For those who think it's very... bizarre that Sephiroth goes full Cujo-mode in this story, I apologize xD The reason why it was included is because canonically, Jenova was always portrayed as more of a rabid virus rather than a sentient creature (showing how the Cetra were said to be "infected" and turned into monsters).

But since this is this my fic and I love the idea of mind-control in its purest, I wanted to somehow find a way to mingle that concept with the more accurate Jenova portrayal. I was definitely hesitant at first, but after some thinking, I realized my adaptation wasn't so far-fetched from canon. I also wanted more variety when corrupting Seph again — as the second chapter/original ending to this fic already played those more generic beats out. So this was my attempt at spicing it up X3

Glad I could get this off my chest! I know it's not what any of you were expecting from a "What if Nibelheim is saved" fic, and admittedly, I didn't either! The concept was supposed to be a lot more simple, but alas, here we are! I hope you can enjoy my wicked sense of storytelling in spite of it xD

Much love to all of you! :3


The townsfolk were startled to find a shaken, bloodied guard bolting out from the chamber. His skin was nearly white, eyes scarred as if a ghost had sucked the life from them.

Mayor Lockhart was first to step in, weaving through the crowd gathered around the stair's entrance. Villagers had no need to go anywhere near the chamber; both because in such a quaint town, criminals were scarce. And in the rare times when one was to be captured, never had one ever been in danger of escaping. The residents pooled all their safety and doubts into Nibelheim's police.

"What happened?" he grilled, herding the concerned villagers back like sheep.

"M-m-monster..." sputtered the guard, Like some kind of... r-rabid wolf..." His voice cracked, reliving the graphic and vile nightmare. "H-he mangled Terry..." The man crumpled to his knees, breaking down in uncontrollable tears while squeaks chipped from his throat. It was all too much; the screams, the blood, the snarling...

The Mayor's eyes narrowed darkly. "It's alright," he laid a hand on the other's shoulder, locking his fingers taut.

"Well what do we do now...?" a shopkeeper stammered, stepping in to assist the injured man. "Just wait around to be killed as well...?"

Lockhart shifted, ordering attention from each of his citizens. His eyes were steel. "No. Forget tomorrow's execution. We must rid ourselves of this Dragon before it's too late. Never again will ShinRa ever enter these gates."

Uproars exploded from the crowd. People cheered in rioting approval, ready to follow their leader into the fire. Amidst the sea, however, a spiky blonde ball refused to applaud.

But... what about Zack?

"Tonight at dusk," Lockhart plotted, rising on his invisible podium. "We will sleep peacefully tonight knowing there isn't an animal dwelling beneath our homes!"

When the crowd dispersed, Cloud slipped away from the scene, rushing to the heart of town and seating himself atop the fountain's rim. He let his head drop into his hands.

"Are-are you sure, Sir? It's okay... really." Cloud stood outside the inn, debating whether or not to accepthis commander's offer.

The General folded his arms, nodding for the fourth time. "Yes. I am sure, Strife. You are more than welcome to visit your friends and family whilst we stay. There may not be another mission scheduled here for years, and I'm certain there are people eager to see you."

Thinking it would be in inappropriate to decline again. the blonde relented. Truly though, he was grateful. "T-thank you. Sir!" As he went to salute, Cloud ended up wincing instead. Sephiroth frowned.

"What happened to your arm, Cadet?"

Cloud's cheeks flushed hot. "N-nothing, Sir. Just a little sore."

The warrior lowered to examine the limb himself, unconvinced. He rolled up the other's sleeve to reveal a laceration. "Do you believe concealing your pain will help you become a Soldier?" Sephiroth lifted the sharp, green emeralds to meet sapphire.

Cloud lowered his gaze, suddenly finding his boots to be a fascinating sight. "N-no, Sir..."

Sephiroth grunted, producing cloth from his coat. And to Cloud's surprise, began winding it around his wrist.

