to see who was visiting him. ---This better not be Tseng.--- Hojo thought, ---If I have to undergo even one more of his insufferable progress reports, I'll see to it that President Shinra demotes him all the way down to staff aide.- -- As Hojo closed the secret basement entrance behind him, he glanced at a security camera monitor he had installed. Thankfully, it wasn't Tseng. It was some other person, and that person appeared to be making small talk with one of the aides. Shinra Mansion was fairly small, but it was staffed beyond its capacity. Entering the mansion, you could quite literally see tens of cubicles arranged in the on the first floor. There were several offices too, one of which belonged to Reno, who was on assignment in Nibelheim. Despite the business of the place, everyone was very quiet. Even the softest of sounds carried all the way to the basement. The only people who didn't care about that fact were the aides, who made sure to talk loud and clear to everyone. Several times Hojo had bungled an experiment because they were too loud. It was for that reason that Hojo was constantly pushing for Shinra Mansion to become Hojo's private laboratory. President Shinra was slowly caving in on that issue, but it could very well take years for Hojo to have his wish granted.
Hojo descended the stairs from the second to first floor, and as he did so he looked at the visitor. He had long silver hair, and his eyes had a Mako glow to them. Hojo thought he remembered the face. At one time he had held it dearly to him, some once-in-a-lifetime experiment or something to that extent.
Hojo greeted the visitor with a slight bow. Hojo then led the visitor to his room on the second floor, the room that connected to the basement. Hojo sat down on one of the chairs arranged throughout the room, and the visitor did the same.
"What do you want? Did Shinra send you here in place of Tseng to check up on me?" Hojo asked coldly. He was eager to get back to his experiment, this was the first time his specimen had looked and acted the part of a living being.
"Nothing much...father" the visitor then said. Hojo was baffled at the remark.
"Father?! I don't have any children." Hojo then thought long and hard. It came to him that he had indeed had a son at one point in time, but he was dead. It was a shame too; he was proving to be the perfect specimen. That was it! This person had the same face of the person he had experimented on. How could Hojo have forgotten about his experiments on Sephiroth? He had come so close to creating the perfect soldier, only to have his dreams stolen from him by the rebels. Regardless, Sephiroth was dead. He had plunged into the Lifestream, and no one could survive that. Or, perhaps they could? Hojo could test him quickly to see whether or not this was Sephiroth. Only nine people knew Hojo had ever had a child, and none of them would dare be the source of an information leak.
"Tell me. What is your name?" Hojo asked nonchalantly, trying to contain his excitement.
"Sephiroth." Hojo jumped out of his seat and felt like he could dance, albeit no amount of happiness would actually get him to dance. Hojo rushed over to one of his scientific tool kits and brought it over to Sephiroth. Hojo took out the instruments and began to poke and probe Sephiroth, taking measurements. Sephiroth showed signs of discomfort, but Hojo didn't mind that. He poked a needle into Sephiroth and drew a blood sample. It was at this point that Sephiroth grew fed up with Hojo's lack of non-scientific interest in him. He sprang up and shoved Hojo across the room and walked out slowly. He didn't seem as angry as he was sad at having confirmed something. Hojo watched him leave, puzzled with Sephiroth's actions. He didn't think he had done anything to offend him. He shook his head and began to head downstairs to the basement, only to be stopped by the intercom. He looked over to the security camera monitor, and grimaced as he saw Tseng. ---Great.---
Tseng tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Hojo. The aide who had greeted him at the door was attempting to talk with him, and Tseng found the aide most annoying. He was tempted to just leave, but unfortunately he knew all too well that eventually he had to meet with Hojo, and it was better to get it done with. After he checked up on Hojo, he could go and meet Reno, which Tseng felt was an urgent matter.
