Part 9: A Daughter’s Destiny

Battles in the streets of Midgar's ruins, Jenova Cells, a familiar hymn, return of the dark angel, The Calamity from the Skies

Part 9: A Daughter’s Destiny

 

                         (“Rebirth Edit”) Somehow they all managed to fit into the helicopter and landed in the wastelands directly south of the Shinra Building. When they made it through Edge to old Midgar they were faced with familiar foes. Sephiroth clones, Restrictors, Genesis copies, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo flooded the streets occupied by an array of fiends. They came in waves, so everyone decided to split into groups; Cloud fights with Serenity, Reeve and they protect Sephira, Vincent fights with Weiss and Shelke, the Turks stick to their group while Rufus joins Riku and Sakuya. Group one fight Sephiroth clones, group two fights the Restrictors, group three fights Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo while group four fights Genesis copies. The enemies lead the groups away from each other but hey all promised that they will meet up at the church when they are done. 

Group one is lead by the Sephiroth clones to the ruins of the Shinra building floor 68; Hojo’s main laboratory. Cloud and Reeve had no trouble fighting off the clones while Serenity tried to avoid the situation by staying on the defensive side. As they fight the clones, the scenery became warped; the lab was returned to its former glory and phantoms of past employees project their memories. At first, there were just random assistants walking around the lab checking the status of their experiments and then it turns into old memories of the main Shinra scientists; Gast, Grimoire, Hojo, Lucrecia and Hollander. They all used to work closely with each other, well Hojo kept to himself while the other four enjoyed each other’s company, until the Jenova Project was introduced and they all went their separate ways. Gast stays at Shinra and oversees the project branches, Hojo, and Lucrecia pack their things to head to Nibelheim with Grimoire to continue their research on Chaos, Omega and Jenova while Hollander heads to Banora with Gillian. They see Hojo return to Midgar with his child, Sephiroth and Gast watches over him until he decides to leave; some years after that Hojo returns with Ifalna and Aeris after killing Gast and their escape seven years later. The last thing they see is Sephiroth resting in the Northern Carter and another Sephiroth destroying the lab and burning his file minutes before he would kill President Shinra. When the last clone fell, the lab was returned to its ruin state and a ray of light shoots into the sky and travels to the church. They follow it forcing Sephira to come with them who is still afraid of her father. 

Group two was lead by the Restictors to Deepground. Weiss was annoyed that he has to fight them again having already thought he had destroyed them. Shelke and Vincent didn’t mind helping him fight them off once again; none were hesitant. Again, as they fight, the scenery changes to project the memories of the phantoms that roam here. They see it being used as a medical facility for wounded soldiers, but was quickly turned into a breeding ground for scientific research. They see Rosso’s power grow exponentially, the scientists exposing stagnant Mako to the fetus that would become Nero and his brother Weiss becoming stronger than all of them. They see Rosso’s bloodlust grow, more and more soldiers being transported to Deepground, Argento being recruited, the Restrictors gaining control due to President Shinra making them implant control chips into Deepground members. To avoid a rebellion, Weiss is chained and sedated, Nero being restricted by a special suit. They see Shelke was forced here and how she became stuck in her nine year old body, Azul being subject to their Metamorphose Project and Genesis’ refusal to help the Tsviets destroy the Restrictors and how his cells were injected into them.  Weiss takes notice to what occurred after his fight with the Restrictors; when the Restrictors were destroyed they slowly dissolved away, their conscious joined with Jenova’s while Weiss’ got a virus in which he performed a synaptic net dive to save his mind and joined with Hojo’s conscious. When the last Restrictor fell, they returned to a ruined Deepground and a ray of light shoots into the sky and travels to the church. They follow it.

