Hiya! Merry Christmas people~ Here's a chappie that I put together after much munching from my personal Head Crab.

Don't own FFVII!

I'm not sure how long I stood in the shower. I was at a loss, but the warm water cascading down my back forced my body to relax itself from the tense coil of muscle it had wound itself in and unfogged my mind from the mindless terror it had trapped itself in. I stretched myself a little, shook my head and stepped out of the bathroom in my towel.

My nursemaid had laid out my clothes on the bed for me to wear. As I put them on, she bustled about, arranging things on 'my' desk which seemed to double as a dresser. Then she had me sit down before taking a brush to my hair.

One thing I was happy about this new body of mine, my hair didn't tangle. It was soft and shiny and thick. Wet, it curled a little at the ends, but after my nursemaid took the blow dryer to it, it fell obediently over my shoulders like a waterfall.

As she brushed my hair, I closed my eyes and tried to wrap my head around what had occurred. The things I had seen the previous night were coming back to me and as I turned them over carefully in my mind, some of the implications became obvious.

Firstly, I had died when the car (Van? Truck? Bus?) had hit me. Secondly, I was no longer in that body. Thirdly, I was no longer in the same world as I had been living in the past 20 years.

Fourthly, I was in the universe of Final Fantasy VII. As a girl who was probably named Lucrecia.

Ignoring the previous realizations uneasily, I opened my eyes and focused on the last. There was only one Lucrecia I knew of and she was the mother of the main antagonist of the game. Sephiroth.

My heart fluttered a little.

I had been a fan of Sephiroth ever since I first played the game. The first reason was, obviously, because he was good looking. (He made all that leather look good! Not that he wore much in the first place.) The second was his cool weapon. (How many people used roughly 6 ft long swords?) Then I had to play Crisis Core and end up sympathizing with his unfortunate past.

I blew a strand of hair out of my face.

If I was Sephiroth's mom…

I nearly snorted. Seriously, that would be the best and worst thing that could have happened to me. Sephiroth worshipped his mother. However, I'd end up in the one body that would never, and I mean NEVER, have a chance with Sephiroth. I entertained that thought and indulged myself in wild imaginings, putting myself in Lucrecia's shoes.

If that were to happen to me…

I'd probably be railing, "Where is the justice in the world?"

I'd read fanfictions about things like this happening, but it was always as Cloud or some OC that could get closer to Sephiroth and was not off limits. In fact, I hadn't even read a fic on a sister or something. The closest was a daughter, and even then, the sick author had had Hojo plot to breed the both of them together. Ugh.

The idea of incest flashed briefly through my mind, but I discarded it with a shudder. I wasn't even a fan of incest in fanfiction, doing it in real life would just be even more disgusting.

So then, I thought to myself, if I were Sephiroth's mother … and the father…

I jerked and made a face, prompting a sharp word from Nurse. She tugged on my hair in warning before returning to brushing it. I ignored her, absently settling back in my previous position as I followed the line of thinking.

If I were Sephiroth's mother… and the father was Hojo… I'd have to… sleep with him. Bleargh.

The thought of it alone was enough to cause bile to rise in my throat.

But that's unlikely. I've never read a fanfiction that put the OC into Lucrecia of all people. I thought to myself cheerfully. There's no point anyways, she's almost useless. Completely weak and soft and only good for acting the Damsel in Distress. I mean, she only stands around looking pretty or end up crying in all the scenes in Dirge of Cerberus!

In any case, there was no point further mentally scarring myself and criticizing a woman who was now probably a real person. I turned my thoughts to lighter things, ignoring memories of my death and the tiny, still hysterical voice screaming that this was impossible.

Reading all those self-insert, OC-insert fics helped greatly in accepting the situation and knowing what was the Standard Operating Procedure. (Or just what not to do so as to not get found out.)

Never thought those would prove useful. Mom and Dad always frowned on my reading.

I frowned and switched tracks again, scolding my brain's determination to derail into depressing thought processes.

