Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Sephiroth the Man: an interview with an aide. ❯ Transcript 1: Tests. ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Yes, I am Ana'eledore Kyruk, though I haven't been a colonel for nearly five years..With Shinra essentially gone, I guess you could call me retired. Sephiroth you say? Yes I knew him...before. Well, before he went mad and disappeared...No..Before he died. I refuse to acknowledge that thing that showed up wearing his shape.. Of course I still remember him...Oh! You want to know about him! No! Go away...I'll not break confidentiality! Can't you damn reporters leave a sick woman alone! Oh, Jair sent you?...You're a state historian, not a reporter? The new government needs to know?..huh!. You hold on and I'll verify all that..you'll have to excuse me if I don't take your unadorned word for it. Show me some I.D. boy!...Well, Mr. Johnasi Zuri. Jair says you are what you say you are and cen...Huh..Reeve..I've heard of him, but never met him. Why should I tell you anything anyway? What! Clones, trying to bring him back! Oh planet, must be those poor kids from Hojo's lab..thought they had foster parents..Well, I'll answer on one condition..that this interview is not made public knowledge for at least ten years, if at all..I would prefer it kept on a need to know basis. I still regard the General's privacy as inviolable, but I know that the man he was before would not have allowed the being he later became to even exist, much less do those kinds of dishonorable things...and I suppose I should tell someone what he was really like, before people forget the good things he did...

I don't know, maybe he was just manipulating me all along, though I can't imagine why he'd bother. Maybe I was blind and he had me completely decieved, or maybe he just never showed me his dark side..He never really frightened me, you know, even when he was angry with me..He called me his "little aide"..I don't really know why, I wasn't much shorter than him. I think it started as a test of my self control, a sarcastic, mocking thing, because I'm anything but little, especially for a woman, but as I became better at my job, and he became less acid, I found I didn't mind at all being called "little aide"..it seemed to be an almost affectionate term from him..And in turn, I loved him like an elder brother.

I truly believe he wasn't really evil, he just went insane from the strain of believing himself to be nothing more than an experiment...He had to believe that he was destined for godhood, therefore more than human, because otherwise he would have to believe that he was less than human, a monster like the other experiments. The experiences of his terrible childhood warped him...Hojo treated him like a glorified lab rat early on..he never even publicly acknowledged him as his son, though he implied it often as another form of torment. In order to survive it all, he learned to build himself up in his own mind, to believe that he was better than anyone else...that everyone else was beneath him. A point of view first encouraged by Dr. Gast, who believed Sephiroth to be an ancient at that time, and destined to lead mankind to the promised land. Confirmed in his mind by all the tests he survived, both physical and mental, and later by all the people he met..especially in battle. He never, till the very end, found an equal, let alone someone who could best him. Though his early childhood was supervised by Dr. Gast before he dissappeared, his adolescence was left to his father, Hojo...and that was horrific enough by itself to drive a person mad. Hojo essentially tried to test him to the point of destruction. In the end he succeeded, he just started with his heart and mind first. Yet even in his madness Sephiroth wasn't completely without compassion by all accounts. He wanted to remake the world, to transform it into the promised land. He didn't even really want to kill everyone, he wanted to make them as strong as he was the only way he believed he could...By making them a part of himself...And planet help me, I'm not completely sure that they were right to stop him to this day.

He was always courteous, calm and polite..he expected the same in return, and made no bones about letting you know his displeasure when he wasn't treated with the same courtesy...That made him seem to those who didn't know him to be absolutely cold, calculating, ruthless, and without compassion..not true, or any number of people would not be here today...even some of your so-called heroes. Don't get me wrong, he could be deliberately brutal and cruel, but always for a purpose, like teaching someone a necessary lesson, or in a fight. He was an unholy terror to face in battle..or if you'd pissed him off or lied to him..He would hurt you if you lied..he hated liars, and he always knew when he was being lied to...Always. If you told the truth and owned up to your mistakes, and if you faced him when he was angry without flinching...if you kept your cool, and accepted your punishment with courage and dignity he seemed to respect that. Not many people truly earned his respect..the closest I ever saw was one of his young SOLDIERs. He was always strictly fair when he had to mete out a punishment, and as a matter of fact, unless your offense was something that endangered yourself or another or reflected badly on his training, he was usually even lenient compared to the other generals..But I even knew him to be kind every once in a while...I know you're skeptical..but I should know, I was his aide de camp for many years...

