I think my name is Sephiroth. That's what the name on my collar and water bowl says. I am six years old. No one calls me that though. I don't know if Sephiroth is my name. It could be Specimen S.
I'm not sure what time it is. I've just been put in my room after my afternoon doctor's visit. Today they took some blood and gave lots of shots and stuck me in an X-ray. But it's ok.. Everyone goes through it. That's what Hojo said.
I'm not always in my room or the lab. Sometimes I'm training. Today they had me wrestle with a Nibel Wolf. I beat it of course. But they wouldn't let me go unless I snapped its neck.. I don't like killing them. I hate it. They don't seem so different from me.
Professor Gast gave me this journal. He said he was going to teach me how to read. But he never came back. I asked Hojo where Gast went. He told me that people aren't worth missing. So I taught myself. I wanted to make Gast proud.
I started by listening to the scientists talk. Then I began reading the papers in the labs and tried copying them. Soon I was able to write. No one knows I can. But I hope Gast does.
Hojo can never know. I can read the labels when he brings me water. They're poison.
The scientists talk about their families and friends. They have people who care about them. So why does no one care about me?
———————
My name is Sephiroth. I am nine years old.
Last week I started my military training. The youngest in my classes, I'm still the top in each of them. I excel most in the field, where I can put my combat skills to use. Compared to my classmates. I'm also the fastest. While the others take over five minutes to complete their courses, I can run mine in less than two.
After two weeks, I am the youngest person to ever make it into SOLDIER. General says I shine in swordswork and agility. I've become quite comfortable using a katana. According to the books I've read, the greatest warriors would name their swords. I'll have my own one day; something that'll actually be mine.
——————
My name is Lieutenant Sephiroth, SOLDIER Second Class. I am eleven years old.
During today's training, I overheard two fellow SOLDIERs admitting that they longed for their parents. They referred to this as homesickness. I've never experienced this feeling of 'homesickness,' as I don't have a home. I don't know where I belong…
This drew me to ask Hojo about my parents. He told me that my mother's name was Jenova. Apparently, upon my birth, she killed herself. I was a disappointment in her eyes. When I asked about my father, Hojo simply cackled and ordered me back to my room where I am writing now.
All this time, I have been so blind: no one wants me. Not Gast, not Hojo, not my mother, not my commanders. No one. Hojo once said creatures like me aren't put into this world to be loved, but to be used. Chocobos are chained to a fence until they are needed. Then they are chained up again. That's all I am, and that's all I'll ever be. I've come to accept that.
I'm going to be the best SOLDIER to ever walk Gaia. I'll find a way to make the world a better and safer place. Even if that means I have to walk through Hell alone.
Mist was in Zack's eyes as he closed the journal. He snatched up the bed, hugging it close. The smell was nothing now.
"I want you, Seph…" he whispered into the plush. "I always will…"
Zack wiped his eyes. What was he doing? He needed to get into Hojo's lab, not dig through his friend's belongings. There wasn't any useful information in there, anyway.
Wait. Seph did mention being told that his mother's name was Jenova.
Hojo did know about it…
The brunet's face lightened. So coming here hadn't been in vain.
Zack respread the cushion with care, sliding the journal under. He straightened.
"Alright, you toad," Zack huffed as he headed for the door. "You think you can treat my buddy like that and get away with it? Good luck." He reached for the doorknob, remembering his wounds and stitches once the hand cuffed the metal.
Okay… maybe not today, but someday!
Before opening the door, Zack once again checked for any passerbys. Nothing. He let his ear sit for a few more seconds, casting one last glance to the prison Seph had been raised in. He mentally vowed to double the length of whatever hug he was planning to give.
Vigilantly, he opened the door and slinked through. Perhaps he should have been more careful.
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The Mayor gave a slight nod in approval as he strode down the rustic streets of Nibelheim. Only four days prior the village had been shrouded in flames, staring into the eyes of eradication. He owed great thanksgivings to the Soldier who was able to detect the fire before it was too late.
But the other…
In his pockets, the man's knuckles turned white. How could someone do such a thing? And of all people Sephiroth? The oh-so great Silver General. Nibelheim was thriving with juveniles who aspired to emulate him. Not anymore. And for good reason.
"The papers had always held him us as a war hero…" his daughter Tifa had remarked, scavenging through the array of newspapers on their kitchen table.
"The media can be quite deceiving."
Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you're right…" she continued digging through the pile. "It's just that Cloud had also been so fascinated by him."
The man's brow furrowed at the memory. Admiring a killer? How could one even stoop so low? Of course, the admiration had been long before the arson, so he supposed it was rather valid if no one was to know his true nature otherwise.
