Chapter Two: A Mirror
Sephiroth used to enjoy hunting monsters. These days it was a boring day job, akin perhaps to factory work.
A gust of wind blew through his hair, sending it flowing around him with his trench coat. He paid no heed to it and channeled his Lure Materia. There was a village near here, a village that had been ravaged by monsters lately. And he meant to ensure that was no longer a problem.
"Come on, creatures. I don't have all day," murmured Sephiroth.
Out of the ground, the beasts came, slathering multilegged insects. They scuttled toward him en masse, chattering. With them were plant monsters as well and many others. Still more came from the wastes, broken machines given new and terrible life. They returned as monsters.
They were all around him now.
And Sephiroth struck. "Now."
Stabbing Masamune into the ground, he unleashed a wave of fire. It rushed from the blade and consumed everything around him. In an instant, the beasts screamed and were annihilated, leaving only charred corpses.
That was the thirteenth mob he'd wiped out today, and he'd been well paid.
Sephiroth was glad he had ordinary monsters to wipe out for a quick payday. It made refusing missions he didn't want much easier. Of course, now he sensed a familiar presence.
"You know, I remember that back in the day, you and I used to hunt monsters," said Angeal. "This doesn't seem sporting."
Sephiroth turned to face the dark-haired man and shrugged. "It's more efficient.
"None of these things can give me a real challenge, and there are more of them around these days. Their bounties also aren't worth anything to me individually.
"It's more mass extermination than a hunt.
"It's good to see you again, Angeal."
"Genesis has gone rogue," said Angeal.
Sephiroth wondered who put Genesis up to it. It wasn't that stupid poem, was it? "What do you mean?"
"Cloud Strife apparently was onto something," said Angeal. "He and Snow Villiers raided Hollander's Lab, alongside Lightning. From the looks of things, Hollander was exploiting Genesis' genes to breed copies. They were converting troops who had been reassigned to his outpost for treatment.
"And from the looks of thing, Wutai had been providing Hollander with subjects."
"I see," said Angeal. "His motive?"
"We're not sure," said Angeal. "But, Hollander may have exploited his condition. Promised false hope."
"That would be the rational means of doing it," said Sephiroth.
Angeal remained silent for a long, long moment. "...Sephiroth, what do you plan to do?"
"Do?" asked Sephiroth, surprised at the question. "Nothing.
"I choose my own missions, remember. I see no reason to hunt Genesis."
Angeal paused. "I thought you'd be more conflicted."
"Why would I be conflicted?" asked Sephiroth. "Genesis is at no risk from anyone save you or me. If we do not pursue him, no one will be able to remove him."
"And you're content to simply not attack him?" asked Angeal.
"Genesis' days were numbered a long time ago," said Sephiroth. "Hollander lacks the credentials to cure Genesis. He is likely only seeking an agent that will dispose of itself over time."
"How can you be sure of that?" asked Angeal.
"I've read the theories of most great scientific minds," said Sephiroth. "Professor Gast was a genius who Hojo stands in the shadow of to this day. Hollander, in turn, stands in Hojo's shadow. More importantly, his specialty was in genetic engineering, not medicine. He delegates authority on the latter to experts."
"What's your point?" asked Angeal.
"There are two possible outcomes, and our course remains the same in both," said Sephiroth. "In one possible future, Genesis is cured, and we talk him into coming back over to our side. Shinra won't risk both our wraths. In another possible future, Genesis is not cured, in which case we need only run down the clock."
"That's cold of you," said Angeal.
"What would you suggest instead, Angeal?" asked Sephiroth.
Angeal paused. "It might be wise for us to both retire from SOLDIER entirely.
"I believe I will be doing it myself after the war is over."
That was an odd line coming from Angeal. "Retire? Why?"
"When we first started out, Sephiroth, most of what we did was hunt bandits and monsters," said Angeal. "Then, later, when Shinra started conquering places, we got to the front lines. We've killed thousands between us, and that's just humans.
"When we entered service, Shinra was a major player in the Kingdom of Midgar. Now it is to a worldwide empire. Oh, the governments are still in charge, but everyone knows who they take orders from.
"So much has been destroyed, so many good men have died to destroy it.
"And now that we're winning...
"All I can do is wonder what might have been."
"What might have been if what had happened?" asked Sephiroth, not seeing the point in discussing it.
"Do you remember, back about ten years ago, when Shinra was first expanding?" asked Angeal. "Genesis suggested we go rogue together. To find work as mercenaries, hunting monsters, and righting wrong.
"What was it he said, I uh..."
"'Heroes can do better?'" said Sephiroth.
"Yes, that's the one. You always did have the best memory between us," said Angeal.
"It helps that I pay attention to what goes on around me," said Sephiroth.