A little co-operation please?

Hmmm, if I was in FFVII, wouldn't that mean that there was materia?

Oooooooooooh!

My fingers twitched and I had to exert a great force of will to prevent my face from splitting into a manic grin. I wanted to rub my hands in glee.

I think I sympathize with Yuffie now.

I ran through the list of materia I could remember, biting my lips as they threatened to stretch into a Cheshire cat grin. Fire, Ice, Earth, Lightning, Restore, Heal, Revive, Cure…

I frowned a moment. Wait, Cure was from Crisis Core. FFVII didn't have Cure, but Restore worked in the same way… Did that mean the names of the materia were changed? Kind of like switching from the old Latin names of elements to English ones… Anyways. Seal, Mystify, Transform, Exit, Poison, Gravity, Barrier, Comet, Time, Destruct, Contain, FullCure, Shield, Ultima… Wait.

Since when did my memory work so well that I could remember the names of all the magic materia clearly? I'd had a good memory in my previous life, but not perfect recall!

I racked my brains for an explanation, trying to figure things out. An article I had read a while ago about Daniel Schacter 's theory of the "seven sins of memory" came to mind, mainly the "3 sins of Forgetting".

Basically, it attributed memory loss to:

1)Encoding failure from absent mindedness.

2)Storage decay over time, AKA transience.

3)Blocking or retrieval failure.

What I surmised from this was that memory was completely controlled by the brain organ and that while it was affected by how much attention was paid to the object or detail, it was completely unrelated to any "spiritual" reasons, like the transfer of souls from one container to another. So the reason why my brain was working so well was because it had more firing power than my old one.

Huh, my body must be a genius then. I mused, a little irked that my intelligence was so dependent on something that wasn't actually me. I shrugged it off and returned to my previous idea, pondering how to get ahold of some materia to play with.

I wasn't stupid enough to jump right into getting a Fire or something else equally destructive. I wanted a Cure and maybe a Heal to try first before anything, since there was less chance of an explosion in case of a mistake…

My plans were interrupted by an impatient tap on my shoulder. I stood up quickly, not wanting another scolding from Nurse and followed her out the door. The scent of food wafted up to my nose as I stepped down the stairs, making my stomach growl. I skipped merrily the rest of the way to the dining room.

xXXXx

The dining room was an austere looking place, with old furniture and fixtures and wallpaper that was slightly yellow with age. It lent a much softer look than modern designs.

There was a loooong wooden table that had been polished so much it shone under the big chandelier and chairs so straight and stiff my back straightened just looking at them. It left me gaping slightly in awe. The fact that it was large enough to fit a tennis court probably helped too.

Legs hanging over the high chair at the dining table, I made short work of the scrumptious breakfast laid out. There were soft rolls of bread which tasted of butter, some delicious white coloured mango shaped fruits that were sweet and slightly tangy, and a tall glass of cold milk. I licked my lips after polishing my plate, to the surprise of Nurse. Apparently, Lucey was a picky child.

I was given 10 minutes to clean up before awaiting the arrival of Mr. Morris. Who turned out to be a snobby middle-aged man in charge of teaching me my letters. I frowned in puzzlement, I thought Lucey was a genius? What's with the beginner treatment?

Meticulously trying to fit pieces together, I recalled the half written note on the desk. It was obviously written by a young child. Perhaps 3 ½ to 4 years old, since fingers didn't get strong enough to hold pencils before that. That wasn't an indication of not-a-genius though, it was merely a physical restraint that did not affect mental cognition.

Young children do not know the meaning of holding back, so obviously that wasn't it. I snorted, recalling the absurd fics with child prodigies who held their skills back and hid their intelligence at the tender age of 3.

Did that mean that she was being underestimated? Or that she hadn't been spotted yet? Or that she wasn't as intelligent as I was now?

I scowled, brain buzzing with this new puzzle. Beside me, Mr. Morris was losing patience as my fingers stopped moving over paper. Did that mean my previous hypothesis was wrong? I bit the pencil I was holding as I thought, before a hand pulling it away startled me. I looked up into Mr. Morris disapproving face.

