Part 12: A Sinner's RedemptionA Chapter by Jasmine S. EdwardsThe first gathering in the ruins of MidgarPart 12: A Sinner’s
Redemption (“Flicker”) 497 years later…Nanaki and his
grandchildren run through the wastelands outlying Midgar. Climbing the rocks
they make it to the top of a cliff overlooking a Midgar shrouded in greenery.
He lets out a roar signaling to his friends that he has arrived or maybe he’s
summoning them. Seagulls fly overhead. He begins his descent down the mountain.
Along the path, Vincent waits for him. He stands where 7th heaven
once stood. Continuing down the path they meet up with Shelke who stands were a
new monument still stands. Together they travel on until they run into Genesis
who stands in a field of flowers were the church once stood. They walk towards
the Shinra building and the ledge where a hero began his journey was further
away. At the step leading to the building, Sephira joins them. The sun is
setting and it is getting darker outside. They find their fire pit and sit on
the rocks. They wait. When everything is in shadow and the only light they can
see is the fire they appear. Distant lights come closer One blue, one orange,
one green, one red and one white. They all stand in a circle like they have
countless times before; Sephiroth, Sephira, Genesis, Angeal, Zack, Aeris, Red,
Shelke, Vincent and Lucrecia. This is their annual meeting. This year is a special
year; it has been 500 years since all their paths crossed. They think back to
their first one: (End) (“One
Morning in June”-Music that will make you Cry) Shelke clears her throat and starts, “I had a sister
once. She was pretty and smart. She was the only family I had left in the world
after our parents had passed away. We were so young back then and back then I
look the same way as I do now externally but internally I was a sweet naïve
girl who had faced little hardship compared to what was in store for me.
Everything changed when they came; Shinra soldiers who were recruiting members
to participate in their Deepground project. Some were born into it, some joined
with their own free will and some, like me, were forced to join. There was no
natural light, most of the halls were empty and all you could hear was the
agonizing cries of those that struggled to break free. They confined me to a
room until they figured out what use I could be; being broken was the only way
I could be of service to them…I was all alone for so long. In that cell I
waited for my sister to come and rescue me, but day after day I began to lose
hope.” She begins to pace back and forth, “All these thoughts popped into my
head; maybe she’s not looking for me, maybe she’s dead, maybe she doesn’t want
me back, maybe I am too much of a hassle. These thoughts crept into every
corner of my mind and drove me crazy. It was all too much, I started to shut
down…just what they wanted me to do. When I did, they found a job for me to do
they gave me a purpose. I became a
machine who only knew how to locate targets and hunt them down. The only family
I came to know was the heartless Tsviets. I had no parents. I had no sister.
When my sister finally found me I couldn’t tell you who she was.” Shelke
directs her attention from the crowd and the ground to Shalua Rui. “I couldn’t
remember what you looked like, sounded like or acted like- you were a different
person from the one I vaguely remembered. But I looked the same way she
remembered me, talked more robotically but I was a different person too. I was
ruthless and didn’t want to hear anything you had to say, no excuses, no
explanations, nothing. You were dead to me for a long time. Too long I waited
for you to rescue me. For too long I was dying inside. Too long I waited to see
the light of day again. You took too long. But it was your sacrifice in the end
of it all that made me realize that you never stopped looking for me, that you
never stopped loving me. You made sure I knew that and I thank you. I doubted
you and instead of I, you were a sister betrayed.” (End) (“Cosmo
Canyon” Piano Version) Shalua
Rui holds her sister tightly while Nanaki rubs his head against her arm. The
two hold each other while Nanaki returns to his spot. He sits back and begins
to tell his story, “Vincent and I promised that we would met here every year
for the remainder of my life and talk about my journeys, so being the first
time I might as well start with this one.” He wags his tail back and forth and
then scratches his tattoo with his nose, “There are not many left of my
species. We are scattered and only a few of us live in Cosmo Canyon among the
humans. We were accepted and fit right in to their lifestyles. We would hold a
ritual once every 50 years to appease the planet. My first one was four years
ago and I thought it would be my last. The Turks came: it was either me or
Denah. I didn’t want either of us to get captured but if one of us had to go
with them I’d rather it be I than her. She was braver than I was, she wasn’t a
coward. The people of Cosmo Canyon thought I was being brave when I tried to
fight them off but in actuality, I just wanted to prove that I could protect
them. I had failed though and for that I ended up in Midgar as a specimen.
