Disclaimer: FFVII doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Squaresoft… or at least that's what the game says…

A/N: I'm pleased that people like this. I wonder if there are those who think my thinking is flawed… I was kinda expecting some righteous fanatics to flame me or something… no offence to anyone. Anyway, this is in the point of view of the creature known as Jenova, set when it first crashed into the planet.

Warning: slash

Purpose

#2: Lesson

It drew breath on instinct, every cell in its body straining to adapt to the new environment. Atmosphere, pressure, gravity: three things it had not experienced since it began its journey to a new planet. How long had it been drifting in the emptiness of space? It did not know. It felt the life of the planet gushing out from the wound its landing had caused, and moved toward it.

Another breath, easier now. It was still getting used to the pressure and gravity, though. If it was found now by the natives, it could die. It was weak, still, from the long journey and the alien environment. If only it had held on instead of letting go. The impact of the landing would have put it in the middle of the planet's wound and it would have had all the nutrients it needed.

The knowledge of the mother it had ingested told it that much. But, was it its fault that it grew frightened when the planet came into view? When the atmosphere heated the chunk of rock red-hot? The knowledge passed down from its mother told it that many failed to even reach a planet, instead floating forever into the depths of outer space. Of those who did, few survived the atmosphere and fewer survived the resulting impact. The lucky few who beat those odds still had to survive the natives and the planet, to strike before the planet could muster retaliatory measures.

Well, it had managed to beat some overwhelming odds. All it had to do now was to make it to the wound of the planet.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" whispered a soft, mocking voice. The words translated instantaneously in its mind but another voice was screaming, distracting it. "DANGER!"

Instinct took over as it lunged toward the creature. Destroy any native as they may pose a threat. Acquire the necessary information to take their form. It was just too bad that instinct had to be paired with a cooperative body. Instead of tearing the native apart, it felt itself being picked up and moved.

That was it, then. All it had been through to be ended by one native of the planet.

"Kyros, have you found anything?" called a voice from far off.

"Nothing at all," replied a voice close to it, belonging to the native that would end its life. A soft, sarcastic laugh. "Nothing but the planet-killer itself."

It felt itself being laid on the ground, rather gently. Then, something was laid over it, something… warm. It concentrated and formed some organs that would allow it to process light and laid eyes on the native.

Only… it was not a native.

When the creature touched it, it could feel that that creature was disconnected from the planet. It could not feed on such a creature. The creature was poking at it curiously. Would it not get over with the killing?

"Are you really a planet-killer? I heard that they are vicious creatures, really, with the ability to take on other forms. You don't seem to be doing very much." It liked the sound of the voice enough but the mocking tone and the words…!

"Adapting. Injured." It sent experimentally. "Pain. Cold." Simple concepts.

The creature looked at it for a moment. "I see. I suppose you need to be fed."

"Food."

"I'll be back in a moment."

It was not until the creature had left when the vague sense of unease developed into full-blown confusion. That odd creature, knowing full well what it was, was… aiding… it. Disoriented, it tried to analyse the situation. The situation just did not follow any logical path.

Something was thrown at it, a living creature, native to the planet. Swiftly, without conscious thought, it had already begun to devour the poor creature, draining the life into itself. Then it felt a little better. The flesh that was torn on landing knitted itself back together. Tentatively, it made an attempt to take a different form.

Pain!

"Please do attempt to communicate with me. I assume that you have just tried something that caused you great pain but I wouldn't know."

"Transform. Survival."

"I see. But apparently, you have not yet the strength to do so. Perhaps another piece of food? Or some time?"

"Time."

"Sensible, aren't you? So you realise I won't be bringing you plenty of food like some slave?"

It cocked its head curiously at the creature. The creature stared back, then exhaled loudly.

"Do you even understand me or is your mind limited to survival and reproduction?"

"I understand!" Indignant.

The creature looked partially pleased. "So maybe my plan still has potential." Looking at it again. "Do you have a name?"

"Name?"

"I didn't think so. Would you like a name?"

It was uncertain. What exactly was a 'name'? It extended the question to the creature.

"Something to call you by, other than 'planet-killer', of course."

"A title? Like 'mother'?"

"Something a little more personal. Look, my name is Kyros. And I shall call you Nova."

"Nova? Is that my name?"

"Now it is." The creature, Kyros, moved closer to it, drawing the fabric up around it. The fabric (hm, 'fabric') kept it warm but the largest source of heat was Kyros. So naturally, it grabbed the creature with its extensions.

"What the..?!"

It suddenly found a blade millimetres from its face. Kyros glared at it, eyes as cold as space. It felt discomfort being reminded of space.