 

Group three was lead by Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo to the streets of Edge; Reno and Rude are ready for a rematch against Yazoo and Loz respectively. Cissinei decides to take Kadaj on and as they fight the scenery is wrapped again. This time, they are in the Lifestream right after Cloud defeated Sephiroth for the second time before Meteor fell. They see Sephiroth there; unwilling to defuse into the Lifestream he plagues the planet. Strong-willed, he infects the Lifestream with Jenova Cells and gives those who come in contact with it Geostigma. He also sends out three remnants, born from the dead’s memories of him, to find his mother and create another reunion in which he can come back in physical form. He sees their battle with Cloud and his friends as well as their defeats. Kadaj willingly returned to the Lifestream believing that his mother is there while Loz and Yazoo were forced there after killing themselves in attempt to kill Cloud too. In the Lifestream, the three meet Sephiroth who informs them that Jenova is here and she needs their help, but they will have to wait until the time comes. They retain their cells and Sephiroth returns to a dormant state for the time being. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo left the Lifestream and disguised themselves as townspeople; Kadaj stayed on Destiney Islands, Loz in Edge and Yazoo in Kalm to keep an eye on Sephiroth’s family, Cloud, Vincent and the others. This time the Turks were victorious and the three fell, all becoming rays of light that shot into the sky and traveled to the church. They follow it in style by helicopter of course.

Group four was lead by Genesis copies to Sector 8, LOVELESS Avenue. Riku and Sakuya remember coming here when they were much younger with their uncle Genesis and Angeal before they became first class soldiers and where busy most of the time. They remember coming here with Rufus often when they got older, after Banora was destroyed. Memories surround them and the children get a better glimpse into their uncle’s past. It starts from his birth; his mother gives him up feeling too young to truly provide for her child and allows Serenity’s parents to raise him since they couldn’t have a child of their own. The woman looks like a teenage Shalua Rui. The father was nowhere to be seen.  Serenity’s father let Hollander inject the baby with G-cells after Hollander asked him for another test subject, hoping that the two would be better than Hojo’s one. They see the father receiving the photos of Gillian holding Angeal and Gast holding Sephiroth and how Genesis wondered who Gast and Sephiroth were and why his parents never told him that they were friends with Angeal’s family. Genesis returned to Banora to find that his father killed himself and the mother took her own life after she told Genesis that they both were sorry for their role in this tragedy. They see him bury them in a shallow grave knowing that it would be meaningless to bury them further down since Banora was going to be blown up by Shinra. He moves a young Riku and Sakuya to safety. They see Genesis and Hollander performing more experiments to produce Genesis copies to attack Shinra and how Lazard funded them before becoming one. They see Zack defeating him and Minerva casting him out of the Lifstream only to be taken to Deepground where his genes were injected into the Tsviets. The last thing they see is Genesis escaping and sealing himself in a cavern below Midgar. When the last clone falls, a ray of light shoots into the sky and travels to the church, but another copy appears. They get ready to fight again, but this clone refuses to fight and drops his weapon. He shows them another memory; Jenova uses the G cells in the Tsviets and Hojo’s will to summon OMEGA, but Vincent in Chaos form was able to defeat a tainted OMEGA due to Nero fusing with Weiss. (End)

(“A Girl Named Shelke”) Genesis flies away to the church and the group follows. Everyone gathers outside under a full moon that illuminates the area. Genesis lands just outside the doors of the church as they start to approach. He speaks, “So, you gathered everyone successfully Weiss, I’m glad.”

“Why were we attacked by copies and clones, I thought they were all gone?” Rufus says out of confusion.

“The cells in the Lifestream are manifesting, Jenova is making her move. They have her abilities to morph and also to infect the masses with her cells.”

“History will repeat itself, but this time no one can hide.” Reeve states.

“She’s trying to make the world destroy itself; for everyone to turn against each other.” Rude believes.

“Precisely, a world in chaos needs a leader, someone to give them faith.”

“The masses will be blinded by false salvation and she will have complete control.” Cissnei reasons.

“A global war where the soldiers are her mindless puppets; the end will be the end of all free will.” Vincent concludes.

“She’s giving up on trying to find another planet then?” Reno questions.

“Why would she leave now? Most of the hard work has been done; it’s easier to control a world that’s divided and her minions are stronger than those that would oppose her.” Shelke explains.

“She did it to our ancestors and now she wants to finish what she started, she won’t succeed though…she hasn’t. My children and I are still here and even though their connection with the planet isn’t as strong due to the Jenova cells in them, they are still connected to me and this planet.”

“Awaken that connection.” Genesis suggests.

“How though? My brother and I don’t hear any voices or see any visions.”