"Anyway, with all that's happening, I've been thinking along similar lines," said Angeal. "Maybe I'm not a hero, but I think that I can do better than this."
Sephiroth looked at him in a new light. He was serious, wasn't he? "You're going to resign?"
"After Wutai is conquered, yes," said Angeal. "Why don't you come with me. There's an operation planned to strike at Fort Tamblin soon."
"Finish as heroes then ride into the sunset, then?" asked Sephiroth, amused at the concept.
"Why not?" asked Angeal.
Sephiroth paused for a moment. "...I'll think about it."
"Angeal!" called a voice suddenly.
Sephiroth looked up and saw Zack Fair running toward them. The younger SOLDIER had his spiky black hair's bangs bobbing in front of his face. Angeal turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Zack?"
"Angeal, I've been looking all over for you!" said Zack, halting to catch his breath.
"Zack, what are you doing out here?" asked Angeal in surprise.
"Oh, I've been hunting monsters out here," said Zack. "I heard you were out here and figured I'd come uh... Sephiroth."
Sephiroth realized Zack had been addressing him. He'd been hoping to go unnoticed rather than interact with Angeal's protege. "Zack? I've heard a great deal about you."
"You have, seriously?" asked Zack blinking.
"Yes, your nickname is quite memorable," said Sephiroth.
"I have a nickname?" asked Zack, raising an eyebrow.
"Zack the-" began Sephiroth before Angeal caught him by the shoulder.
"Don't embarrass the kid any further, Sephiroth," said Angeal.
So Angeal wanted to spare his feelings.
Fine. Sephiroth didn't care anyway. "...Have it your way.
"I've got a bounty to collect."
Sephiroth broke off from the two of them and took to hacking off the monsters' body parts he killed. During this time, he accidentally cut himself with his own knife. This made the corpses more dangerous than the monsters. Still, it was nothing a cure spell couldn't fix. Soon enough, Sephiroth made his way to the nearby village.
Entering the building, he tossed the bag of body parts on the counter. The Bounty Official stared at it.
"I believe this should account for my bounty," said Sephiroth.
"...I uh... I've never had to process so many heads before," said the man.
"Take your time," said Sephiroth. He calculated how much money he'd make from this.
Four-thousand gil by his count, small change. Little more than a drop in a bucket that was already brimming.
"Thank you, Sephiroth, sir," said the official, checking the safe. "But um... from the looks of things, our fund has um... well we don't usually get this much of a bounty, and we're short some-"
"Fine, just take the heads and forgo the bounty," said Sephiroth. "I've already got more gil than I'll ever be able to spend from this. Save the money for the next set of bounty hunters."
The man stared, his mouth opened wide, and then he saluted. "Thank you, sir!"
Sephiroth turned and walked out.
The PR benefits of giving up the money were probably worth far more than the money itself. Sephiroth had not become a legend by virtue of power alone. Plenty of other SOLDIERs had tried to overthrow him before this, and none had surpassed him. President Shinra had made several attempts to supplant him in the public eye, and all of them failed.
The secret was not in publicity stunts or flashy outfits, though the trench coat helped. It was in small, daily actions taken every single day. Sephiroth put his absolute all into every job he did. He performed it as swiftly and efficiently as possible. He remained courteous and professional and did not go beyond the parameters of what he was asked.
Other would-be heroes burned out or got caught in scandals. Not Sephiroth, however.
Until now.
No one was surprised when Sephiroth performed mythical deeds. They stood in awe of him, yes, but wonders were to be expected. Men wanted to be him, and women wanted to be with him. Sephiroth was less a mortal man and more a vision of perfection.
He could tell by the way people looked at him that he was just short of a god.
Coming to the outskirts of town, Sephiroth began to polish Masamune as he looked out over the sunset. And he came to the realization that his reputation would never be greater than it was now. The great monsters of the world had been braved and were as nothing to him. The nations of the world had succumbed to his sword.
Legions of monsters were annihilated simply as a day job. At the least, there seemed no end of them. Sephiroth wondered if there were any other creatures for him to hunt? There were stories of five creatures. The weapons that arose when the Planet was in danger. It was said they had been created from the bodies of Final Aeons that became Sin.
Perhaps against them, Sephiroth would meet a worthy adversary.
And yet, the prospect held no further appeal. Sephiroth knew he would likely never meet the creatures if indeed they existed. "...I am at the very pinnacle of my career, and I feel absolutely nothing."
His attention was drawn to two men walking along the path, not noticing him in the shade of a tree. "Did you hear?
"Zack the Butcher came through here a few hours ago."
"Seriously?" asked the second. "Did um... did he hurt anyone."
"Well, that's the weird thing," said the first. "No. He was actually very friendly and even had some encouraging words for my son. I only found out who he was before he left. Now my son wants to be in SOLDIER!"