"Understand that although you would be a great help to me, I will not hesitate bringing about your death."

"Understood."

"Good. Now, let me go."

"Negative."

"Why not?!"

"Warm."

The look on Kyros's face could best be described as disbelief. Then, to its surprise, Kyros lay down next to it and pulled the fabric over them both. And it got a lot warmer.

"The things I do… I think I'm beginning to understand why they think I'm a little crazy…" muttered Kyros.

Nova said nothing. It merely snuggled up to the warmth.

~+~

"We call ourselves 'Cetra'. We are nomads, wandering from planet to planet in search of the Promised Land. But I am tired of travelling. I'm tired of the Elders urging us on. Still, the alternative is worse."

Nova drank in the information, storing it in its mind, ready to be accessed at any given time. "What is the alternative?"

"Some fall in love with the planets we settle on. They breed with the natives and become incorporated into the lifestream of the planet. Well, at least they know what will happen when they die. They will enter the lifestream and feed the planet while the others move on. Are forced to move on…"

Kyros looked darkly at Nova. "I'm not going to pollute my blood through interbreeding, even though these creatures resemble us physically, more than most."

"What do you intend for me?"

The Cetra smiled, and it was not a comforting smile. "So long as the planet is in danger, the Cetra will remain, trying to remedy it. If I keep you alive, the planet will remain in distress and we will all stay here for a long, long time. Maybe, just maybe, long enough that the planet recognises us and allows us to be assimilated into the lifestream."

Nova tried to comprehend this. To enter the lifestream, an organism had to die. Did Kyros want to die?

"Hell, no!" Nova watched anger and a bit of fear flash over the Cetra's face. "It's just… a fall-plan. In case I do die, I would like to die with the knowledge that I would be recycled into a lifestream. Otherwise… I don't know. No one knows where we go when we die because we have no home planet. I need to know.

"No one else wants to answer my questions! This is the only way I can do this. I need you, Nova. And when it is done, I will kill you. You understand, don't you? I need you so that we can make this our Promised Land. After that, you will become a threat and you shall be eliminated. You can't do anything about it, though."

Nova shuddered. What the Cetra said made perfect sense to it, logically. But it did not want to die. It still had to accomplish its purpose.

"And what is your purpose?"

"To absorb all the life from one planet so as to be able to create offspring. I can show you."

Kyros made a gesture that Nova learnt meant 'go ahead'. So it did.

Awareness and a mother's touch. A world nearly drained of life. Siblings; competition. I am the eldest, I will take the lion's share. Growing, nurtured by the planet's remaining life, under the gentle, motherly caresses. Then, the eating. Fighting to ingest as much of Mother as possible. That was the knowledge, that was the strength. It would allow them to survive their journey to new worlds. The weak ones will die, torn apart by the stronger siblings. Mother extending 'joy' before ceasing to exist as 'Mother' but living on as a part of all her offspring, as her mother did before her, as the mother before and the mother before… And one day, a mother I shall be.

Kyros stared at it and it felt a definite wave of 'curiositydisgust' from the Cetra.

"And therefore you do not need a lifestream… Intriguing."

Nova extended 'amusementjoy' and Kyros's mouth curled slightly.

"Are you trying to smile?" inquired the Cetra. "Would you like to attempt to change your form again? I'm getting tired of this cave. And I'm sure they are all wondering where I have disappeared to these past few days."

A change of form? Yes, it was a good idea. It would deceive the rest of the Cetra for now, while it was still recovering. The process was encoded in its very genes and before giving it much conscious thought, it was already changing. Hair, as white as the snow outside (snow is cold). Eyes, as blue as the clear, dead sky. Finally, the change in perception, in colour, in depth, in shape. It, no, he blinked.

And saw Kyros as if for the first time. The Cetra was staring at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. Eyes… of violet, partly obscured by longish hair the colour of obsidian. Nova tested his new body and found everything satisfactory enough, though he was used to controlling a larger number of limbs. He stood… and promptly fell over into Kyros. Note: centre of gravity is important.

Kyros was still staring at him with a blank look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked curiously, looking down at the Cetra, silver strands of his hair pooling on the cave floor. "Should I change this form?"

"Heck no!" yelled Kyros. Then, he fell silent and Nova observed redness creeping into the pale cheeks. "Shall I inform you that you have picked a very attractive form? It will do nicely. You'll be hiding in plain sight. Of course, you need some clothes before I can bring you back to the village. So get off!"

Nova was unceremoniously shoved to one side. He shivered in the cold and Kyros shook his head.