“Just listen and come out of the darkness, let go of those feelings of solitude and distrust. Truly free yourselves from all the pain you’ve buried deep inside you. Find out what side of you is the true you or are they both?” Riku and Sakuya look at each other and then their mother. They both clutch onto the necklace around their necks; a present from their father.

 “So Genesis, can we proceed?” Reno is annoyed and impatient.

 “We wait; we are too early maybe, but never too late.”

“Stop talking in riddles and let us in the church before Jenova or Sephiroth appears. We need to rid ourselves of the Jenova cells!” Serenity demands.

“And how will that help, if you get rid of them? That would just give Jenova even more power and control. They will only taint the Lifestream even more and end up in another.”

“Then why did you want me to gather all of them?” Weiss is getting annoyed as well.

“Why do you think? If one part of the body is missing, then the body can’t function to its fullest potential. The cells must gather in the strongest amoung us for if they don’t, Jenova will conquer us.”

“Fullest potential… and whom would be the strongest?” Vincent ponders.

“Jenova, Sephiroth…maybe even myself. Maybe none of us at all…maybe we with the cells should disappear.”

“No, we are strong enough. We can stop her.” Rufus expresses.

“No, we’re not. Her power has been growing for over 2,000 years, maybe even longer.” Sephira states doubtfully.

“And our planet has been here since the beginning of time, surviving much more than we think it has and it will continue to…life will go on.” Cloud disputes. Sephira puts her hand on her forehead and rubs it.

“A headache?” Serenity asks. She nods. “Keep your mind clear as much as possible.”

“The vision keeps coming back, we can’t prevent it.”

“Probably not, but there is still hope that it is misinterpreted.” Shelke hopes.

“I never knew everything the visions were telling me, I had to find out on my own.”

“Trust that when the time comes you’ll know your role.” Genesis walks to the doors of the church. The rest follow. Rufus and the Turks follow behind Cloud, Vincent, Serenity, Sakuya, Riku, Sephira, Weiss, Shelke and Genesis. (End)

(“The Sending”) A song is heard as they walk towards the church. Voices sing out of the blue and echo through the church. Tiny rainbow balls of light glide through the air outside the church like spirits.

 “A foreign song for a foreign being. She is coming, can you feel it?” Sephira says as she clings to Reeve.

“This song…it seems familiar.” Serenity has a feeling of déjà vu, like she was at church back home in Banora. She remembers now; when she was younger her father would hum this song when he took his afternoon naps.

 

She asks him what the song is called and he replies, “The Hymn of the Fayth.”

“The Fayth? Who’s that?” She asks.

“Those who want this planet to prosper and those who dream of a better tomorrow.” Her father explains. She learned the song but never learned its translation; her father didn’t know either which is why he hummed it more than sung it. She would sing it with her church choir from the time she was 5 years old until the church wasn’t attended as much when she was 9 years old.

 

“New Yevon” She says out loud.

“What’s that?” Riku asks.

“The church Genesis, I and our parents went to when we were younger. It was torn down the year we left for Midgar, no one attended it anymore.”

“I remember grandpa humming that song to us as we fell asleep.” Riku tells his mother.

“I remember him talking about his sister and how she knew the translation and never told him.”Sakuya adds.

“Why is this song connected to Jenova…is she really an Ancient?”

“Maybe, it’s something she passed onto the Cetra when she invaded their civilizations.” Vincent thinks.

“Maybe.” Serenity and her children listen, hoping the planet will tell them what this song is trying to say.

“Ifalna knew, I wonder if Aeris did.” Cloud does like how soothing it is but keeps his guard up. Vincent and Cloud push open the doors and dust rises and then settles on the wooden panel floor that now has weeds in between the cracks. (End)

 

(“Dream of Dreams”- Music that will make you Cry) Inside the church, they all circle the pool of holy water. They can see the light of the stars reflecting off the surface. The moonlight shines on the Buster sword on the other side of the pool; its new resting place. Riku looks into the water and can’t help to see his father in his reflection. He turns his face away shamefully, but Sakuya smiles at him and says, “He may be our father but you are your own person with your own past and your own future.” Riku faintly smiles back. Sephira is attached to Serenity’s leg, but she detaches her and levels herself into her eyesight and says, “Sephira, I know you’re hydrophobic, but you need to get into the water.” Riku and Sakuya are in the water already, holding out the opposite hand as the other waiting to guide Sephira in. Sephira runs from her mother and attaches to Vincent’s leg; she uses his cape to hide.

