Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Protector of Worlds ❯ Flashback ( Chapter 2 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy, any of the characters mentioned or any of the places. I own the cute little baby and the Air-LOK tube, but that's about it.

 

FLASHBACK

 

Fourteen years ago…

The Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel., 3:46 am

 

In the dark chamber that Hojo had set up when he still lived, a shadowy figure swiftly flew by. Faster than any human, it went from one canister to the next, checking the placards carefully. Obviously not being the one he wanted, he would then move on to the next one. Five years ago, he had come looking for Jenova, and now he was back again, looking for the one who could save her. For several hours, the figure searched among the capsules, frozen in time, for the one that would save him and his mother…

 

Then he found it.

 

Hidden amongst the clusters, was a fairly small chamber, obviously meant for a baby. Leaning down, he read the placard: Nathan the Celestial. Smiling, the man stepped back. With a kick, the chamber flew open. Loose nitrous oxide sprayed everywhere, but the man's cruel stare immediately prevented it from freezing him. After a minute, the gas subsided, and the man peered into the capsule.

Inside was a small baby. It was very tiny, as though it wasn't even a week old yet. It stretched its fingers gently, and gave a little sigh. The man tilted his head to the side and grinned. Kneeling down, he put his right arm on his knee, and reached out his other hand. Gently nudging the baby to his direction, he stared at it. Then, the baby opened its eyes. They were a glowing icy blue, with a radiant shine. They pierced the stranger's unnatural glowing green eyes. Taken aback, the shadow took a sharp intake of breath. This was a girl. The one who would save them both…was a girl? He shook his head. Impossible.

 

My son…what is the matter?

Mother, this cannot possibly be our only hope.

Of course it can. Why would you think otherwise? Don't you think your mother would know? I've been locked in here a long time. I have seen the things no one thought existed. I have seen unspeakable evil and good. It is perfectly reasonable that this is our savior.

But Mother…it's a girl.

Do you have a fear of girls, son?

No, Mother. But I suppose I was looking for something not so…pathetic looking. This one looks as though it started to grow and then shrank.

HA! This child could be anything BUT pathetic. Like it or not, she WILL save us. And the best new of all: she will be your charge.

Mine?

Yes. Look after her, train her, and teach her as though she were your own. When she comes of age, you must complete her destiny, just the way I taught you.

I am not capable of doing that.

Don't be ridiculous.

No, Mother. It's that I don't know HOW to. You never explained that part.

Haha, well I suppose you'll have to find a way, haven't you?

 

With that, Jenova's cruel voice subsided. The man sighed, leaned forward, and carefully took the baby out of her frozen crib. The baby began to wail as the temperature went from cold to colder. He sighed and tentatively pulled the baby against his chest. He had heard that babies liked to hear a heartbeat when they were still small. It apparently was of some comfort to them. He was correct, and the child quieted down substantially. Reaching into the capsule once more, he rustled around for a second. Then, his hand brushed against something soft. He dug deeper until he felt his hand grasp something cylindrical. Pulling it out, he looked at it. It was a clear Air-LOK tube that ShinRa had designed four years ago, after Aeris had defeated the Black Materia. He stared at for a moment before placing it on the inside pocket of his coat.

“What kind of name is `Nathan the Celestial?'” muttered Sephiroth, turning around and walking out of Hojo's old lab. He stepped out onto the bridge that connected Mt. Nibel to Nibelheim. “That's a name for a sideshow attraction or something of the like.” he said, wrinkling his nose ever so slightly.

 

My foolish son…look at it closer. If you see beyond the words, and into the heart, you will see that is not her name at all.