"Use the damned blanket, Nova. And stay put. I'll be back in an hour or so." Then, Kyros was gone, leaving Nova to get used to his new body alone.

It did not take long for him to learn to walk. Neither did it take him long to draw the blanket around himself like a cloak and curl up in a corner. He hated the cold and here, it was always cold. Except when Kyros decided to make a fire, which was not very often. Fuel was hard to come by in this area.

He had accepted that, in order to fulfil his purpose some time in the future, he would have to submit to the Cetra for awhile. He was patient. It would take millennia for him to reach full maturity anyway. And Kyros was interesting. He was learning many things about the planet, about life, from the Cetra.

Youth was for learning, after all. And suddenly, he was thankful that he had not headed straight for the kill. Now that his curiosity had been awakened, he would not give up his opportunity to learn at any cost. Except the fulfilment of his purpose of course.

"Here, try these on," snapped Kyros, appearing as suddenly as he had vanished. Nova studied the items of clothing, about to speak, but was cut off by a pre-emptive burst of thought, describing just what to do with each article of clothing.

"Why do you turn away from me?"

"It is only polite," replied the Cetra stiffly. "I thought you might have realised by now that you do not go around naked."

"Naked?"

"Without clothes."

"You didn't mind before."

"You didn't have this form before. Are you done?"

Nova smiled. Then felt incredulous because he could. "I am done." He walked calmly over to Kyros, noting that the Cetra was quite a bit shorter than he was. He also took notice of his new 'clothing', recording the name of each item in his mind.

Underwear. A white shirt and black leather pants. A long black coat with a high collar. Gloves, a scarf, a hat. Socks and black boots. It was a lot warmer with them on.

Violet eyes looked him up and down. "It'll do," said Kyros shortly. "You can come to the village. Try not to get too close to anyone or they will find out what you are. Follow me and don't get lost."

Kyros was marching at a brisk pace but Nova was distracted. It was the first time he had looked at this alien sky properly. He looked at everything, as if trying to take every bit of beauty into himself: the whiteness of the snow, the blueness of the sky, the jagged edge the mountains drew, black on white on blue. It was almost dead; it was beautiful.

He turned, half-expecting Kyros to be standing nearby, like back in the cave, but the Cetra was nowhere to be seen. And it struck him how wide the world was, like his mother's world before. That world, he had not been able to explore. This, this world still filled with life, however, was his. He was afraid.

"Kyros?"

No reply. Nova looked around, fear rising. What if he was found? Should he just head for the wound? "K… Kyros?"

Without thinking, he began to run in the direction he thought he saw the Cetra moving off in. "Kyros!"

'fearneedconfusionwant'

"Kyros!"

"Nova!"

He stood stock-still as the Cetra appeared in front of him, like so many times before. 'reliefjoyneedwantcalm' Anger.

"I told you to follow me," snarled Kyros, causing Nova to shrink back. Then, he saw his fear reflected in the Cetra's eyes. "Now, FOLLOW."

This time, he hurried to Kyros's side, slipping his hand into the Cetra's. Violet eyes met his own. 'concernfearcalmangerrelief…' Nova did not recognise the last one. Kyros shook his head. "Come on."

~+~

It was simple for him to pass off as Cetra. They welcomed him while Kyros stood off one side with a sarcastic smile on his face. "If they knew they were welcoming a planet-killer…" he would say, then laugh quietly to himself. Nova did not understand what was so… what's the word… funny. It was just sad. Kyros could be so confusing sometimes.

"Do you know what 'Nova' means?"

"No."

"It means new." And the Cetra burst out laughing, unwilling to explain the reason behind his mirth.

Nova was welcomed into the village like an old friend. He would get invited to meals, which he seldom ate as they lacked life; he would get invited to hang out. There was something he noticed, though. Whenever he was asked to go somewhere, he would insist on bringing Kyros along and the person inviting him would get an ugly look on his face.

How could they not tell friend from foe? Nova pondered this many a night as he lay in the bed in Kyros's room that he had claimed as his own. He was enjoying his time in the village but felt no remorse for the fact that they all had to be destroyed if he was to have his way with the planet. While Kyros was trying to help all the Cetra by trying to create a Promised Land, Nova was going to destroy it. So why did the Cetra like Nova and not Kyros?

When he posed that question to the Cetra, Kyros had gone silent. 'painrejectionmisunderstood' Then the Cetra simple got up and left, appearing two days later with a live chocobo that he promptly turned over to Nova. It was Kyros who dragged the remains of that corpse out in the streets, past everyone in the village and dumped it outside of town.

