He sat on a cold examining table with a bright light bearing down on him. From within this circle of light, the rest of the lab seemed deep in shadows, a perfect place for monsters to be lurking. Of course, the only monster here was standing right in front of him, preparing a syringe.
The boy sat nearly still, paralyzed by his fear of this man but unable to fight back the tears that welled up at simply being here. He wanted to bolt from this lab, but he knew that the Professor would catch him and force him into submission. Fleeing would only make this worse. But still he dreaded the shot, yet another needle, an unpleasant sharp thing that carried something foreign into his blood and made it scream.
"Quiet, boy," the Professor snapped, hearing his specimen's sniffling. "Stop crying. A soldier isn't supposed to cry, now is he?"
"No, Professor," he managed.
The monster turned to him with the ready needle in hand. He took the boy's arm.
"Please, you do this every week," the boy implored. "It's never any different, so why--?"
"I'll tolerate none of that, boy. Just sit quiet and do as I say."
"...yes, Professor."
Sephiroth was awakened by the warmth of sunlight playing across his face. He opened his eyes, turning his head towards the window. He felt disoriented, but not by his surroundings. That had been too vivid and coherent for a dream. Was his memory at last beginning to surface, triggered by the sight of familiar places?
He climbed out of the bed, pulled his boots back on, and went with some reluctance to wake Katrina. She looked to be sleeping peacefully, and for that he envied her.
When he shook her, she opened one grey eye to look at him blearily, then slowly sat up. "Are we leaving now?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Yes," he replied curtly. He went to Tifa's room where Vincent had spent the night, and found the man lying on his side facing the wall, twisted sheets beneath him and blanket thrown to the floor.
"Go ahead," Vincent said before Sephiroth could speak. "I'll join you in a moment."
The swordsman accepted this silently and left the house, finding Katrina outside waiting for him.
"Isn't Vincent coming?" she asked, peering past him as the door fell shut.
"In a moment," Sephiroth replied.
They waited for a few minutes before the ex-Turk came out to join them, appearing even more pale and withdrawn than usual. The swordsman studied him carefully for a moment before speaking.
"I've decided to do what I can to atone," Sephiroth said. "If this is a second chance, then I ought to do something of merit."
His companions were silent for a moment, and then Katrina asked, "Where do we start?"
He turned his gaze northward. "Vincent, you said that nothing can be done for the dead, but I am not content to accept that without trying. That Cetra girl... Aeris... her body is in the City of the Ancients, is it not? I want to try to bring her back."
Aeris sat back from the mirror, dumbfounded. He was going to try reviving her? That was impossible... wasn't it? She had to admit that Sephiroth was the most powerful being on the face of the Planet. He had nearly become a god, so perhaps he could bring back the dead.
So, if he succeeded, what then? For five years, her role as an observer had consumed her, and now this chance at living again had sent her mind reeling. What would she do? Where would she go? Would anyone even want her anymore? Perhaps the sight of her would only bring her friends more pain. She knew that she no longer had any place in their lives. They had moved on without her, as they should have.
What did she have left to go back to?
Aeris turned to her mother, who had sat down beside her. "Do you think it'll work?"
Ifalna shook her head. "I doubt it. But, then again, his healing powers haven't really been tested. The real question is, do you want it to work?"
She turned her attention back to the mirror. "I'm not even sure..."
Both Sephiroth and Katrina stared as Vincent led them into the heart of the City of the Ancients. Although the swordsman recognized this place, nevertheless its beauty took him by surprise. The crystalline lake before them, the haunting bone-white trees, and the strange pale blue glow that permeated the place captivated him.
Upon reaching the water's edge, he glanced questioningly at Vincent.
"Cloud placed her body in this lake after she died," he explained. "This is her grave."
A short silence followed.
"So... somebody has to swim down and get her?" Katrina asked, eyeing the water dubiously. Sephiroth could not understand why she had come with them; she could not possibly find such company pleasant, could she? Perhaps she was only afraid of being on her own.