"I understand, Cadet. Many warriors channel strength by powering through their wounds. I do the same." He padded down the makeshift bandage. "However, there is no shame in admitting reality. You may ignore the sting, but that doesn't mean bullets do not touch your body, wouldn't you say?"

Cloud, fueled with an alien mixture of awe, astonishment and pride, raised his head and allowed himself a clumsy smile. "On the truck ride here, I cut myself on one of the crates. I didn't want to say anything, well... in front of you, Sir..."

Sephiroth's lips quirked upward. "That's more like it." Satisfied with his patching, he straightened. "You are dismissed, Cadet. Go have fun."

Able to finally bestow a proper salute, Cloud sprinted down the street and for his home. Just as he reached the steps, he couldn't help but offer one last glance to his commander, now entering the inn with Zack at his heels. Cloud flexed his wrist, already feeling the difference without having to mask anything behind a facade. Again he found himself smiling.

Wait until the neighbors heard about this.

Cloud gusted a troubled, confused sigh. Turning around, he watched his reflection in the still water, buried in thought. The blonde's eyes soon ventured to his arm; nestled in the same cloth from five days prior.

Why, Sir...?

Cloud slapped the fountain's surface, letting his mirror shatter and distort.

Mom! Mom! Look at this! The papers say that General Sephiroth won the Wutai war for ShinRa!

Mom, check this out! This stick is as long as Sephiroth's famous sword! I'm gonna keep it!

Cloud's heart ached with a certain sense of nostalgia. The person whom he had so fiercely admired turned out to be nothing more than ink on paper. And whether he liked it or not, that hurt.

Cloud wiped the thorns from his eyes, sniffling. He wanted to be angry, he really did. But some unexplainable barrier inside refused to allow it.

Please, Cloud... listen to me! It wasn't his fault!

His emotions strained at the memory.

It was this... this thing! It made him do it...

Was Zack... telling the truth? Fogged by rage, he had hastily accused his friend of defending a killer. But Zack wasn't like that. He would always fight for the right side -- the side that was for the greater good -- no matter how much it may hurt him in the end.

Zack had left in the high of Sephiroth's attack, later learning that he had chased him to the Mako Reactor. It was true that once Zack was transported to the hospital, Sephiroth had not resisted his incarceration... apparently even going willingly.

But no one but Zack knew what happened in between.

xxxxxxx

There was no sense of time in the underground chambers. Daylight had no way of reaching the cells, and this was made even more apparent by Sephiroth's blood-stained window.

Curled upon himself, the warrior had managed to quell Jenova's whispers. She had retreated for now, but somewhere, in the recesses of his mind, he knew she was looming.

These humans... locking you so. Unleash your anger... unleash it...

No... No! They trapped him here out of protection!

You are just like me, my dear son... These monsters sealed me way. You must kill them all... kill them before my fate is reborn...

Sephiroth dug his fingers into his hair and scalp. He kept his eyes firmly shut, afraid of what might be seen if reopened.

Please... I must protect you, my son...

Sephiroth shook his head.

You will die...

He... he didn't want to die...

Save yourself, my dear son. Destroy the threat... and we shall be reunited. I can never die... and neither will you.

Footsteps rumbled from the chamber's entrance. Clutching a torch, Lockhart led his strongest villagers down the rugged stairs.

"I thought this place was supposed to have lights," one of the rioters grumbled as they progressed through the corridor.

"It does." Lockhart swung his flame, now hovering over the remnants of a lantern. "He must've broken it."

As the man brought his torch ahead, trails of blood revealed themselves along the sandstone. It messily snaked around shattered glass and down the unlit passage.

"Holy..." Lockhart breathed, slinking around the shards with his party close behind.

Low, agonized voices clapped from the darkness ahead. They gradually loudened as the villagers neared, growing volatile. One was pained and frightened, seized by the throat until wrung and distorted into a bestial snarl -- unrecognizable from the first yet connected at its core.

Lockhart halted, raising his hand as to stop the others. "Charles, you have the syringe ready?"

The addressed villager held up a small, needled tube. "Right here."