“Sephira, please. We are trying to save you.”

“No, you’re trying to drown me.”

“Now why would I try to do that?”

“You didn’t want me before. You gave me up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You let me be raised by Shinra.”

“You were taken from me!”

“Is that your excuse for being an absent mother?”

“I…I did everything in my power to get you back.” More and more tears poured out of her eyes as she spoke. “I…I know I was away from home a lot…even before you were born…but everything I did was to protect my children from those who wanted to cause harm to you!”

 Sephira hold her head and falls onto her knee as if she has a massive headache.

"I am almost complete…most of my pieces are here, but this one is still missing.” Genesis says as he walks towards Sephira. 

"So, that was your plan. Gather all your cells so you can be whole again, strong again."

"But this one is missing, sleeping in a cave with a force of protection casted on him." The fake Genesis transforms into a bunch of cells and enters Sephira. “Ah, no…no…no!” She slams her hands onto the ground and slowly raises her head. Her eyes have a fierce look in them. They pierce through Serenity’s soul.

“You…you are not my mother. My mother is Jenova and we are both Ancients. We will sail the cosmos with this planet as our vessel. On this new planet we will create a shinning future. Join me, Serenity.” She holds out her hand to her.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud leaps across the pool to grips the handle of the Buster sword. Sephira stands on both feet and her voice transforms into Sephiroth’s. She holds her hand out to Serenity.

“Who is not your mother, Sephiroth?” Serenity replies.

“That woman…that woman I see in the Lifestream. The woman who crystallized herself over 30 years ago and still stands in that cave.”

“Lucrecia Crescent.” Vincent says.

“But she is Sephiroth, she is your mother!” Serenity adds.

“Silence. Why should I listen to you? You didn’t even have the courtesy to tell me where you were going. You just left and for over a year I was distraught but I had to hide it. I became empty inside. Every one of my friends left me alone- you, Angeal, Genesis, everyone. Not only did our children hardly see both of us, you let Hojo experiment on our child and she was in his care for some years. You knew he had experiment on me too and never told me. What kind of wife is that?!” He jumps out of Sephira’s body and transforms into Genesis. They realize that Sephiroth is using Jenova’s ability of possession to control Sephira and mimicking to appear as Genesis to lure them here. The anger in his voice begins to calm down, “But none of that matters now; we must right our wrongs. Tell me, my friend, do you fly away now to a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow; no matter where the winds may blow. Come with me Serenity, together we can take back the planet. This planet is rotten. This world was suppose to be my mother’s, but you humans got in the way of that…now I shall finish her work. I will become God! I am the chosen one!”

“Sephiroth…humans made you what you are.” Rufus interjects.

“And Jenova was probably a human just like you, who obtained a great power and abused it.” Shelke proposes.

“The Cetra are not Supreme Beings, they are spiritual humans. The only Supreme Being there is, is the Lifestream and even that can be tricked and taken advantage of.” Vincent adds.

                Serenity lowers her head and turns away. Facing away from him, she says, “I wonder, why you make me happy and at the same time you make me sad. Is it because you're an angel, or you’re the devil? I wonder why you make me blue and at the same time you make me fly.  Is it just because I love you or I’m just sorry for you? Is it because you are hell or you are heaven above? Am I sorry for you? No, it's 'cause I love you that I cry and for some reason you never knew the reason of my tears. No one knows the reason of my tears.” She holds her head up, looking through the holes in the church’s roof. “You have great power and this power can create or destroy, and you choose to use it to destroy. There is no hate, only joy for you are beloved by the goddess; Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds. Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul; pride is lost. Wings stripped away, the end is nigh. I thought you were the Hero, Sephiroth. I never pictured as being the prisoner or the wanderer.” Sephiroth leaves Genesis’ body and appears in his true form. He wears a black robe that has a strap across his chest from his right shoulder, which has a metal guard on it, to his right hip. His wing is out and from the waist down the robe covers him. His veins glow green and Mako energy surrounds him like an aura.