And Nova understood, a little. They stopped going everywhere together, meeting only at night, when they shared a room. Sometimes, he would lie in silence, not needing the rest, watching Kyros sleep or pace restlessly. Watching the sadness in the violet eyes and feeling himself react.

The search for the planet-killer was still on but every time it was mentioned, it would be Kyros who laughed. He had once explained to Nova that he laughed because of the irony but Nova had not understood the meaning of 'irony'. Then Kyros said it did not matter and they were cold again.

Cold. They kept saying that it would be spring soon but the planet was injured; she would not allow springtime to come about. She needed the life herself. Nova understood that but kept it silent to himself. Kyros understood and he continued smiling in the way that mocked everyone and especially himself.

It was supposed to be spring. Nova stood at the window of Kyros's room… their room, unwilling to leave the warmth to go outside. He merely watched the people go by, going on with their lives. He heard the door open, a pause, the door close. Kyros.

"Kyros."

A pause in the step, dark hair fluttering to a stop. "What?"

What would he say? "It's cold outside."

"So stay in the room." Moving away again.

"Kyros."

Pausing again.

"Aren't you cold?" It seemed such a foolish question. How could Kyros be cold when he was the warmest thing around? Except Nova remembered when those violet eyes would freeze over.

"Always," said Kyros quietly in reply.

"Then you should come into the room."

Nova cheered softly to himself when Kyros marched into their room, sighing. Then, he asked himself why he was feeling such joy. Perhaps he ought to ask Kyros. He had been feeling odd lately and an evaluation had told him that he was getting fed well enough and had not succumbed to any alien viruses. So that meant something mental. Something in him that he did not understand. Maybe Kyros might.

He did understand one thing: this was a gift, a gift of time. Most of his race raced from birth to death, not taking the time to explore the world, to fully explore their capacities. Purpose was life, of course, but when you were given eternity, there was no need to rush, was there? He had experienced more in these few short months than most of his race had ever experienced. It was an exhilarating feeling, experiencing an emotion without knowing the reason.

"Kyros?" the way he had been repeating it made it almost a refrain.

The Cetra was standing at the window, glaring at the frosty world outside.

Nova extended 'concern' and Kyros half-turned. He felt the reply 'tired' and sent 'rest'.

The Cetra laughed. Nova disliked that sound because it was hateful. There was no joy behind it; only pain. Something set up to deceive. And Kyros himself had fallen prey to the deception.

"I need your help, Kyros," said Nova quietly, uncertainly.

"Don't you always?" snapped the Cetra. Then, a sigh. "Fine. What?"

"What is this feeling when I feel the need to protect… someone? When his pain becomes my pain, when his joy becomes my joy?"

Kyros was silent for a long time after that, so long that Nova had to go over to the window to check if the Cetra had fallen asleep. He took Kyros's hand, as he did months ago, twining their fingers together. Not asleep.

"It is called love. The release of pleasure-causing chemicals to ensure that a mating couple would stay together long enough to raise the offspring," said Kyros flatly. "Also to encourage some species to reproduce."

"Then why would I feel it when I do not require a mate, nor a caretaker?"

And he saw that Kyros did not know either. So he took the other hand in his other hand, standing behind the Cetra, leaning forward to catch the faint scent of lavenders from Kyros's hair. Somehow it led to his lips touching the soft skin of the Cetra's neck.

"Who the hell knows? I'm no expert on planet-killers," growled Kyros, tearing himself away. Nova grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing them to stand face to face. Sullenly, the Cetra glared at him.

It all made sense now. "It doesn't matter what it is called," he murmured, thinking out loud. "Only that I must act on it." He touched the face, touched the tears that he learnt signified pain. "And I want… to take your pain away."

Kyros only laughed, or tried to. Nova made sure that wretched sound did not leave his lips.

"Why do you cry?" he asked softly, staring into the violet eyes that shimmered too brightly. "They are hurting you…"

No reply.

"Kyros…"

Nova bent forward and brushed his lips on Kyros's. He would take the pain away.

They lay together, hands joined in the wee hours of that morning. From then, every touch was special, to be cherished. Holding hands, a kiss, just brushing past each other. Still the pain lingered in those violet eyes.

He would take the cause of pain away. Already, a plan was forming in his mind. An alien virus… They all accepted him as a friend, it would be easy to make himself the vector. He would get rid of Kyros's problem and see his lover smile truly.

~+~

A/N: Something vaguely disturbing? This is the end of a very short series of fics involving Jenova. I will be working on something else that ties in to this version of things. But not for awhile yet. Maybe an epilogue.

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