Lockhart nodded grimly in reply. He had chosen a fast-acting poison, hopefully one that would not only get the job done quick, but spare Sephiroth of the suffer. Priority one was Nibelheim's well-being, not the General's just desserts.

Finally, there was silence, leaving only the torch's crackle to feed the void. Lockhart took this window of stillness to trek onward.

"Here we are," the Mayor stopped before the furthest cell, signaling his posse to follow. His flame traveled along the once-transparent glass, examining and digesting the canvas. Lockhart's nose scrunched. The scent was foul... real foul. Upon further examination, it appeared that the blood was slashed across the window; as if an animal had tried clawing its way out.

He groped for a spare key in his pocket, seeing that the original had been destroyed. As the cold metal met his fingers, Lockhart brought the key before his flame, using the guiding fire to unlatch Sephiroth's cell. The bolt unfastened.

"I'm sorry, General." Lockhart stepped inside, "but this has-"

He didn't have time to finish before a flash of green and silver tore through the light. The torch flew from his hand as Lockhart soared, ramming against the unfriendly wall. When the kindled stick followed suit, it was the ground that was ablaze.

"Mayor! Are you-" Charles suffered the same fate. He was thrusted against the wall with unbridled strength, falling unconscious. As his palm opened, out slipped the syringe, fracturing on the floor and letting its contents pool.

The flames spread and hungered, clouding the atmosphere with smoke. Exposed by the growing inferno, Sephiroth pounced, his lips pulled back in a bloody snarl.

The remaining villagers scattered in a shrieking frenzy, leaving Sephiroth to slashed through thin air. He landed unscathed, spinning around in one motion and lunging for the grounded Mayor.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Lockhart snapped, rolling aside to avoid being struck.

When Sephiroth landed once more, his entire body shook. "...Stop... me..." was the struggled response. But it soon eclipsed. The warrior let out another hiss, springing for another victim. The villager threw his arms over himself, bracing for his demise and praying for it to be quick. However, he found himself unharmed.

Sephiroth had shifted mid-air, now kneeling amidst the burning surface as flames lapped his coat. He violently convulsed

"Get out of me... GET OUT OF ME!"

The hairs on Lockhart's neck needled. His legs shook. grasping the uneven wall as the man straightened. Who was he talking to...?

Before he could voice his question, Sephiroth had recovered, storming through Hell and out of the chamber.

xxxxxxx

As helicopter skids alighted on the cliffside, Zack was already speeding off to the gates of Nibelheim. Thankfully. it wasn't very far; just down the slope where his ride had arrived.

When he heard the frightened shrieks of villagers, Zack quickened his pace. Was he already too late? No... he couldn't be!

Zack shot through the wooden gates, his heart bound like a lasso wringing its Chocobo.

And what he saw only tied it into knots.

"Seph!" he screamed. "SEPH!"

Sephiroth lunged for another villager, unresponsive to the call. She was knocked to the dirt road, landing amongst crimson mud. Those who weren't claimed by oblivion were crouched behind crates or poles, skin torn and eyes blackened.

Sephiroth seized the young girl by the neck, blood continuing to drizzle from his gums like crimson froth. Tears flooded the hazel eyes, beseeching again and again for mercy.

"I'll.. I'll do anything... Please..." her voice rattled, staring into the merciless daggers of a monster. "Please..."

But he was beyond reason. Sephiroth strengthened his hold, preparing to wrench. The child let the last of her tears flow.

Before Sephiroth could finish, a blue and black blur tackled the warrior down.

The two Soldiers grappled on the ground, Zack struggling with all his might to restrain his friend. Sephiroth slashed and flailed without recognition, snarling and hissing unintelligible tumult.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!"

Zack grasped Sephiroth's arm while he grasped the other's. Boiling, hostile emeralds burning holes into his enemy's soul.

And each hole was ten miles deep. Again, tears clouded Zack's eyes. He was reliving a nightmare.

How could this have happened...? Seph had broken free of Jenova! He had held him, spoken to him! Was that all an illusion? DidJenova ever let go? Was Seph ever freed? Did he ever reach him? Was Seph... really dead, just as he feared in the Mako Reactor...?