“Yes, I shall save this world from its own destruction and end your suffering now. This world is corrupt and I shall alleviate you from your sins.” He lowers his hand and strikes a fighter stance; both hands on the handle of the sword that is level with his head. “Starting with getting rid of you!” He sends out a burst of Mako energy and charges at Cloud; Sakuya and Riku get out of the water. Serenity steps in the way as he tries stab him and she is stabbed instead. She falls to her knees and Sephiroth notices that he wounded the wrong person seeing that Cloud was still standing. In his mind he can hear his own voice saying, “What do you cherish most? Please give me the pleasure of taking it away.”(End)

(“Azure”- Ella Fitzgerald) All his memories come rushing back to him at once…memories that where suppressed and then discarded as he traveled through the Lifestream. He eyes glowed even greener and his pupils were no longer visible. He screams and cries as if he has the headache of a thousand people. He sees Rufus watching his children when he was a teen, them under his arms and a book across his chest as they slept. He sees Serenity and their children playing in the sand on a vacation as well as them apple picking on a hot summer day. He sees himself holding Riku minutes after he was born, before he was given to Serenity. He could feel how incredibly uneasy he was holding something so delicate. He sees himself twirling Sakuya around as she sits on his shoulders and fans out her arms as if she has wings. He was smiling and very dizzy. He sees Zack who admired him and his loyalty to his friends. He sees Angeal and how he remembers that he was going to leave Shinra when he passed. He sees Genesis and how he refused to help Deepground fight off the Restrictors. He sees Aeris, who he believed was the last of the Cetra, being slain by his own sword. He sees Lucrecia the woman who claims to be his mother and himself being pried away from her at birth. He sees all the faces of the people he killed in Nibelheim, he sees himself attacking Tifa, Zack, Cloud and Serenity.  He sees the terror and destruction Jenova caused to the Cetra who he now realizes is not his ancestors and Jenova was the calamity they were fighting and how humans are his ancestors; the ones who let the Cetra’s civilization die while they hid. He sees Jenova appearing before Sephira as she drifts in and out of the Lifestream; before she possesses her she tells her that she can end her suffering. He sees himself becoming Jenova; bringing the same destruction, the same greed, the same sadness to another planet. He sees Serenity’s conversation with Hojo and how he tells her that he wants to create a God, a God that does not naturally belong in this world.

                         With his mind returned to the situation at hand he removes his sword and lets Serenity fall into his arms.

“No, no I won’t let it happen. No, I won’t let my children grow up without their real parents. I won’t follow in my mother’s footsteps…I won’t make the same mistakes again. I won’t render my children loveless; they will have the love of their parents.”

“Sephiroth, they won’t ever be loveless. They know they are loved by you and Serenity. Even in death, your love for them will shine through all the hate you have for this world. Your pride doesn’t stem from brute strength, but from ancestry …even if it’s false and twisted; you are still determined to right the wrongs against your family.” Vincent disputes.

“I know you crave power, so much that you are determined to defeat me…but my will power is strong too. I too, want to right the wrongs brought onto my loved ones. That is why I don’t make the same mistakes; mistakes others or I have made. That is why I keep fighting for this world because it hasn’t given up hope on us.” Cloud proudly claims. (End)

                         Serenity lifts her head slowly; black liquid is spilling from her mouth. Green balls of light swim through the air around her as if it was her fragmented soul. “She is already dead or did you forget that you killed her.”

 

(“Hazy”- Rosi Golan ) Laying in her bed, she has her head buried in her pillow as she coughs. She raises her head to see a black liquid staining her pillow. She touches her chest and looks at her hand to see the same black liquid. She reaches over to her nightstand and dials her emergency contact #1. The phone rings two times and then is answered.

“Why are you calling me this late at night? What’s wrong?”

Silence was on the other end.

“Serenity. Serenity, are you there?”

“Rufus…” she weakly responds.

“You sound terrible…don’t tell me your dying too?”

“The stigma…it’s infected you too?”

“Unfortunately.” He can hear her weeping to herself but for the both of them. “What to do now?”

“Just…die…you don’t…have to hold on…any longer.” Serenity accidently hangs up the phone on Rufus. She can feel another presence in the room as she drifts in and out of consciousness.