There I sat in a holding tank awaiting my fate. I did a lot of reflecting then,
I harbored a lot of self pity. I started to give up on myself because I felt
like history was repeating itself. I felt the same disappointment towards
myself as I did towards my father. He had failed to stop the Gi tribe from
attacking the canyon, he didn’t ever try to stop them…he just fled. Or so I
thought. My friends helped me; my family helped me see the truth. After
learning the truth about my father, that he sacrificed himself to save us from
a sneak attack, all my shame and all my self-pity was absolved. I regained new
hope from clearing up misunderstandings. I found the strength to fight alongside
my new friends to protect not only Cosmo Canyon but the planet. When I finally
made it back home I was welcomed with open arms but I felt my mission wasn’t
done. I have a long life ahead of me and there is so much I can learn and teach
to those of future generations. But as I traveled I began to feel more loneliness;
people I met had such short lives but mine was much longer.” Red begins to head
towards Vincent, “It was you who gave me new hope; despite our lives being much
longer than everyone around us doesn’t mean that we should live out the rest of
our days in solitude because of our fear of feeling the pain of losing those
closest to us. Life comes and goes and so does every emotion, every feeling,
every moment that comes with it and those moments can be heart-breaking as well
as heart-warming…everything will balance out eventually. I will have a family
of my own someday and they too will live as long as I did and they too will
experience a life similar to mine.” Red looks around the circle at all his
friends and even old foes, “I just pray that they will be like me and clear up
any uncertainties…to prevent a son’s misconceptions.” Red returns to his spot
and looks around the circle to see who will talk next. (End) (Under the
Apple Tree) Genesis
hunches over, places his elbows on his thighs and rest his chin on top of his
interlocked fingers. He stares into the fire and begins, “I don’t look like my
sister and I don’t look like either of our parents but she did, her daughter
does too. I thought it was just genetics
playing a trick on me but it was genetics that was the source of the problem. I
may never know who my real parents are, but those parents gave me everything I
wanted and more. They praised my accomplishments; they did anything for me to
keep me happy and oblivious. They had to be dealt with as well as everyone else
who was the source of my dilemma. No, I didn’t kill them, but I might as well
have. His guilt and grief was too much that he took his own life and she took
hers shortly after. As much as it pained me to blame them for everything that
was happening to me, to take away her parents from her and their grandchildren
I knew my sister would understand where I was coming from…maybe not at first
but in time. They had to pay for what they did to me and my sister and I had to
leave, I had to stop my degradation.” Genesis looks up and stares towards
Sephiroth and Serenity, specifically at Sephiroth. “It wasn’t right, he and I
both have a black angel wing and yet he wasn’t degrading. He took my glory; I
was supposed to be the hero but I was always second best…always second.” He
directs his focus to Serenity. “The three of us became friends but what strained
our relationship were three things; our creation, our duty and our love for the
same woman. Two of us were degrading while one didn’t, we all had an angel wing
but one of us has a white one, we all have parents and two know who they
are…one probably won’t. We were all 1st class Soldiers and went on
missions together but they always had special ones just for him. Him, the man I
came second to in my own sister’s eyes, she who put our childhood friend third.