"Ms. Crescent, please do concentrate on your studies, it is very important that you learn how to read and write properly as becomes a young lady of your standing."

Obviously mistaking the expression on my face, and worried about his job, he hurriedly continued, "I understand that it is difficult, but a clever lady like you can most certainly accomplish it if you put your mind to it."

I flattened my eyes at him, "Could you repeat that?"

He adjusted the tie around his neck, "I said that I understand that it is difficult-"

"No," I cut him off impatiently, "before that."

His face was starting to redden, "I said to concentrate on your studies as it is very important that-"

"No," I repeated again, slightly agitated this time, "What did you call me just now?"

"Ms. Crescent," he calmed, sounding like he was preparing for a lecture, "it is inappropriate for me to address you by your name even if I'm your tutor because…"

I tuned out the rest of the lecture as I mentally banged my head on a wall at my new discovery. Of course I would end up as Sephiroth's mom. Doesn't life hate me enough as it is? Was I an axe murderer in my previous-er life? God!

Almost immediately, my morbid little brain started picking up the disgusting train of thought from my previous fantasy as Lucrecia.

I have to sleep with Hoho!

AAARGH!

This time I did slap my face.

Karma, you bitch.

After that, the entire morning was wasted due to my distraction. Mr. Morris left in a state of agitation bordering on frustration (not that I needed to relearn my letters anyway). Poor guy, he had really really tried to be patient, but I was too focused on my misery to pay him any attention and his lecturing fell on deaf ears. However, it looked like my behavior was of the norm because Nurse didn't even bat an eye at my "mischief" and Mr. Morris's face was one of long suffering.

After that came lunch, which was yet another 5 star meal, although I couldn't identify even half of the things I put in my mouth. Wiping my lips and sighing in satisfaction, I sat lazily at the table before Nurse came bustling in again and shooed me up to my room to study.

I pouted as I sat at my desk, idly working on my writing. It was already much improved due to the memories of putting pen to paper in a previous life. Still resembled chicken scratch though.

I sighed and abandoned my notes, resolving not to dwell too much on whatever horrific future I was supposed to have. Like a fanfiction I read, there was no telling whether or not this was "canon" FFVII and thus, whether or not there would even be a Hoho. Or a Sephiroth.

Thanks brain, just keep pouring on me will ya?

I frowned and shook my head, walking to the bookshelf and grabbing a book. Instead of returning to my desk, I kicked off my shoes and settled into the bed to read. I looked at the title. I had grabbed "Midgar Folk Tales" again.

Once upon a time, there lived a little Touch-Me. He was the smallest Touch-Me in the area and was often bullied. He couldn't jump very well and his voice croaked when he tried to sing the Frog Song…

xXXXx

"Ms. Lucrecia! Your parents are back! Hurry and prepare for dinner!"

I jumped up, hand over my chest. God, that woman's voice was loud. That, and she had a habit of pounding on the door like a deranged beast.

"Coming!" I hollered back, scowling.

Squinting at the clock hanging on the wall, I made out 7:30 and rushed to the bathroom to splash my face with water. Scrubbing furiously, I pinched myself until sleep completely left my eyes.

Slipping on my shoes, I dashed down the stairs. I'd never seen Lucrecia's parents before, so I was kind of interested in what kind of background she had. I speculated on what sort of upbringing had brought about her softness and guilt complex, not to mention her habit to self-delude. Downstairs, the scene that followed was an interesting one.

My mother was a rather anxious person.

"Lucrecia-dear, a young lady mustn't rush so!" A tall, wispy woman in a long dark green dress cried. Her large doe-brown eyes stared down at me worriedly, giving me a careful onceover. She fluttered her hands as she continued, "You could have tripped and fallen! You could get seriously injured!"

My father, on the other hand, was absolutely wonderful.

"Now, now, darling, Lucy's young." The round portly man beside her chortled, "She'll learn as she grows up."