Tseng noticed Hojo walking slowly down the stairs, and, as usual, was disgusted with Hojo's appearance. Some people said that he and Tseng appeared somewhat similar, and Tseng always considered that an insult. Hojo's back was bent forward from years of inactivity and many other poor health decisions. His hair was of similar color and length as Tseng's, but was uncared for and hideously dirty. Then of course, there was how utterly grotesque Hojo's skin was. Tseng was just as busy as Hojo, but he made sure to get out into the sun. Hojo, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't been outside in years. His skin was pale to the point of appearing translucent.
Of course, Tseng disliked meeting Hojo for a plethora of other reasons, but still he had to meet with Hojo. He just had to put his personal dislike of the scientist aside for the meetings. He knew that Hojo had no love for him as well, but if he could get over that for their meetings, so could Tseng.
Reno watched the meeting intently through his network of hidden cameras. Perhaps Tseng could weasel out of Hojo what exactly it was that Hojo did with all of those unaccounted hours. He seemed to disappear from Shinra Mansion, and yet the guards around the mansion never saw him leave. Rumor was that when Professor Gast had managed to get President Shinra to build the place, he had a hidden room installed. Unfortunately, nobody had ever found the entrance. Perhaps Hojo had managed to do so.
Bringing his mind back to the discussion Tseng and Hojo were having, Reno noted that they appeared to be playing a game of chess with their words, baiting the other into giving up information that person didn't want the other to know. As Reno looked at Tseng, he had to stifle his laughter. Three days had passed, but still Reno found the situation hilarious. When he had brought his laughter under control Reno looked back at the monitor and swore. Hojo was walking back to his room and Tseng appeared to be approaching the offices. That meant that he was now going to check up on Reno. Reno fumbled with the dials on his monitor and managed to make it display the latest news from Midgar just as Tseng entered his office. Reno breathed a sigh of relief, but made sure that Tseng couldn't notice that he was doing so.
Tseng took two steps and walked the length of the office. He found a chair to his liking, and sat down on it. His face carried a composure that masked the frustration he had to be feeling after his meeting with Hojo. Reno decided to see if he could get Tseng to lose that composure. It was a game that he played with Tseng every time they met, and every time Reno managed to win. Reno just had to know exactly what he needed to do to trigger Tseng's anger.
"So, Tseng. How was your trip to Rocket Town? I hear someone took the town by siege." Reno asked innocently.
"Yes. That was a misinformed mistake. The person had no ill intentions towards Shinra." Tseng's mask seemed to slip a bit. Reno had confirmed what he had thought. Now it was time to move in for the kill.
"You know, for some reason, the official records of the hospital in Rocket Town showed that someone had visited the hospital, but a day later, all records of that person ever having been in the hospital magically vanished." Reno pointed out, keeping his town flat and unassuming.
"That is rather odd. Perhaps we should have someone check in on what happened there. I'm shocked that someone could bribe the hospital staff into erasing their name from the records." Tseng barely managed to keep his control. His mind continually wondered as to whether or not Reno knew. He couldn't know. Tseng had had his name struck from the records. But then again, if an entire day had passed before he had woken up. Maybe Reno did know.
Reno reveled in how nervous Tseng had become. Tseng's eyes darted nervously from side to side, and his forehead began to perspire. The time for small talk was just about over.
"You know, I just now got your latest lecture on the methodology of battle on tape. Listening to it proved very instructive. You know, based on what you say, following your guidelines will make someone invincible in battle. Do you really believe that?"
"Why, of course I do. If I say it I mean it." Reno grinned, he had just backed Tseng into a corner in the conversation.
"Tseng, you can't still think that. Especially after getting the pants whipped off of you in battle!" Reno took great pleasure in finally revealing to Tseng that he knew. Tseng's eyes widened and his panic became evident.
"Look, Reno. I don't mind you knowing all of this too much. It just shows that you can never be invincible in battle." Tseng wasn't surprised at all with how easily the lies came to him. "Just don't go spreading this kind of information. You'll undermine Shinra's authority."
"Too late! Half of Midgar knows by now! I called Rude and told him! He must've been laughing for hours!"