 

As quickly as Jenova came, she was gone again. Sephiroth thought about the name as his boots clacked on the old bridge. `Nathan the Celestial'. He still couldn't see it. Turning his attention to baby, he took note that she seemed to be eyeing her surroundings with a curious interest. Then Sephiroth bounced her a little. He actually had no idea why he did so; it was almost like an instinctive force telling him so. Sephiroth shook his head. This was so not him. Ex-General Sephiroth did not take care of babies. `But it is odd” he thought to himself. `, this is obviously NOT instinct…so why am I drawn to this child? If the situation had been different, no doubt I would have eliminated her, but not this time…not this time…and not just because Mother wanted me to take her either.” The baby clutched at one of the leather straps crossing his chest and huddled close to him in the midst of the freezing winds. Sephiroth was deep in his thoughts, but he did notice the tiny hand on his chest. Slightly alarmed, he stopped in his tracks. There seemed nothing wrong with the baby besides the fact it was cold and hungry. But suddenly, she looked up at him and smiled. With some effort, she opened her mouth. Sephiroth held her a little closer, trying to see what was wrong with her. She made a few loose gargling noises. Sephiroth sighed, and stood up again. He harrumphed,

“Planets. And here I thought she was going to be useful.” He began to walk again. The baby opened her mouth again and tried to concentrate. THIS time, it was going to work.

“P-P-Papa?”

Sephiroth was so surprised that he almost dropped the baby completely. His mind went on red alert. So many things were already wrong in this equation. He tried to sort it all out. This human child must have been only a few weeks old and yet…she had already said her first word! And to him no less (and the word, we mustn't forget the word, chuckled Jenova) The unique shine of her eyes, the cryogenic chamber, the instructions, the mysterious riddle of her name…

“Wh-what?!” he yelled, eyes wide. Oh Planets, this couldn't be happening to him, not now. The baby curiously looked at him, wondering why he was distraught. Sephiroth's mind whirled. He had been with her, what, like less than ten minutes? And she was now calling him her father. There was DEFINITELY something amiss. The baby, still confused, decided to try again.

“PAPA!” She smiled cheerfully and warmly, more warm and heartfelt than Sephiroth had ever felt in his life, which, mind you, wasn't that much from being in the lab with Hojo all those years.

And then it came to him.

The shine in her eyes, the manner of her being, the rapid expansion of her development.

 

Don't you see yet, my silly boy?

 

Yes. He saw it. She stared into his eyes, unafraid of the malice she saw in them. He stared back and then walked quickly to get across the rest of the bridge.

In the town of Nibelheim, he quickly ran into the nearest inn. Whizzing past the manager, he avoided being seen, and therefore, quickly got a room. When he was inside, he slammed the door, and sat down on the bed. The darkness enveloped them both. Sephiroth sighed, and shed his coat and belt. Sitting them delicately on the chair beside the bed, he turned his attention back to the baby, still nestled in the crook of his arm. She was playing with a lock of his silver hair. Chuckling, he put a finger in her mouth. He saw it all now. Everything had become clear.

The moon was swiftly uncovered by the clouds and a luminescent moonbeam shined on the pair through the windows. Sephiroth pulled the baby even closer still, and whispered in her ear,

“Welcome to my family, little one.” The baby stopped playing with his hair and stared once more into his green orbs. Leaning down, he gently kissed her on her forehead. She paused, as though confused, but then she smiled once more at the man who had once terrorized the entire world, as though she forgave him for everything he had done. Sephiroth sighed, and lay down on the soft bed, carefully maneuvering the child so she would be right next to his heart, where she belonged.

 

Sephiroth, my son, don't get too close to this girl! You're going to have to kill her in a few years anyways.

 

Sephiroth smiled at his mother and said, closing his eyes,

“Maybe so, Mother. But right now? It doesn't matter.” And with that, he fell into a peaceful sleep, for the first time in many years.

Because you see, he had figured out the mystery of her name. Of course, Nathan the Celestial is a strange and awkward name for a child, especially a girl. What he had failed to realize, was that it was an anagram, to hide her true nature. For when you reorganize the letters for the first name, her being is present. Sephiroth reorganized the letters in his mind, and smiled at his answer. His mother had good reason to want this girl. But for the first time in his life, Sephiroth didn't want to follow her orders.

 

When reorganized, the letters would turn from Nathan the Celestial-to Leah, the Last Ancient.