He turned to me, opening his arms, "Now, who's daddy's little girl?"

Grinning and feeling a little childish, I dashed into him, "Daddy!"

"Oof!" He chuckled, hugging me tightly before leaning back to examine me closely, "Have you gotten taller since I last saw you girl? You seem to be shooting up like a sprout!"

I shrugged, filing away that tidbit. Sounds like someone doesn't come home often.

"Well," He announced dramatically, "I believe you have! A full inch at that! My little girl's all grown up now!"

He was about to go on, but a low growling sound echoed from my stomach.

Chuckling, he nodded to Nurse and swept me into the dining room where a large spread had been laid out. I grinned and settled into a chair eagerly.

As we dug in, my father spoke about his work. Apparently, he was a business man and had just returned from a trip to Midgar.

He spoke of the new company Shinra and the charismatic owner whom it had been named after. President President Shinra (who the hell named their child that?) had talked about the many benefits to be obtained from extracting Mako and utilizing it as a form of fuel to produce electricity. He had a team of scientists dedicated to further improving the efficiency of their prototype power plant which could already convert 30% of Mako into electricity.

Idly speculating the political ramifications of such a revolutionary change (apparently we were still depending on what little oil resources were left from 200 years of digging), Daddy continued to speak further of the recently made discoveries of Mako, like how it could be condensed and hardened into materia as well as treated and turned into gas to power vehicles. This would make an easier transition as there would be very little modification of the current motor engines.

Wondering if this was typical dinner talk in Lucrecia's life, I sat back thoughtfully and chewed on some meat that tasted like chicken (chocobo maybe?). It looked like Shinra Company hadn't even come up with SOLDIER yet, although there was already some research into producing man-made materia.

Overall, it looked fairly peaceful, completely unlike the warmongering empire it had turned into. I briefly wondered if that was all due to Hojo's research on Mako enhancement.

The mention about materia brought me back to what I had previously planned. I grinned.

"Daddy," I sang, "Did you bring me anything from your looooooong trip? I missed you so much, you know!"

Maybe I was laying it on a little thick, but I was 4/5 years old and everyone knew children that young didn't lie!

"Oh precious thing," he beamed, "Did my Lucy miss me so much?" Face falling a little, he apologized, "Daddy didn't get anything from Midgar though, and I'm so sorry baby. Do you have anything you want?"

I hemmed and hawed for a while, "How about a materia? I want one!"

Apparently, civilians didn't see the dangers of materia (for all I knew, they could be using them in daily life or something) because he immediately agreed and gave me a heart attack. Mom's worried look was ignored.

"How about a Fire?"

My eyes bulged. Taking my expression for dissatisfaction, he continued hurriedly.

"An Ice? A Lightning?"

As my eyes widened further, he continued to name more and more materia that became progressively more and more dangerous. I questioned the safety laws as I tried to regain control of my voice.

"That's fine!" I squeaked, forcing my lips up, "I'm happy that you're getting me something!"

"What a darling girl," he chuckled, "That settles it then, I'll get you a Fire and a Seal!"

I was happy that I was getting more than one, but there were 2 materia I'd rather have before anything else. "Daddy, I want a Restore and a Heal!" I piped up hurriedly.

"A Heal? But we can get those downtown at the market honey! This is Kalm after all." He pouted, making me feel like the parent instead.

"But I really want one of those!" I widened my eyes pleadingly.

He crumpled like wet paper after that. Wow, the puppy-dog eyes really DO work…

"Very well then sweetie, I'll get you a Restore, Heal and a Fire!" He smiled happily, pleased to be showering me with more gifts than I wanted.

I'd rather have the Seal than deal with any unintentional bonfires… and Sephiroth uses Earth! Oh well, I'm getting materia!

I grinned back as he resumed talking.

xXXXx

I'm getting materia! XDD Sorry, but I couldn't wait. Daddy dearest spoils me and materia sells really cheaply anyways. (600 gil?)