You wouldn't think it but armor and uniforms need a lot of time to keep them in good shape, not to mention tons of paperwork needed doing and he was far too busy to have time for that..hence the need for an aide...someone has to act as secretary, a valet, keep his armor polished, his clothing laundered and properly pressed, his leathers in good shape, and maintain his longer than regulation hair. I will never ever forget him. He was terrifying and magnificent! Terrifying in his anger, magnificent in battle, a driven and gifted general, and oh, the way he wielded that sword! Fast and graceful can scarcely truly describe it!

It might seem strange but he never killed in any manner but cleanly and quickly, usually with a single stroke of his masamune..I believe it was a point of honor with him. If he wanted you dead, dead was what you were going to be, no doubt about it! The same went if he wanted you to stay alive, safe as houses as the saying goes..though if you ended up needing a rescue, you had better have a damned good reason or be prepared to be razzed...He had no patience for anyone who couldn't be bothered to learn how to defend themselves...The only exceptions were children...He always seemed tolerant, if not quite fond of children, even when they would crowd around him in the streets, begging him for autographs and pictures.. Anyone else who was old enough and not disabled in some way could expect cutting remarks and acid wit for a week afterwards, nearly bad enough to make you wish you had died. He could use his voice like he used his sword, to cut anyone who acted like an idiot in front of him into little ribbons...Kind of like being verbally skinned alive.

It was a treatment I unfortunately merited a couple of times, usually by being somewhere I wasn't supposed to be..like too close to a battle front. I remember when I first went to serve him after his last aide had been killed on the field.. I'd heard that the idiot had just stood there without defending himself!..not entirely his fault of course..aides weren't adequately trained to defend themselves at that time. General Sephiroth wasn't pleased, for starters, to have a female aide de camp, much less a slightly plump (at the time!..greasy officer training academy food can really put weight on you.), six foot tall, gawky, young, female aide...the rumors alone would be vicious. I was a shiny new lieutenant just out of officer training school at the time, hadn't seen any fighting, and I was absolutely determined to show him I could be just as good, if not better, and as professional as any of the aides he'd had before. It helped that I had bright memories of a certain tall, young, silver haired (how strange, I'd thought at the time) Shinra guard lieutenant (he looked about fifteen, I later found out that he was scarcely 13! They'd made an exception by presidential order to let him into the SOLDIER program, which was being reinvented at that time..). He'd been assigned by his squad leader to practice restorative magic on the minor wounds of the young hostages of a pack of bandits that they'd recently rescued.

Most of them sported minor cuts and scrapes, but a few had more serious wounds. The bandits had raided the town school, and decided to hold the kids for ransom...and they hadn't been gentle with them. I was one of the lucky ones..I didn't get captured because I was tending my aunt who was in the beginning stages of her final illness, though I didn't know it at the time...I'd have treasured that time a lot more if I had. The rest of the guard troop went to mop up the last of the bandits that had attacked our little village, and left him behind with a radio to help heal and to guard us just in case they doubled back. I doubt he'd remember me from back then..He called me a "practical child." Practicality seemed to impress him..I was oh, about seven or eight at the time, had all the other kids in line in order of severity of injury, and had begun to apply what bandages were available before he arrived on the scene... You call me nurse jane fuzzy what-the-hell-ever and you're gonna need a bandage yourself boy! My aunt was the town nurse and midwife, she raised me after my parents were killed...I didn't get along with my sisters you see. So when my sisters were adopted, they sent me to live with my aunt instead..And you can't live with someone for five or six years and not pick up a few things. Why didn't I become a nurse? Sheesh! Do I LOOK like the nurturing, ass wiping, bedpan handling type?..Besides, Mister Zuri, I don't like sick people!