I had to leave; I couldn’t be someone else’s shadow.” He looks around the
crowd, “Yes, I played a part in his spiral into madness and yes I couldn’t save
our friend- his sense of honor was lost and my pride was fading as I started to
fade. I felt tainted…all I wanted to do was find my pride again, the pride I
had when I was Soldier. I needed to find out where it steamed from and let it
grow from there. After all my bad decisions and actions, she allowed me to live
because she saw the real me. After I was left under the apple tree and
Deepground found me I knew what my purpose was. I knew that it was not to help
the Tsviets destroy the Restrictors, it was not to help them summon Omega. What
I had to do was sleep until it was time to play my part.” His eyes settle on
Serenity again, “No one alive can always be an angel, you see some good and you
see some bad. Everyone has two sides to them, I interchange them too easily…too
frequently. I did want to see you again and let you know that I survived, but I
just couldn’t say goodbye again. I didn’t want you to stop me from doing my
duty and I didn’t want my niece and nephew to know all the terrible things I’ve
done because now I have taken full responsibility for my mistakes. I have to
set things right, I had to leave and I had to stay away until the time came from
my summoning. I’m just a soul whose intentions are good, so please don’t let
them be misunderstood. Everything I did was for my family and everything I’m
going to do now is for this planet because I will make a brother’s sacrifice!”
Genesis’ wing flies out of his back and he stretches it out all the way. Angeal
walks over and puts his hand on his shoulder as Serenity and Sephiroth let his
words sink in. Knowing that they need time, Angeal volunteers to speak next. (End) (“Theme
from Crisis Core- Dreams and Pride”) “No story is not worth hearing, you never know how important it could
be to your life. It may help us understand why honor can be such a burden
sometimes…all the time.” He looks at Cloud who placed the Buster Sword between
him and Zack. He walks over and puts his hand on the handle and says, “Embrace
your dreams. If you want to be a hero you need dreams and honor. Hmm, I wonder
how many times I’ve said that…one of the things I’ve beaten into my friend’s
heads. I can’t help to say it every time I see this sword, it was my pride and
I am glad to see that it was been wielded by two heroes in my book. I should
have said three but I’m no hero though; I gave up on trying to achieve my
dreams. I was claimed to be the perfect product of project G and yes, I had an
angel’s wing…a pure white one and even still it was only one wing.” His wing
projects outward, “I had a choice, I could be a human or I could be an angel. I
couldn’t tell which one was better. I decided that I was a monster.” His wing
wraps around him to shadow his face. “Angels dreamed to be human, humans
dreamed to be angels, but monsters have no dreams I reasoned. And like someone
I know, my parents had too tried to create an unnatural being, but as
superhuman as I was…I was still human. Being perfect means having no flaws, no
emotions, no mistakes, no weaknesses. I am far from perfect, far from an angel,
far from divine. What I thought I was- a perfect monster…a monster that can
spread its disease to others. All anyone needed from me was my genes, they
didn’t care what would become of me because they could copy me…make a mindless
me who does whatever they tell me to do. I couldn’t let that happen. The human side of me took over and I knew I
had to wipe away my existence to protect the ones around me; I couldn’t be used
as a weapon to fight against them. Someone else had to continue on my legacy,
someone else had to end the suffering of so many of those closest to me…someone
who was destined to become a part of the madness but was thrown into it and not
born into it.” He moves the wing out of his face and picks up the Buster Sword.
He holds it in his symbolic way, resting his forehead against the cool metal of
the blade. “I didn’t want to use the Buster Sword because of wear, tear and
rust that could befall upon it, but that is what all life is; life wears you
down, tears you apart and may rust the soul. It is because we strive to protect
ourselves that make us human and it is because we strive for the protection of
others that make us angelic. I should have protected my dreams, my honor, and
my pride at any cost. I am glad that I helped instill that thinking in others.”