"I'll go," Sephiroth said. For a moment Vincent looked as though he might dispute that, but Sephiroth had already shrugged out of his coat and was pulling off his boots. He waded barefoot into the water, and when the lake bed suddenly dropped out beneath him, he dove, searching for the telltale pink of her dress. He did not spot her until he was almost out of air, and then he had to return briefly to the surface before retrieving her. He carried her back to the shore, the both of them dripping wet, and laid her down.
The lake's strange waters had done a good job of preserving her; she almost looked as though she were asleep, but then his eye came to the hole in her body, just below her ribcage, and the illusion was ruined. So that was how he had killed her, coming down swift from above, blade lancing clean through her.
Sephiroth shook his head and reached for one of her lifeless hands, taking it tentatively. Not wasting time with uncertainties, he closed his eyes and cast about for the knowledge he needed to undo what he had done five years ago.
He searched first for her soul, the key part of this, and nearly started when something--or someone--seemed to hand it to him. He accepted it carefully, and for a moment that responsibility overwhelmed him.
He could see her in the Sleeping Forest, saying farewell to Cloud, telling him that she could handle Sephiroth on her own.
I'll come back when it's all over.
He could see her, too, kneeling on the City's altar, praying for Holy. He knew that she was forcing herself to stay calm; beneath that tranquility, she was desperate, pleading, hoping where there was very little hope.
And then in one instant he had ended it. She had fallen dead into Cloud's arms, and he had stood by, aloof and uncaring.
Why did her soul not seem repulsed by his touch?
He guided her soul back into her body and sealed it there, pouring as much energy into the binding spell as he could, stopping only when he felt a sudden pulse in her wrist.
Sephiroth started, letting go her hand and staring at her. Was she alive again? Had he actually done it? And how in nine hells was she going to react to seeing him?
He faltered and considered leaving this place before she even saw him, but he noticed that her wound had begun to bleed again.
And then she opened her eyes, and he found himself frozen to the spot.
Aeris found his eyes the moment she awoke, and she jerked up, trying and failing to get away from him. Falling back onto one elbow, she stared at him, her heart beating wildly and the pain of her wound returning in a flash.
A moment passed, and then her memories rushed back. He had brought her back, she recalled, though the knowledge did not make his blue-green eyes any less unsettling. "My wound," she gasped, but was unable to say any more.
Sephiroth started and broke her gaze, quickly laying his hand over the gash. She felt the swirl of magic around them and the warm sensation of healing as his spell knit her flesh back together. When he had finished, the fatal wound was nothing more than a pair of shallow cuts.
The swordsman did not meet her eyes again, but neither did he move. He seemed to be waiting for something, some word from her, a reaction, a condemnation.
She tried to sit up, and this time she managed it, though she felt so weak that she very much doubted she would be able to stand. "I..." she began uncertainly, and then stopped, realizing she did not know what to say to him. He was her murderer, but he was no longer the same man as when he had killed her. Was he, then, the man he had been before all this?
"You told me that I'd see you again," she said at length, "but after all that, I didn't think I would."
Sephiroth looked back at her uncertainly. "What do you mean?"
She shook her head dismissively, realizing that he still wouldn't remember, and maybe he never would. "I've been watching you," she said, "from the Promised Land. So... there's no need to explain. This is your second chance."
They were both silent for a moment, until Aeris shivered suddenly. She remembered then where she was, and that she was soaked to the bone, and that Vincent and the girl, Katrina, were watching. She felt some relief with the last realization. Even if Sephiroth had his sanity again, each time she looked at him she was reminded of her death.
"Do you want this?" Sephiroth asked her, having retrieved his coat and poised to hand it to her. "I know... since it's mine..."
"I'd appreciate it," she managed, glad that, in spite of her fear, she still sounded like she meant it. She took his coat from him gingerly and wrapped it about her shoulders.