"What?! You son of a..." Tseng leapt out of his chair and over Reno's desk in an attempt to strangle the Turk. As he did so he noticed how hard Reno was laughing. He had won again. Tseng began to breathe deeply, attempting to ease the anger he felt. He picked himself up off of Reno's desk and sat back down in his chair. His mind began to think of more professional ways to get Reno back for what he had done. Tseng valued his image almost as much as his life. If people began to lose their respect for him like Rude, and then Reno, had done, he would be too embarrassed to set foot outdoors ever again, and would wind up like Hojo, a thought that had absolutely no appeal to Tseng. The idea came to Tseng quickly. The plan he had created would work perfectly, and would rankle in Reno's mind for some time.
If there was one thing Reno valued above everything else, alcohol and women not included, it was knowledge. If there was one lesson Tseng had given Reno that had actually stuck, it was that with knowledge comes great power. With knowledge you know your opponents weakness, and Reno's complex mind forced him to want to be superior to others. Tseng could make Reno feel inferior to Tseng if he were able to convince Reno that he had key knowledge that Reno didn't. Perhaps then he could also get the brash Turk to fall in line with Tseng. After that it would be easy to get Rude to respect him. Tseng almost began to laugh as he thought of his plan, but checked himself. He would appear insane and somehow lose even more of Reno's respect.
Tseng smiled slyly and resumed his conversation with Reno.
Sephiroth stood at the center of town, wildly slicing through the air with his sword. His sword moved with such velocity that he could hear it going through the air, and all of his strokes with the sword carried a great deal of power with them, yet Sephiroth's attacks also carried a preciseness and fluidity. The members of SOLDIER watched him, impressed with his skill. To them he was merely brushing up on his technique, but this was something totally different to Sephiroth.
For Sephiroth, whenever he had his sword in hand he felt a sense of power. Every time he used the sword in battle he came out the victor, and it always felt right when the hilt of the sword was clenched in his palm. It was as though he was destined to use the sword. For him, the only moments of tranquility and serenity came in the chaos and brutality of battle. It was just the way things were. Perhaps Hojo could be accredited with having done one thing right. The sword did really seem to be his friend, offering his solace in his anger and his sadness.
Thinking about Hojo sparked his anger again. He held no importance to his own father. Hojo had been happy to see him only so that he could study the person who emerged from the Lifestream. Hojo didn't care if he died, and wouldn't have given Sephiroth a second thought had he never resurfaced from the dead. He would have just gone on with his experiments. If Hojo had ever expressed any sadness over Sephiroth's disappearance, or any remorse over how he greeted his long-lost son, it would probably only be because he didn't take full advantage of the opportunity to get that one last blood sample of tissue sample, or perhaps because he ran one of his tests wrong.
Sephiroth's workout grew even more furious, and more movement became part of his routine. He leapt from side to side, and used all of the open space within Nibelheim to continue his practice. As he did so he noticed a young boy with spiky blond hair admiring him alongside the rest of Sephiroth's spectators. A great many people had gathered to watch Sephiroth in action, perhaps thinking it was a display of how powerful SOLDIER was. Sephiroth didn't know why, but the boy caught his attention. Maybe it was just the odd hairstyle. Regardless, Sephiroth decided to put on quite a show for everyone. His movements became a blur, and he was barely able to notice the applause and cheers he got.
A noise pierced through the applause. It sounded like the piano being played, and for the most part no one noticed it. But Sephiroth saw that the little boy's attention was no longer on Sephiroth. In fact, the boy was wandering off to the source of it, and as he heard it, Sephiroth began to calm down. His attacks grew less and less violent, and he slowed down before he finally stopped. His spectators gave him one last round of applause before they went off to return to their daily lives. After he had calmed down, Sephiroth noticed how much he had exhausted himself during his frenzied workout. He staggered over to the hotel and went into his room, snatching a bottle of water from the sink in the bathroom of his room. He gulped it down quickly and tossed the bottle into the trash.
He walked over to the window of his room and opened it, listening to the piano music that filled the air. It managed to relax him, and he plopped down into his bed. He closed his eyes as he listened to the music, and before he knew it he had fallen into a deep sleep.