“That’s right, sleep away dear Ancient. Sleep away so I may awake again.”

“Sephiroth…Hojo…who?”

A vision of Jenova’s face smirking comes to her head. She is then seen standing in front of Sephiroth and Hojo; their eyes glowing white, their bodies glowing green. Jenova steps closer and Serenity retreats; she is determined to absorb her but as Jenova is only a few steps away a force field is placed around Serenity. Aeris, Ifalna, and her father and the rest of the Cetra that Jenova killed appeared behind her. Jenova steps back and waits for the Geostigma to kick in and it did. It managed to destroy her physical body but her spiritual one didn’t returned to Gaia. Not even knowing it, she had become an unsent. She “wakes” up in her bed; sheets that used to be white are black. She has no recollection of her encounter with Jenova and doesn’t know why the stigma is gone. Her phone is ringing, she answers. (End)

(“J-E-N-O-V-A”) “Serenity, why did you hang up?”

“It’s gone…the stigma is gone.”

“You have a cure?”

“…I think I was hallucinating…I’m sorry for calling you this late…and I’m sorry you contracted it. You can stay here if need be, it’s my turn to take care of you.” Rufus hangs up the phone and Serenity tries to figure out if she is dreaming. 

“I have finally taken control of this Ancient. She was the hardest one yet. I’ve been waiting for you to kill her again. Geostigma wasn’t enough to destroy her soul, but her own love stabbing her in the heart is just what I’ve been waiting for.” Cloud, Sephira, Sakuya, Weiss, Shelke and Riku become paralyzed and then are soon possessed.

“Hojo!”

“No, but he is here too. He is just as persistent as this one.”

“Jenova.”

“Jenova…Jenova is the name you humans and Cetra gave me. My real name is Yunalesca! I came to this planet after I saw no hope for my own. I hoped that I could create the world my father wanted thousands of years ago for my home planet, so I set out to find a new one. To my dismay, some people of my old planet had already settled here and started sharing the knowledge. The thing you call Omega was the most powerful weapon the people of my planet had ever created, we called it: Vegnagun. It was casted away by my people and ended up here, where your planet learned to control it. I had to destroy those who knew of our ways by deceit but you humans made a mess of things. History was repeating itself as it is now. I try to do away with those that will lead the planet to its eventual destruction and you seal me away, I am freed and try to use Meteor and Holy stops me, I am resurrected and try to use Vegnagun or OMEGA and Chaos stops me. I am here again, possessing the powers of this Planet’s great warriors and you dare stand in my way. You try to kill the one who wants to save you and the one who wants to save you has to use deceit and lies to destroy those that don’t want to be saved. Your planet is dying and I am the only one that can save it! I need new Weapons that will awaken OMEGA once again, Weapons to help me establish a new planet…I need your power, son and all the other Thaumaturge.”

Serenity still tries to fight off Jenova as she tries to take over Sephiroth as well. “No, you can’t have him or anyone else that was given your genes; he is not your son!”

Hojo reappears, “But he is mine, he is my creation and he will serve his purpose! Aha, aha, muahahahaha! I will merge with OMEGA! Jenova and I will be the new world’s order!” Jenova and Hojo separate from Serenity and throw her body into the water with a piece of the blade still through her heart.

“Come Sephiroth, we have much work to do.” They say simultaneously. He looks at Serenity floating in the water, lifeless. He now knows the pain Cloud and the others felt.

“Yes, we do.” Sephiroth looks at Cloud, Shelke, Weiss and his children. He takes in all the Jenova-“S” and “G” cells in the living and the dead, on the planet and floating through the Lifestream. This means every SOLIDER member, every Deepground recruit, anyone who inherited the cells genetically- alive and dead. The Lifestream must have a clean slate.

Hojo is quickly overtaken as the cells dismantle and swirl around them. Reno and Cissinei try to take Sakuya and Riku outside but streams of green light flow from their bodies, swirl around the air and are drawn to the water. Cloud is being drawn in too. Rufus, Vincent and Reeve, Reno, Rude and Cissinei try to hold onto them. Jenova retreats into the water, making her way back to the Lifestream to infect the planet again.  (End)