No longer needed, the swordsman picked up his boots and stood, swiftly removing himself. "We should leave now," he said to Vincent in passing. "I don't belong here."
Vincent stepped closer to Aeris and crouched down beside her. "Do you need help walking?" he asked her quietly.
"I'm not even sure I can stand," she confessed.
"I will carry you then." There was no question in his voice; he knew that someone would have to, and that she would be even less comfortable in Sephiroth's arms than in his. So, at her nod, he gathered her into his arms, mindful of his claw, and stood.
Sephiroth and Katrina stood waiting, the girl's eyes still holding some disbelief. The swordsman met Aeris's gaze briefly before he turned to lead the way back out of the City. She shuddered involuntarily and drew his coat closer about her, though she knew that much of her discomfort had little to do with the cold.
From the City, they went to the nearby Bone Village and checked into the inn. What a sight they must have made, Vincent looking like a vampire who had stolen some girl away from her home, Sephiroth returned from the dead and currently bare-chested, and Katrina hiding behind him, not wanting anyone to see her. Indeed the innkeeper stared at them in astonishment for some time. Vincent had to ask thrice for a room before the man gave them a key and told them the number.
The four of them went up to their room, which only had two beds. Normally that would not have mattered, but for once Sephiroth felt tired. In fact, he felt exhausted. Reviving Aeris had taken more out of him than he had thought it would.
Vincent lay Aeris down on one of the beds and moved to lean against the wall nearby. Katrina sat down on the other bed, testing its mattress, and Sephiroth sunk gratefully into the room's only chair. He closed his eyes, intending to get some rest there and then, but he felt that the others were waiting for him to speak. He sat up and looked at each of them, his gaze lingering on Aeris. Something important had happened between them, he felt, something that he had forgotten and that Vincent knew nothing about.
"There is still much for me to do if I want to atone," Sephiroth said at length, lowering his gaze as it seemed to make Aeris uneasy. "I don't expect any of you to accompany me, least of all you, Miss... ah... Aeris." He did not feel that he had the right to address her by her first name, but he did not remember her last.
Katrina was the first to reply, and the certitude of her words surprised him. "Well, I'm certainly not going to stop here," she said, "so I'm sticking with you until we get to Cosmo Canyon."
"You would really prefer that to going home?" he asked her with some incredulity.
"I left for a reason, you know, and you're pretty interesting company."
Shaking his head, Sephiroth turned his gaze on Vincent. "And you?"
"I would go with you, but Aeris ought not be left alone in her condition, and I doubt she wants to be near you."
The swordsman looked to her for confirmation.
Aeris looked down, tucking a strand of damp hair behind her ear. "Vincent... Vincent's right," she said softly. "I can still... remember when you killed me. I know you're different now, but it's still hard to be near you." She glanced at Vincent. "I'm sorry to put this on you, Vincent, but I would appreciate someone staying here with me until I recover."
"It's no trouble," he assured her.
"Then I suppose it's settled," Sephiroth said. "Katrina and I will leave in the morning."
Aeris looked at him quickly, but immediately averted her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. She seemed to have something on her mind, but she did not voice it, and Sephiroth was not about to ask.
Closing his eyes again, the swordsman drifted off to sleep, feeling for the first time that he needed it.
"Where is my mother?"
The red-haired woman sitting beside his bed looked at him guardedly. "Why do you keep asking me about your mother?"
"Everyone has one, don't they?" he asked, wondering briefly if he was so different that he did not really have a mother.
"Yes," she answered curtly.
"So what happened to mine?" he persisted. "And to my father?"
"They... left."
They had left him behind? "But where did they go? I want to go see them."
"You can't," the woman stated with a shake of her head. "The Professor wouldn't allow it."
"He doesn't have to know."
"You think he wouldn't find out?" she asked sharply.
Sephiroth was silent for a moment. "He told me today that my mother's name was Jenova," he said, frowning, "but I don't want to believe that. Jenova is the name printed on those books in the basement. My mother couldn't have been a specimen like me, could she?"
