Somewhere close to Rocket Town, a teenage girl rode a Chocobo through the long grass,
her teeth gritted against the flying sand. She shifted and stretched many times as though
her long, slender body just wasn’t long enough. It felt cramped to her and she had a
seriously throbbing headache. The sooner she returned home to her parents, the sooner
she could be lying in bed with a large bottle of aspirin.
The journey across the ocean was stuck in the back of her head, reminding her of the
weirdness back in Midgar. She wasn’t old enough to know much about ShinRa or the
trouble they had caused her people. To see a mob rising up against two young men was
new to her. Just wait until she arrived home, her parents would have a long story to listen
to. Anything for the conversation. There wasn’t much that she had in common with her
parents, as most teenagers her age were light years away with their music and fashion
sense. But, a spark of a well exaggerated story was exactly what was needed to keep
their attention on her for a few minutes if not more.
Meanwhile, inside of Cid’s kitchen, Vincent was performing all sorts of tests on
Sephiroth. He pricked him with needles, drew blood, measured breathing, heart rate and
even asked for a very personal sample from him. Sephiroth was outraged but humored
the man because he had no choice. No choice but to lie flat on his back and watch his
body be picked apart by Vincent.
“Have you found anything yet?” Cloud was hovering nearby, averting his gaze whenever
Vincent decided to take more samples.
“Actually, yes I have. It’s scientifically impossible but…Sephiroth’s entire body is
lacking half of what it should.”
“WHAT?” Sephiroth snatched the results from Vincent’s hand and looked over the
information himself.
“He’s missing half of his blood cells, half of his skin tissue, half of…” Vincent cleared
his throat. “Well, his performance might not be what he’s used to.”
“I’d appreciate it if you kept your comments off of my genitalia.” The silver haired man
sat up and began to dress. “What does this mean?”
“It isn’t good if that’s what you’re asking. You need your other half to go on living but if
you do rejoin, your evil side could retake control.”
Cid hurried through the kitchen and gave Sephiroth a withering glance. “I’m never
eating off of that table again.”
“Old crone,” Sephiroth muttured beneath his breath.
“So what should we do?” Poor Cloud was hoping against hope that there was a way to
keep Sephiroth alive without reverting him back to a back-stabbing snake.
For once, Vincent didn’t have a solution. “His other half will be coming to find him.
Neither of them can survive long without the other. Once they are whole again, we may
be able to eradicate the evil tendencies in his brain.”
Outside of Rocket Town, the young girl dismounted off of her Chocobo and patted his
head. Then the furry, yellow bird was bolting off, warking all the way. “I can’t wait to
tell …” She suddenly clutched at her head, her knees buckling. Then she collapsed as a
shadow of a man climbed out of her body.
“Thanks for the ride,” Evil Sephiroth sneered at her quivering body.
The shadow moved from house to house, searching for his host, no longer as powerful as
he once was. He sensed that the original Sephiroth wasn’t exactly in top condition
himself. No matter, he had an agenda to stick to and eliminating Sephiroth was high on
the list. When Sephiroth was once again under his command, the first order of business
would be to execute Cloud.
Evil Sephiroth recognized one of the houses as belonging to Cid, the smartass pilot.
They were inside, all four of them. Now was his chance. He walked straight through the
wall, wincing a bit from the strain it put on his abnormal powers. Sephiroth was just
leaving the kitchen to take a long shower. The evil half of him could feel the defeated
attitude surrounding Sephiroth. Now, it would be easy. He ran the last few feet and
lunged at Sephiroth.
Cloud, Cid and Vincent rushed into the hallway to see Evil Sephiroth disappear inside of
Sephiroth. The result was horrible as Sephiroth screamed and smashed things, fighting
against himself. He staggered one way, then the other, punching the wall, tearing at his
hair.
“NO! NO! Anything but this!”
Neither Cid nor Vincent made any effort to stop Cloud when he moved forward.
“Sephiroth. You can win, I know you can.”
Sephiroth let out a low sigh, trembling from the weight of his conscience. There would
be no teaching Vincent how to be romantic, no life with Cloud, no freedom. He had been
doomed from the beginning. How he had wished to shake Cid and tell him how precious
Vincent’s companionship was. To tell the man never to let it go. The words wouldn’t
come out. What he wouldn’t trade in exchange for an hour of apologies, of things left
unsaid and undone.
At his side, Cloud was moving things out of his way, clearing a path straight to the guest
room. What did Cloud want from him? To make it all better, to magically restore his
humanity?
“You didn’t come all this way just to give up.” Cloud led him into the room and shut the
door, massaging his neck, kissing his knuckles.
Sephiroth could feel the will being driven out of him. So tired. If he could only rest and
dwell on his misfortune the next day, the next life. Faces rained hard down on him. The
people he had murdered, killed, slain. They howled for restitution, saying that this was
what he deserved. A life of torment.
Shaking his head, Sephiroth managed to dislodge those emotions temporarily. He took
Cloud’s face in his hands and kissed him. Even after all he had done, Cloud was still on
his side. Cloud’s loyalty astounded him for he didn’t deserve it.
“Cloud. I love you.” Sephiroth hugged Cloud tightly, feeling the dampness of tears on
his neck. Half belonged to Cloud, the other half were unfamiliar stabs of pain.