Suddenly, the brunet's limbs fell weak. Sephiroth took no hesitation in thrusting him off, watching as Zack rolled and skimmed along the dirt. Refusing to make eye contact, Zack picked himself up and went to assist the villager.

"Hey... you're gonna be fine." He locked his arm under hers, helping the girl to a sit. Although he wasn't sure himself, there was no time to say otherwise. The last thing these people needed was an affirmed sense of helplessness. "Go hide with the others... I'll handle this."

She began limping to a nearby crate, grateful but unable to speak; her throat clogged with newfound trauma. All she mustered was a shaky nod, crawling away from sight.

When the familiar snarl trickled his ears, Zack hardly had enough time to dodge before Sephiroth was flying at him again. He stumbled back, refusing to draw his sword. He wouldn't this time. He wouldn't need it.

He had saved him once. He could save him again.

But looking into those eyes... the eyes that didn't belong to his best friend, but to a creature who came uninvited: destroying his mind and poisoning his reality.

The emeralds narrowed, eyeing his prey through the parasitic lens that veiled his sight and mind.

There it is, my son. Finish it now, finish what could not be completed before. We will finally be together. Protected my me, loved by me. We live as monsters, we stand together. Nothing will ever stop us. Nothing ever again.

With another snarl, Sephiroth lunged. Zack could do nothing but dodge, springing backwards to avoid being hit.

Zack grazed the air, landing a good three feet from his friend. What the heck was Seph doing...? He wasn't even fighting like a Soldier anymore!

As Sephiroth continued to claw and snarl, Zack was brought back to Hojo's lab. He had said Jenova was a virus. And when left untreated, a virus only spreads...

Zack consumed the wretched sight once more. What was even left of the Seph he knew...?

Oh, Gaia...

No...

It was Angeal. It was that horrible night in Modeoheim. It was when he was forced to kill someone he had once loved for the safety of many others.

Zack's world seemed to spin.

Sephiroth overpowered the distracted brunet, taking this opportunity to whirl around and slash. Zack's cheek splattered.

But he was numb.

"Sephiroth... why did I have to kill him? Why... why me...?" Zack continued to bawl into his commander's shoulder.

"I don't know." Sephiroth sighed. "I don't know..."

Zack sniveled, unsatisfied yet grateful for the honest response. He needed it. People had always sugarcoated, lied...

"Seph..."

Sephiroth blinked, surprised at the... nickname? No one had ever given him one before. Normally, he would interject at such a informality. Not this time.

"Yes?"

Zack freed one hand to wipe away his tears, rewrapping it around the other. "Just... don't ever make me hurt you. I can't..." he clutched tighter. "I don't wanna do it to a friend. Never again. Promise me... okay?"

"I don't think I can promise that."

"Please, Seph..."

"Zack-"

"Please..."

Sephiroth looked down at the earnest boy. Never could he comprehend the anguish. But...

He let out a another sigh, keeping his hold tight and secure.

"I promise."

Zack caught his balance, steadying with his fists clenched. Light had returned to the aqua orbs.

No... he was not gonna go through that nightmare again. He wouldn't.

With that, Zack unsheathed his sword, throwing it out of their battle and watching it slam against a pillar He gazed his friend down; from the bloodied cloak to the corrupted, wild eyes. Eyes that were far from human, and far from reach.

And somewhere... there had to be light in them.

Zack held up a single hand, slowly approaching the other as if confronting an untamed, feral animal.

Sephiroth seemed to consider the other's gesture, but soon dismissed it. He simply snarled once more.

"It's me, bud... Remember...?" His tone was nothing but kind and gentle, speaking to the one behind the cage. "I'm here... I'm right here..."

The villagers spectated from the sidelines. Their eyes were written with an unexplainable mingle of awe and fear, wanting to intervene but unable to move. Some crouched lower behind their barricades while others leaned closer. Mothers held their children close.

And one spiky blonde prayed for his life back.