She hesitated. "I don't know much about your mother, but her name was not Jenova."
"What was it then?"
"...Lucrecia," she answered eventually. "Your mother was Lucrecia."
"Why did the Professor tell me otherwise? Shouldn't he know?"
The woman shook her head and looked at him seriously. "You shouldn't trust anything Hojo says. Truth doesn't matter to him. He has plans for you, and he's not about to play fair in getting you to go along with them."
"If he's such a liar, why do you work for him?"
She looked away. "I have my reasons."
The boy studied her uncertainly, but asked no more questions. Already he had gotten more answers from her than any other time. Perhaps, he thought, she was finally beginning to see him as a real person, rather than the experiment the Professor claimed him to be.
He woke the next morning to find that the others were already up, and that someone had draped his coat over him as a blanket. It had probably been Katrina, he guessed; Vincent would not have bothered, and Aeris had neither the strength nor the desire to get so close to him.
Sephiroth stood and pulled on his coat, nodding absently to Katrina's friendly 'good morning.'
Vincent handed him a PHS. "If you need to speak with me while on your journey, use this."
The swordsman accepted it with a nod, noting that this PHS belonged to Aeris. They had stopped by one of the shell houses on their way out of the City to retrieve what meager belongings she had left there so many years ago.
"I suppose this is farewell for a while," he said to Vincent. "I thank you for your assistance, and for telling me what I needed to know."
The ex-Turk shook his head. "You should not thank me. I did none of this for you."
"Your reasons don't matter. I am still grateful." He turned to Katrina. "Shall we go?"
"Sephiroth," Aeris called out just as his hand reached the doorknob.
He looked back at her questioningly. What could she possibly have to say to the likes of him?
"Thank you," she said, managing a faint smile. "Thank you for calling me back."
He could only stare at her in astonishment. How could she thank him when it was he who had killed her in the first place? She did not owe him any gratitude, and he did not deserve it. He had murdered her. Why was she thanking him? Unable to make sense of this, he turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway without replying.
Katrina followed him, silent until they had made it past the innkeeper and out into the street. "You should have said something," she told him.
"What exactly was I supposed to say?" he asked just a little too harshly.
The girl seemed unfazed. "'You're welcome' would have been a good start."
He shook his head. "That implies that I did something to merit her thanks."
"You didn't have to bring her back, you know. You could have just taken for granted that dead people stay dead like the rest of us and tried to help people who were still alive. The fact that you refused to accept that has got to count for something."
They reached the chocobos that they had left in the care of a villager, and he looked back at her in confusion. "Why are you saying these things?"
"You saved my life," she replied. "No matter what else you've done, that makes you a good guy in my book."
Sephiroth only frowned and pulled himself up onto one of the chocobos. Katrina pulled herself up behind him without waiting for his help and put her arms around his waist. Neither of them said anything further, and so they rode out of Bone Village in silence.
He had thought for the past few days that once he had done all he could to make things right, the best thing would be to end his life. Surely the world would not want him around after he ceased to be useful. It would be better if he died. And yet, this girl who barely knew him considered him a 'good guy,' and Aeris, one of his victims, had thanked him with complete sincerity. What was he supposed to make of that?
What could he do afterwards? Certainly he did not deserve this life, and using it for himself seemed somehow profane. Still, if people were going to treat him this kindly, he did not want to die. The thought surprised him, and Sephiroth shook his head, reminding himself that it really did not matter what he wanted.
Report filed by: Professor Nibori Hojo
Date: September 6, 2017 CC
Subject: S-A02-C01Specimen is now eight months old, but its rate of growth is far more rapid than any human infant. Appears and acts as one twice its age; already walking clumsily and can communicate using simple words. Professor Gast believes that as the child grows older, its growth rate will slow to that of a human. Nevertheless, a childhood shorter to any extent is a great scientific achievement, but if the growth does not slow, there is the possibility of premature aging and death. Still too early to confirm anything.