When I took the military entrance exams, They showed I had a high aptitude rating for sensory magic..one that was considered fairly high, and they found out I'm a sensitive, an empath to be exact..low level of course, useless in battle...probably got it from my grandfather. I sense moods and strong emotions, nothing more. They decided I belonged in support track, in officer training to be an aide. And when they told me who my first permanent assignment was to be, well I was both overjoyed and intimidated to say the least! I'd I grown up on stories of him and his lightning fast rise to rank, and how he practically rebuilt SOLDIER with the elite of the Shinra army, and also how he'd gone through aides like a hot knife through butter...It was a rare candidate who even made it through a week with him before he dismissed them..Maybe they thought that being able to sense his moods would make me better able to avoid offending him. I refused the other part of their assignment as it was clearly an unethical order. An aide de camp must keep details about their officer in confidence. They had asked me to report on the general's emotional states, and I bluntly refused the order. They decided out of desperation to send me anyway...In a way they were right. I could easily adapt to his moods, and I always knew where I stood with him. He would always be uncompromising when it came to matters of honor, and as long as I was competent, professional, and never acted in an insubordinate or dishonorable manner then he would at least tolerate me. That was half the problem with his other aides..They all had either tried to challenge him or seduce him, or froze in fear. the first two behaviors were guaranteed to offend him, and the last annoyed him when they made stupid mistakes in their terror.

Anyway, the first real fighting I saw as his aide was a small skirmish, right after I was assigned to him. Some bandits had at the last gotten a squad past our lines that was intent on destroying whatever they could get their hands on. They started by setting the tents on fire. I, being a young idiot, went back in to get the General's uniforms and kit, and ran into the enemy on the way out. Naturally, I was laden down with various bits of kit, and at that time fairly untrained, they knocked me down and were about to chop me into hamburger...or worse, when an annoyed General came to my rescue. I stood in silence as he stripped off my hide later that day without ever raising his voice above a conversational level...(He almost never shouted except on the battlefield..he never needed to). I would have been less embarrassed had he stripped me naked and beaten me...the nicest thing he called me was "idiot girl". Yet I knew he wasn't entirely unpleased with me. I accepted the dressing down with equanimity and responded sensibly and respectfully when he required it of me. Maybe that is why he decided to give me a real chance..or maybe he just enjoyed the novelty of having an aide who never showed any fear of him, yet still treated him with the deference due his rank and accomplishments. In turn, he treated me like one of the guys, like one of his trainees...I think he forgot, or perhaps ignored the fact that I was a woman most of the time...And to me, that was the ultimate complement.

He tested me, as a secretary with paperwork, as a valet, proper maintenance of his uniforms and armor, and by having me attend him in the bath..the absolute acid test. Of course I was always aware of him as a very attractive man, I just refused to act unproffessionally! I carefully kept my eyes averted, or focused on his face, as I passed him towels; even when I wrapped a robe around him, I didn't peek. I think I earned a couple more points with him after he had toweled his hair dry. He was combing through it and yanking at the tangles, only making them worse, apparently oblivious to any pain."If you will permit me sir..I said taking the comb from him.."If you start from the bottom, and work your way up, it pulls the knots out instead of tightening them on top of one another." and being careful not to pull, I combed his hair till it was smooth as silk..something I must admit I enjoyed immensely, though I didn't show it..."Hmph! Good, little aide..now hand me the formal jacket." he said, testing me yet again..most people, even most new aides would have just handed him the dress uniform tunic which was only for parades and extremely formal occasions. "Which one sir, the dress formal, or the undress formal?" "The undress formal lieutenant..When we get back to Midgar, you will be moving into the aide's quarters at the SOLDIER training dojo." he said offhandedly with a small satisfied smile. I just nodded blandly and said "Yes sir." though I felt like jumping up and down...But I acted in every way the complete professional. I'd passed all his tests. This seemed to impress him sufficiently, as he'd decided to keep me on.

Looking back on it, he seemed to test everyone around him is some way. He was tested constantly when he was younger, and he repeatedly tested himself as a rule...I don't think he thought anyone else should be exempt.

When we got back to the dojo near Midgar six months later, I did move into the aide's quarters..though not without a qualm or two after I saw they were actually part of the general's suite...Don't get your underwear in a bunch...I had my own room, office and bathroom."Won't there be rumors?..I am female, sir.." I asked neutrally. There had already been a few, really nasty ones..I always fell back on the lecture the general gave all the new SOLDIER recruits..."All of the men and women here are your family from now on, and you will treat your fellow recruits with the same respect you would give an elder sibling, and you will treat your commanders with the same obedience and respect you would treat your parents with. What this means to you right now is if any of you are in a 'particular' relationship with one another, you have twenty-four hours to put in for a transfer to separate units, without prejudice. I will not allow disruptions and jealousies for a pair of idiots!" he'd say in his parade ground voice, and order them to read the files on Rodai and Talsarin..They were lovers who tried to protect one another, and left their posts. They failed, and as a result, the defenses failed at a critical point, and caused the deaths of their entire unit, and the town they were guarding...Hence the rule against fraternization within the same chain of command. "It's only rumor lieutenant, I think you're fully capable of quashing it, though if it becomes a problem, I'll want to know about it." he replied, his tone making it perfectly clear that rumors was damn well all it had better be...Not that I'd ever try anything that even hinted at fraternization...It would be unprofessional. "It will not be a problem sir." I said firmly.