"Do you think it might be some other SOLDIER named Zack?" asked the second.
"I hope so," replied the first. "I'd hate to think that a man who slaughtered entire villages could look so... so innocent."
Sephiroth sighed and then sensed the coming of another. His footsteps were silent, and his fancy suit did nothing to hamper his suit. "There's something profoundly disturbing about an innocent war criminal.
"Wouldn't you agree, Tseng?"
Sephiroth looked to where Tseng was just beyond the shadow of the tree. A pistol was holstered in his breast pocket, and he'd tensed when Sephiroth spoke. "Yes, well, Mako Conditioning has side effects on everyone.
"Sometimes it is manageable, sometimes it is not.
"In Zack's case, his sense of empathy was warped. Tell him someone's name, and he'll go to the ends of the earth to protect them. But put a mask on their face, and he'll kill them by the thousands as if they were mannequins."
"So I gathered from the reports," said Sephiroth. "Why are you here, Tseng?"
"To discuss mission details with you," said Tseng. "There has been a change of plans. Zack is to accompany Angeal to Fort Tamblin in place of Genesis. Lightning will be taking his place."
Lightning?
Wasn't she the latest attempt at the media to replace Sephiroth? They'd put her in all kinds of outfits, and her expression never seemed to change. Sephiroth had been less than indifferent about it. But then he remembered that Lightning had apparently gone rogue some time ago.
"Is Lightning not wanted for treason?" asked Sephiroth.
"Apparently, her actions were taken under duress," said Tseng. "President Shinra does not look kindly on destroying assets without reason. At present, the media is spinning a narrative of redemption.
"Wutai mind control, I believe, with the help of traitors."
"Are Snow Villiers and Cloud Strife still scheduled to be in the B unit?" asked Sephiroth, hoping the answer was no.
"Snow Villiers is dead," said Tseng. "He rescued a group of refugees Hollander was experimenting on. Apparently, they did not feel grateful because he was gunned down by them."
"Well, no good deed goes unpunished, as they say," said Sephiroth. "What of Strife?"
"He's slated to go with you and Lightning," said Tseng. "Apparently, he's been added to the shipping wall. Current preferences are him and Lightning. That and the wanted fugitive Jessie Rasberry."
"Why do you even have a shipping wall?" asked Sephiroth.
"It helps train newbies in information gathering," said Tseng. "And the fan clubs also provide cover for learning about potential targets."
Sephiroth eyed him in suspicion.
"It's a very useful system," said Tseng. "Lazard is also going to personally oversee things. He requested it himself, and President Shinra has decided to grant him the wish.
"Suspicion has fallen on Lazard. It is believed that he may use the operation as an excuse to meet with Genesis and regroup."
"I see," said Sephiroth. "Why is Lightning being swapped for Zack?"
"Her recent attack on Hollander's Lab has skyrocketed her popularity," said Tseng. "It was a somewhat unique story. More importantly, she is showing increased signs of stability. Cloud Strife seems to have been a positive influence on her.
"Which, of course, plays into the shipping wall."
"Strife seems a busy man," said Sephiroth. "Still, are you certain that Zack is strong enough to take Genesis' place?"
"At this point, it is not relevant," said Tseng. "Zack has inherited Lightning's status as expendable. He is Angeal's protege, and Angeal is under suspicion. Even before that, Zack's 'heroism' on behalf of Heidegger has given SOLDIER a bad name. The organization was never intended for use on civilian targets. But Heidegger used him as a blunt instrument."
"You want him dead?" surmised Sephiroth.
"He's rapidly becoming an inconvenience," said Tseng. "But no.
"We'd just prefer he take the high-risk position. If he is working with Lazard or Angeal against us, then he may be killed in the attack. If not, they will probably kill him so as to deny us a valuable agent.
"We're not asking you to kill him.
"Just arrive a little too late to help if he gets in over his head."
"So you condemn him for doing in innocence what you do every day with full understanding?" asked Sephiroth. He'd heard of Tseng's kills. The vast majority of them had been civilians. Union leaders, strikers, dissidents and preachers, all were potential targets if they got on Shinra's bad side.
"Zack is an angel," said Tseng. "I'm a man in a nice suit. We have two very different sets of expectations applied to us."
"I'm sure you tell yourself that every day so you can sleep," noted Sephiroth. Back in the old days, Shinra hadn't had the power to murder people. Not without government approval. But those days were long past.
"If you were him, would you want to one day learn the things that you had done?" asked Tseng.
Sephiroth remembered what he'd read about the war around Fort Condor. "...No, I suppose not."
It would soon be time to finish the conquest of Wutai.
Then the question became; Where did Sephiroth go from here?