As already noted, specimen was born with Mako eyes, but by now we have noticed that they seem to change color depending on mood. Color ranges from emerald green to pale blue, the former seen while subject is distressed, the latter while calm. Specimen is more frequently distressed. Obviously does not like being in lab, and lack of cooperation is beginning to become a nuisance. May have to request assistance from Shinra's Turks once subject is older.
Also: specimen seems to display innate magical ability, as we had hoped. No way to measure it as yet, but child has demonstrated this ability on several occasions. Destroyed several pieces of equipment in lab (nothing irreplaceable) and set fire to one of my books. During one especially bad tantrum, subject sent out pulse that knocked out power in laboratory for some time. Fortunately, no data was lost, and the child's anger was soon remedied. Clearly the specimen shows a strong tendency towards what the Ancients called "black magic." Am sure that Shinra will be glad to have this child once it is older.
"Talya," came a harsh, familiar voice, interrupting her reading. "I want you to go find your daughter.
Still grinding her teeth over the last order he had given her, she decided to ignore him and continue reading.
Report filed by: Professor Nibori Hojo
Date: January 19, 2029 CC
Subject: S-A02-C01
Magical ability has continued to increase. Recent tests in comparison to strength of materia show that specimen's destructive magic can be as much as 13 times stronger. Curative and barrier magic are less impressive, but still more effective than materia, averaging about twice as strong. Specimen also displays abilities attributable to magic but unattainable through the use of materia. A sort of telekinesis, for example.
Specimen continues to spar with Talya daily, but she can no longer beat it under any circumstances. Will have to make her a more formidable opponent so that subject's training is not thus impeded.
"Talya, I will not wait any longer," he said impatiently. "Get moving."
She continued to ignore him. There wasn't much he could do to her. Well, she amended, there probably was, considering the Jenova cells he had injected himself with some years ago, but there was nothing he could do that would really change her mind.
At the moment, she was more interested in refreshing her memory. It had been a long time since she had seen Sephiroth, and if she was going to find him...
Final Report filed by: Professor Nibori Hojo
Date: July 4, 2035 CC
Subject: S-A02-C01
"Talya!" barked Professor Hojo. "I've told you twice already, now go find your daughter."
The Turk sighed, flipped the file shut, and got to her feet, scraping back her chair. "Yes, Professor," she said without respect. She put one hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "What do you want her for this time? I thought you were finished with the testing for a while."
"I am," he snapped. Obviously her insubordination had not improved his mood. "She needs to learn what she can about Sephiroth before you bring him in. If he decides to put up a fight, it will take the both of you to contain him."
Talya nodded. "Let's hope he cooperates," she said. "I don't like the thought of fighting--"
"I did not come down here for idle conversation," Hojo interrupted pointedly.
She glared back at him, but acknowledged that any argument was pointless, and anyway, it wasn't as though she liked talking to him. Without another word, she turned to make her way into the reactor, where she knew her daughter would be wandering.
For the millionth time, she wondered how she had gotten herself into this. She had never wanted to work for Hojo, but of course when he had requested assistance, the Company had sent the Turk they considered to be the least valuable--the woman, in other words.
Technically, with Shinra long gone, she no longer had any obligation to stay. Certainly she wanted to quit, but things just weren't that simple anymore. Maybe Hojo would let her go, but he would not let her take her daughter with her, and Talya wasn't about to leave without her.
And now, of course, Sephiroth had come back into the equation.
She caught the faint sound of humming and froze so that her footsteps no longer obscured it. The sound was coming from a walkway some ways below her, so she leaned over the railing to look down. Sure enough, there was her daughter. The girl had taken to music immediately, much as Sephiroth had, but she did not appreciate an audience. Still, there was something strangely haunting about the girl's voice if you ever managed to catch her singing.
"Minerva," she called down.
The humming ceased abruptly and the girl looked up at her in question.
"The Professor wants you."