He ambled down the steps leading to Nibelheim's chamber. Two guards were on-duty, monitoring the assaulter in question. They exchanged formal greetings as the Mayor stopped before the cell to survey Sephiroth himself.
The silver-haired man laid unruffled on the stone floor, back turned as his rhythmic breaths reflected a peaceful slumber. Hopefully he was having pleasant dreams. It would be the last time he would ever experience such a thing.
The Mayor didn't necessarily enjoy the idea of executing the Soldier General, and he had to wonder what the consequences would be if ShinRa lost their supposed trump card. But Nibelheim had its laws to adhere to; an eye for an eye around here. The man deserved death just as much as the innocents who had perished didn't. Besides, it was a consensus made by the citizens themselves. No one had objected.
"Sleep well, General," he purred. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
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"Zack… I'm sorry…" Sephiroth pleaded, rushing through the shadowy mist in hopes of pursuing his only friend.
Zack waited for him, standing there with his arms folded, shooting the other with a look of seething disgust and ire.
"You're sorry?" he spat. "You're sorry?! You think those two words will make me forgive you for what you've done? You're a monster, Sephiroth. Get away from me."
Sephiroth stopped running. The emeralds were struck with such pain and implorement as emotions took the form of a lonely teardrop,
"Please, Zack… you're all I have left. First Genesis, then Angeal... Please, Zack... I don't want to be alone…"
"Well you're gonna." Zack's voice sharpened, stabbing mercilessly into the wound that marred Sephiroth's heart. "Don't ever come crawling back to me again. Don't ever come crawling back to anyone. The world will be a better place once you're finally gone. Goodbye, Sephiroth."
But then another voice joined them.
"We're a team, Seph. You and me… And that's the way it's always gonna be. You're my buddy."
The spectered Zack turned away, scowling. "You're right; I have been naive."
And with that, he walked into the clouds, vanishing from sight as they engulfed him.
Soon, they swallowed Sephiroth too.
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"I'm… here." Were the words that spilled from the gawking First Class's lips. He had been so foolish! Of course Seph's room would be connected!
Noticeable tension lifted from Zack's shoulders as he realized the man in question was absent. Snapping out of his trance, the brunet hobbled across the lab and over to Hojo's desk.
He tried his best to ignore the dozens of syringes and scalpels that lined the walls, the operating tables hooked with latches, the taxidermic monsters…
What caught his attention most, however, was the crumpled photograph of Sephiroth. Jackpot!
Zack picked up said photograph, examining it thoroughly. He checked both the front and blank backside. It seemed to just be an official military shot of the General. He placed the paper down, his eyes now journeying to the computer.
Ifrit, Hojo had logged out. Zack had taken a course in technology science in his beginning years of SOLDIER, but he was no hacker; not to mention that this was ShinRa.
For now, he'd just have to look for physical evidence.
Zack opened the drawer, revealing nothing more than citations and possibly evaded taxes. He abandoned the desk for now, trying the nearby shelves. Gloved fingers shuffled through the various titles, digesting the names as if a buffet.
Mutations and Mako, Gaia's Lifeblood, The Calamity that Fell from the Sky…
Aqua orbs came to a halt.
"'The calamity that fell from the sky.' Truly an atrocious thing."
Zack resisted the urge to preform a triumphant dance. Instead, a silent smile stretched across his visage. He didn't have time to read the record now, at least not in the lab.
"Well, well. It looks like a stray puppy found its way in."
Zack didn't have time to turn around before gunfire erupted.
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Sephiroth's body trembled as his eyes slid awake. Even with his leather coat, the temperatures of fhe chamber were hostile. His teeth chattered.
Zack would say to think of warm thoughts; a sizzling fireplace, Costa Del Sol… a hug.
That was just Zack rubbing off him.
Sephiroth rolled to the side in a feeble attempt to find comfort. He frowned as the remnants of his dream —nightmare — danced before his mind until piecing together like a puzzle no one asked to be completed.
The look on Zack's face… it wasn't even recognizable. Zack could never direct such venom at someone… It wasn't in his blood. It wasn't him.
Was that had Zack felt when finding him in the Reactor? The face of a complete stranger, burning nothing but animosity into a person whom he had held so dear.
But… what if it was true?
Sephiroth strained his eyes. No… Zack was his friend. He had proven so and more. No one would have stood by him in the Reactor. No one would have seen the invisible pain he was suffering. No one would have refused to kill him; resolute on bringing him back or willing to die trying. He would be betraying him if he were to think otherwise. And he couldn't bear to do that again.
Still, the words from his projection echoed rebelliously through his head.
"You're a monster, Sephiroth. Get away from me!"
"You're sorry?! You'll think I'll ever forgive you?"
"No! That's not true, Seph! I'll never leave you! I promised!"
