I had COMPLETELY forgotten this thing existed. Many apologies to the people who waited for, um, four years before I remembered that Sephiroth fiction existed in my head. Oops.

I think I'll keep the chapters short in this one, so I don't feel crushed writing four fictions at once. I'll try to fill out once I get the general direction of this story set. Right now I only have the vaguest idea. (C'est La Vie's easy enough since it's just a re-write, but this one's still beta. So please forgive any mistakes you come across.)

Note: I have nothing against autistic people, since I am one.

Chapter I: The Voice and the Light

Can you hear my voice, darling…?

You can, can't you…?

Let's free this beautiful world from these filthy people, darling…

Become one with me…

"Sephiroth activated the Fire materia? Come on, it's not even noon yet, stop dreaming."

"He's a freaking autistic, for Shiva's sake. He doesn't even speak!"

"Everyone's saying this project's a complete failure."

"Well, that regenerative body would be of use for something, I suppose…"

Lesson: Never disregard those who eavesdrop.

In the meanwhile, Sephiroth was suffering.

The utter pain that wracked his tiny frame, the fever, the nasal congestion that barred his breathing, every bone screamed in pain… and the skin was scalded red from blisters. His wounds had healed long ago, but this pain was almost unbearable. He had vomited repeatedly, until nothing but the sour liquid would come out. His stomach pain was so intense he was doubled over.

He would have moved, except he was strapped down to a meager bed with leather straps. Tubes and cords sprouted from his every limb, and machines that he was hooked up to stared down at him menacingly, angrily, beeping and flashing noisily as if to scold him. And beyond the glass screens, the two men watched, impassive.

Let me out, let me out!

I'm going to die.

They both wore glasses. One had neatly combed his hair back, and the other wore his longish hair in a ponytail.

Breathe… just breathe…

Even the breaths were harder, more painful than the one before. The machines whirred, beeped, and flashed hysterically, closing in around him.

"…pen the door."

"But, Professor, he's still highly contagious…!"

… what are they yelling about?

One of the men came into the room, and then…

I see a light…

"F… father…?"

"Father is here, Sephiroth. So you must not die. You must live, live and lead a good life. Live, Sephiroth, live…"

"Finally."

Gast Faremis stepped out from the HAZMAT room, stretching.

"Of course! What would we have done if you've been infected?!" The assistant shrieked wildly. Gast shushed him, and glanced at the sleeping boy across the glass. Unlike the few hours before, the boy's breathing was now relaxed, regular; yet the fierce battle that had raged within his body was apparent from the gaunt look the face had.

"I would think about it then," Gast smiled. "Oh, and I'm hereby terminating all research conducted on him."

"You what?!"

"He's a human being, Gene." He said thoughtfully. "He is not a lab rat or a hamster. He is a human being. It's all very nice to be able to know that his immune system has extra immunoglobulins and has an extraordinary amount of IgMs and IgAs, but it is entirely our fault that he came into this world." He sat down and took the coffee the assistant offered. "Because of our research his mental growth has been severely stunted to the point he cannot even talk properly. No, this must not continue."

"But, Professor…"

"I think I'll adopt him," Gast continued, his smile widening. "Someone needs to love him, care for him, Gene, as all our parents had done."

"But…"

"No, my mind is quite made up," he said. "I think I'll call my lawyer and make this official as soon as possible."

"A… B… um…"

"That's a C, Sephy. C."

"C." The boy repeated.

"Good boy! What a clever boy you are!" Gast smiled; just then, the phone rang. He picked up, exchanged a few words, then plopped the small boy down onto the floor and stood up.

"I have to go downstairs, Sephy, so return to your room. You know the way, don't you?"

He nodded. He was still a quiet child.

"Very good. I'll come back as soon as I can."

"He was WHAT?"

Professor Gast nearly dropped his pen at the report his assistant had just made. He blinked, a confused frown creeping up on his face, followed by utter disgust.

"I'm sorry, Professor. But close physical examination revealed that…"

"That is quite enough," he shooed the assistant away. To rape someone was one thing. To rape a little boy was quite another. And if not for the annual body check, the wrongs would still be undiscovered, the culprit still committing the heinous crime.

Midgar was a city of sins. Gangs were running rampant in the streets. Corneo reportedly raped women every night. A redheaded lad whose name was not yet discovered was stealing everything in sight. But this, this… this was intolerable.

He picked up the phone, dialed the number for the floor sixty. Soon enough, his friend, Myers DeVir, picked up.

"DeVir… oh, hello, Gast."

"I need you to do something for me," Gast said quickly. "And fast."

That evening, Myers DeVir brought a boy home.

"Father, who is that?" The younger twin – a girl with her hair in pigtails – asked, jumping up and down. Her brown eyes were full of curiosity, and she hopped around the boy excitedly. The other twin, the elder, was sitting at a table quietly doing her homework; yet it seemed that even she could not contain her curiosity. Her eyes much colder than her twin's, slowly analyzing the new guest in the house.

"Sit down, Rennie," said the elder twin. "Mother said we have to finish homework before dinner."

"But I don't want to." She grumbled.

The elder twin said nothing, continued her work. While the man went into the kitchen to talk to his wife, Reniel yanked the boy's hand to the table, where the elder twin was quietly continuing to do her homework.

"What's your name?"

"Sephy."

"Sephy," the girl in pigtails repeated. "What a weird name."

"No, it's not," said the older twin, closing the book and putting the pencil down. "Our names sound just as strange, Rennie."

"Nuh uh!"

"Everyone in our class has regular names like Stephanie, Esther, James. We don't."

"But his name is weirder!"

"Girls, girls." The woman came out from the kitchen, and hugged the boy tightly. "Welcome to our home, darling. The one in pigtails is Reniel" – She patted her daughter's head – "and this one's Arien." She patted the quieter one's head as well. "Girls, Sephy will be staying for the night, so you two can share a bed, can't you?"

"He can have my bed," Arien said. "Reniel just changed her sheets, so I'd think that involves less washing."

Reniel stopped and thought for a moment. "Okay."

"Now, dinner's just about ready… have you finished your homework, darlings?"

"Yes," the girls chorused in unison, and the boy wondered why the girl in pigtails had said yes even though she had not. He had never seen twins before in his life, and was surprised to see two identical faces looking at him. Did he have someone with his face in this world? He wondered.