"I suppose he wants to brief me on Sephiroth," Minerva concluded.
Talya blinked. She was sure she had said nothing about Sephiroth recently save to mention him. "Yes, exactly," she said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. "You're getting much too smart for your own good."
"You say that quite often these days, Mother," the girl replied, sounding unimpressed.
"I guess I do," she agreed. "Anyway, you should get going before he throws a fit. He's in a particularly bad mood today."
Minerva nodded and turned to go back to the lab. Talya watched her until she was out of sight, and then looked around the reactor. She wondered why her daughter liked walking through this place. The inside of a reactor had to be one of the ugliest sights in the world, with its myriad platforms and walkways and ladders set in maze-like formations, all made of metal that appeared rusty and unstable.
Maybe she just liked to wander here because it gave her some semblance of freedom. After all, it was either here or the lab.
Shrugging to herself, Talya went back to the library and retrieved a different folder. She had been meaning to look at the newest report, despite knowing how insultingly impersonal they always seemed. It wasn't as though she had anything else to read.
Report filed by: Professor Nibori Hojo
Date: September 1, 2052 CC
Subject: M-A05-C23
Over the past week, subject has fallen into extreme melancholy. I suspect this may have something to do with Sephiroth's reappearance, but this response is difficult to interpret. Specimen has been wandering through the reactor more frequently, as though restless. In sparring sessions, however, it has been unusually ferocious and has finally bested Talya. When asked about its peculiar behavior, subject only answers with cryptic references to the weather. Hopefully, subject's state of mind will not impair its ability to retrieve Sephiroth.
Talya sat back with a frown, but refrained from dwelling on Hojo's apparent inability to recognize gender. She thought instead about Minerva's recent 'peculiar behavior.' She, too, had noticed it, but she had assumed that her daughter would sort it out for herself. Still, that did not stop her from wondering. Could Minerva somehow sense Sephiroth's presence? Was that why she had known what Hojo wanted before anyone had told her?
Approaching footsteps drew her attention, and Hojo entered the library, followed by an icy-eyed Minerva. The girl sat down at the table near Talya, sliding Sephiroth's file over to her and opening it, all without a word.
"Talya," Hojo said to get her attention. "It is good that you've been reading up on Sephiroth, but you need to study specimens A-A04 and VV-01 as well."
"I know you want me to retrieve the girl, but why Vincent?" she asked in confusion. "What does he have to do with anything?"
"He has been seen accompanying both A-A04 and Sephiroth. The group has split, so he should not present a problem when retrieving Sephiroth, but he may get in the way when you collect the girl. He is strong, but you will be able to defeat him if you know his abilities."
"Right, I understand," she told him. Once he had left, she pulled out Aeris's file and rifled through it until she found something of substance.
Report filed by: Professor Nibori Hojo
Date: February 7, 2029 CC
Subject: A-A04
All of this coincides with Professor Gast's report on the Cetra. As evinced by its differences from I-A03 and A-A04, subject S-A02-C01 does not carry traits once held by the Ancients. Whatever the Jenova specimen was, Gast was obviously mistaken to call it an Ancient. Still, S-A02-C01's abilities have proven far more impressive than the two Ancients, so perhaps the mistake was fortuitous.
Author's Notes
So many revisions have gone into the scene where Sephiroth revives Aeris that it's scarcely recognizable. Seriously. In the first one very little passed between the two of them. It was just bang, Sephiroth revives her, they leave, and shortly thereafter they part ways. In the original I didn't see any need to establish a connection, but considering where the story ended up going, I decided it was a necessity. And thus we have this version of it, which I like so much better.
Hojo, Talya, and Minerva also make their first real appearances in the story. Unlike Katrina, a lot of people seem to like Minerva. Myself included. She was a lot of fun to write, and I'll miss her. Originally they didn't enter the story until chapter 8 because I didn't do anything chronologically, and the rest of this chapter was taken up by Vincent Angst (tm).