"You were right; I am naive. How could I ever think you were worth my time. All that time… wasted!"
Now it seemed as if his mind was arguing. Sephiroth brought a shaking hand to his forehead.
"Stop! You know I don't think that! You do know… right?"
"Of course he doesn't know! I hate you, Sephiroth! They can have your head framed on a wall for all I care. You deserve it! You DESERVE IT!"
Taut cries of agony burst from the warrior's lips. Now the speech pulsated with pain. The agony escalated to a migraine as Sephiroth's limbs tensed; firing an intense sting into his veins.
"What in tarnation?!" one of the guards exclaimed, startled from his chair.
Foul, familiar liquid rose in Sephiroth's throat. He climbed to his knees, retching out a stream of vomit as the sandstone turned green.
"Think the thing's having a seizure," the other man supplied. His eyes grew wide with panic. "What do we do? Should we call the Mayor?"
"I… know I do…" Sephiroth choked back in the cel, coughing out the last of the bodily substance. "I am a monster…"
Yes, yes you are…
His blood froze at the voice. The familiar, calming, gentle voice…
Sephiroth's eyes snapped open. No… NO! It couldn't be back… He-
His own thoughts were cut short by another splitting headache. Another scream thundered throughout the chamber.
"Alright! That's enough, mutt!" the taller guard banged against the glass.
We will always be together… For as long as you live, I live, my son…
"I…" Sephiroth's body quaked, "am not…"
It is a not choice for you to make. For you have been chosen by me… we are bonded. I flow through you… I always will…
NO!
Sephiroth slammed his head against the stone, adding blotches of red to the brown and green canvas. He cried in pain, blinking through the stars and prayed that the impact would drive his intruder out.
But she stayed.
You can not get rid of me… You can never escape me… I dwell inside you… For as long as you live, I live…
Finish your mission…
"F-finish…" Sephiroth feebly parroted the command, struggling to hold himself up with his trembling hands and knees.
That human cares nothing about you. Not anymore. You broke it… severed that bond. No one will ever forgive you… But i forgive you. I forgive you, my son. There is nothing left of the life you once knew. There is nothing left but to fulfill your destiny. Finish what has been started.
The warrior's earthquake settled. She… Mother was right; there was nothing left for him. His blood had been tainted. Each friend, they had abandoned him in the end. If he was a monster… he was going to be one. And monsters kill.
Feline eyes reopened, uncovering a pair of abnormally thin daggers. White plaster faded to crimson, blood seeping from under his neck as it trickled to the pauldrons and ground.
"Okay now, what in behemoth's name was that about?!" A guard had unlocked the cell, furiously storming over to his captive. Sephiroth kneeled in silence, eyes closed as he ignored the other's presence.
"Hey!" The man snapped his fingers. "I'm talking to you!"
No response. His partner, currently guarding the cell's entrance, swallowed nervously.
"Hey! What's the matt-"
Without warning, a blistering emerald snapped open.
And a snarling Sephiroth lunged.
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Zack was unsure of how long the ringing in his ears had lasted for. All he knew was that one moment, he was about to grab the ticket to his friend's freedom, and the next, he was sprawled on the lab's floor. And that somewhere lodged in his left leg, was a bullet.
He hissed in sharp agony, clutching his wounded limb like a lifeline. The bullet had struck the non-casted leg, meaning it had pierced right through pregnable flesh.
Goddess... ow!
Hojo flipped on the gun's safety, sauntering over to his trapped mouse. His greasy hair spilled over his glasses and stained coat; reflecting the quintessential 'mad scientist' getup. Fitting.
The unhinged professor grinned, revealing any and all neglect to his dental hygiene.
"I... I didn't what any harm... really," Zack stammered through the brutal sting. "I just... I just needed to know..."
But Hojo simply cackled in response. When he calmed down, he adjusted the pair of glasses that had gotten jostled during the fit. "Save your breath, Soldier. I'm quite certain I know why you decided to so graciously pay me a visit. But please, next time, schedule an appointment. I'm more than happy to squeeze you in."
Zack ignored the kind facade. "Why... do you think you think I'm here?"
"Well that's obvious, my boy. You appear just days after Reunion catalyses and I'm sure you have many questions."
"Reunion...?" Zack repeated. "What are you talking about? What do you know about Jenova?! That's all I need... please. Or else-"
"Sephiroth will become his true self," Hojo completed in a grand tone.
Zack's heart churned at the name. "What are you...?"
Hojo raised an eyebrow, circling around the fallen Soldier. "Ah, so you don't know..."
"Stop that! Don't know what?!" Zack's fury was stirring. "Spit it out!"
"I'd much rather show you," Hojo produced what looked to be a remote. As he clicked the center button, a projection screen came to life.