"Good...as soon as you are settled, please locate the sector seven files for me lieutenant...I haven't been able to find them for several weeks." I winced, having looked at the files already..they were hopeless...this was an opportunity I'd been waiting for. "What is it lieutenant?" I took a breath, "Request permission to reorganize the files sir." I said in a rush. "What is your reason for this request lieutenant?" he asked with a frown."I don't want to speak ill of the dead sir..."If you are referring to that idiot I had as an aide before you, go ahead...I spoke ill of him to his face, and he was completely oblivious." he muttered, obviously annoyed at the memory...remembering the rumors about his former aide, that he was a starstruck boytoy, I understood his irritation. "The files are a complete mess sir. (An understatement..I'd actually found a dead rodent in one of the cabinets, bleh!)..The only way to make them usable again is to completely reorganize them." I said keeping it polite, though it was obvious to anyone who'd even glanced at those files that my predecessor was an incompetent idiot who had spent all his time drooling over the general rather than doing his job. "Very well, how long will this reorganization take, lieutenant?" "A minimum of two days, if you can spare me from other tasks, possibly seven to ten days if not sir." I wasn't exaggerating my estimate in any way. "Your are excused from any other duties till this project is finished..Requisition any supplies you need from central lieutenant, and you may make use of the main room if you need space." That was more than I had dared hope..I could spread the files out and reorder them more easily "Thank you sir, I'll start on it right away." It took me nearly three days, and I ended up using the floor, and every other available surface of the main room, but by the time I'd finished, anyone could lay their hands on a given file in less than one minute. It earned me my promotion to major..the only thing that ever made any kind of impression on Sephiroth was competence and professionalism.

He decided he wasn't going to be inconvenienced by having to break in another aide, or by being stuck with whatever incompetent the company sent him for an aide again, (he'd had some real geniuses in the past..like the last one before me, too stupid to get out of the way of a battle.)... and once I proved that I wasn't some incompetent, fawning, drooling, squealing fan kid, he decided to keep me on, with a few conditions, even after my initial tour of duty had ended..He could have requested another aide at that point, but he decided that he wasn't going to lose another assistant because they couldn't defend themselves adequately...In those days support track officers weren't properly trained to defend themselves, we were told to rely on the enlisted men for defense, after all 'that was what they were there for'. So he started training me with his SOLDIER class to make sure I was proficient with at least two major weapons, as well as unarmed combat and knife fighting. That was the main condition that he'd demanded as part of keeping me on...That I learn how to defend myself and the paperwork I'd have in my care. He started by asking me about all of my experiences with self defense..what kind of training I'd had, which was not much other than basic training, magic defense, a decent gun course and a kick-em-in-the-crotch-and-run women's self defense class. To size me up he had me stand with my arms straight out, and prowled slowly around me staring at me with those icy, aqua eyes that seemed to see every flaw, every weakness, so intently I swear I could feel it! I was sweating bullets the whole time! He decided I should stick to my own long range weapon; a discreet little handgun with armour piercing ammo..this one I had been previously trained in and was judged adequate with, the second weapon he chose for me was a double bladed labrys axe that I initially had no idea how to use (he said I had a good reach for it, and was just not suited for swordwork)..and Sephiroth decided to train me himself, as he had trained many SOLDIERs before. I didn't know whether to be terrified or overwhelmed at the honor.

He started out by chasing me around the dojo or having one of the other SOLDIER trainees run me around for an hour or so teaching me evasion tactics...a method that involved me simply ducking, dodging, blocking or otherwise getting out of the way of his strikes. As I grew more skilled, he began to teach me how to handle my labrys. Working with a double bladed axe is tricky to say the least, at least until you learn how to use its momentum, and build enough strength in your arms for control...but once you master it, it's both weapon and shield in one! By the time he was finished with me, I could hold my own against all comers, up to and including pre-mako SOLDIER recruits...and I could, at least give a good accounting of myself against full fledged SOLDIERs.