“I love you too…”
As they were moving towards the bed, Sephiroth knew what was going to happen. Cloud
must be preparing himself, waiting for the ultimate act of surrender. His hand gripped
something on the way over. It must be Cloud’s hand, he thought. But the object was
cold and lifeless. He pushed Cloud down onto the bed, still kissing him, running his
hands through that soft, blonde hair.
“You will never forget this moment,” Sephiroth spoke icily.
“I’ve wanted to be with you for a long time. I want this now, Sephiroth. I love you,” he
repeated. Cloud opened his arms to embrace Sephiroth, his expression vulnerable,
loving.
“And so you shall have it.” He pulled back his right arm and revealed his sword. The
look on Cloud’s face turned to confusion then to sheer agony as he was impaled.
Sephiroth drove the sword in deeper, cutting through Cloud’s heart and nailing him to the
mattress.
A strangled scream escaped Cloud’s blood, soaked lips as he fought to loosen the sword.
He cried out again and again, feeling his very life shattering before him. Sephiroth
moved the blade up higher, cutting even further into Cloud’s flesh. In his mind, he knew
that he was breaking Cloud’s ribcage, had already punctured both of his lungs and was
making short work of the younger man’s heart. Cloud was staring up at him, unable to
scream anymore. He bit straight through his bottom lip, eyes tightly shut as tears of
blood streamed from them. Then Cloud was dead.
“What have I done?” Sephiroth slid the sword out of Cloud and began to shake. Why
didn’t Cid or Vincent come to help Cloud? “Why didn’t you stop me?!!” He shouted at
the ceiling, letting the weapon drop to the bed. He picked Cloud’s body up in his arms
and cradled him close, sobbing with a sorrow so great it consumed his soul. “How could
I kill them man I love?”
“You can’t.”
“Who said that?” Sephiroth raised his head away from Cloud’s face and found that he
was no longer in the house. All around him was darkness. He couldn’t see and when he
raised his arms, Cloud was gone. “What is going on?”
“Cloud cannot be killed by you when you are imprisoned here.”
“Where am I?”
“Where you’ve always been.”
Deja vu struck when the cackling, the laughter from that dark place invaded his mind.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not responsible for your actions, Sephiroth. You are. I only showed you what could
have been.”
“Aerith,” Sephiroth snarled. “Could have been? You mean all of this was just a dream?
A figment of my imagination? What about Cloud and my evil side? You’re a liar!”
“Anything can be as real as you make it here. You are still on trial for your sins. Your
delusional fantasy with Cloud merely withdrew the imagery from deep within you. It’s
time you came to terms with your love for him. Time you suffered for nearly killing him.
For killing me.”
“I wouldn’t have killed him. I couldn’t have.”
“But you did and it was easy, wasn’t it? He gave you his heart and you tore it in two.
And you expect to be allowed to leave this dimension with a personality like that?
Sephiroth, you are going to pay for what you did. I’ll ensure that.”
“Send me back to Cloud. I have to tell him the truth. I can’t die unless he knows. He
has to know!” Sephiroth ran into the black aura and kept going, trying to find an opening
somewhere.
“He already knows what a psychological deviant you are. Don’t worry, if I ever see him,
I’ll tell him how much you wanted him dead.”
“Where are you, witch? Come over here and speak to me or are you too much of a
coward?”
“Very well.” Aerith appeared above him, floating with her long brown hair and big,
green eyes. “You want me to have some compassion I suppose?”
“I know you have the ability to send me back. I’ve changed, you must listen to me. All I
want is to have a second chance with Cloud. There won’t be any evil doubles or split
personalities. After seeing what I’m capable of, I know not to repeat my mistakes.”
She flew higher and smiled at Sephiroth. “Are you sure that’s what you want? It will be
like replaying a scene in a movie. An earthquake will hit Midgar and trap Cloud inside
of his home. Unless you are there, he will be killed in the living room, on the couch. It
doesn’t matter what you try to alter, the exact same thing will happen twice. Only this
time, you will not encounter your evil side as I have already banished it. However, it will
be even more difficult to seduce Cloud this time.”
“Whatever the odds, I will be there for Cloud. I can convince him that I am a new man.
Will you do this for me?”
“No.” She smiled, the same ethereal smile down onto him. “Not for you, Sephiroth. For
Cloud. He showed me the world as it really was and now I will show him you as you
were meant to be. Go.”
A window of bright light pierced into Sephiroth’s eyes and he greedily went through it.
He was afraid that Aerith might change her mind and hurl him into a dungeon deeper
than hell. “Aerith, thank-you…and I’m sorry.”
Her projected form melted under the light but the last thing Sephiroth noticed was her
smile. She was at peace and it this rested the gnawing guilt that had chewed away at him
for that eternity.
Midgar.
He was in Midgar, and in ten minutes, he’d be at Cloud’s house. Cloud. The man he
loved with all of his heart. Optimism flooded his spirit, lifted the corners of his mouth
into a broad grin. He practically ran towards Cloud’s home, stopping only to grab a
bunch of flowers and throw his sword down a well.
Sephiroth ignored the urge to climb into Cloud’s bedroom and instead flung open the
front door. Cloud leapt off of the couch and his jaw dropped. “Sephiroth…how?”
But Sephiroth grabbed Cloud’s arm and led him to the bedroom as the ground began to
shake.
“I’ll explain everything later,” he said when the ceiling collapsed and they had to hide
under the bed. “But for now, just know that I love you.”