He hands off the sword to Zack and looks onto the crowd, “Many people may try
to stray us away from the dreams we have for ourselves and try to impose their
own upon us, but it is those who truly have your best interest at heart that
have all the honor in the world. Honor of a friend can fuel your pride. I hope
in your eyes that I was an honorable friend.” (End) (“The Price
of Freedom”) Zack nods to
Angeal and smiles; he feels the need to speak next. “I grew up in the small
backwater town of Gongaga. It was just my father, my mother and I. As a child I
dreamed of one thing-to escape this place and embark on an adventure of a lifetime!
I didn’t know where it would end but I knew it would begin in Midgar.” He places
the Buster Sword in the ground and starts to perform squats in perfect
synchronization. “I thought I had it all figured out, go to Midgar, join
Soldier, make it first class, travel the world, see many places, meet many
people, meet the love of my life, settle down, raise a family and grow old and
die in my sleep…the perfect life to me. Most of that went according to plan,
but I never knew it would all happen at once and that some things would never
come…I guess that’s how you tell how long or short your life will be. I was
living life in the fast lane, not really knowing what I was getting myself
into, not really aware of my surroundings. I got involved in many situations
that had nothing to do with me, but everything to do with my friends,
colleagues and my one true love. My father always told me to choose my friends
wisely. Some may say I didn’t take his advice but I did. At the beginning, I
couldn’t make sense to why trouble and danger were always down every path I
took, why I was the one soldier that began to stick out from the rest. Why did
Angeal take me under his wing, how did I end up falling through the roof of the
church, why was I sent to retrieve Genesis, how did I meet a rookie who grew up
the same way I did and why was I chosen to go with Sephiroth to Nibelheim? The
Planet was telling me something and I didn’t even know it. I tried so hard to
save everyone around me from their external battles and internal conflicts…I
took on that responsibility all by myself when we should have all took
responsibility. You can never blame one thing or one person for the state
you’re in and you always have the option to do something about it. I tried and I would say I succeeded.” Zack
puts his hand on the Buster Sword. “I had to make an executive decision and
trusted that my friend would finish what we all started.” He smiles at Cloud.
“You may have never made solider, but I knew you had it in you. I could see it
in your eyes as I lay dying where it all began. Reaching out my hand, making my
first move to join the Lifestream was the single most inspirational and
emotional moment in my life.” He turns to Angeal, “Seeing your hand reach out
to me guiding me to float off the ground and into the sky…it felt
so…liberating. I had finally got my own wings: I finally lived up to your
legacy.” He places Cloud’s and Angeal’s hands on the handle of the sword. “My
legacy was left in the right hands and at that moment and forever on I am grateful
to the man who gave us a chance to be a hero among soldiers.”(End) (“Aeris’
Theme-Piano”) Aeris takes
Zack’s hand as she prepares to speak. She looks behind her at her parents, “I
didn’t remember what my real parents looked liked for the longest time. I had
lost both at a very young age. Only in death I now learn their names and see
their faces again. I do remember those seven years my mother and I were held
captive, but luckily we escaped.” She turns around until she is looking towards
Hojo. “I do remember the kind woman that took me in and gave me a new look on
life. Midgar, especially the slums was a place where death and destruction were
common visitors. I could hear their voices crying from the Lifestream every time
I walked down the streets. I remember seeing all the helpless and hopeless
faces staring right through each other as if no one was there, as if there was
no soul to find in a living body that walked like the dead. In this stark
reality I was able to find life and resurrection in the ruins of a church; a
church that could sustain the lives of flowers.” She looks to the church past
Sephiroth and his family. “I felt more connected to the planet than ever
before. I didn’t hear the voices as much but I still felt them reaching out to me…emotions
that nourished the flowers.” She gets up and walks towards the fire. “I wanted
to cover the world in flowers or at least all the gray places of Midgar. I
wanted the world to be full of life and color again. The world wasn’t always as
dark as the slums. The more people I met, the more hope I had for this planet.”
She faces Zack and Cloud, “You, the happy-go-lucky boy who kept smiling through
a world of deceit and confusion. And you, a boy who doubted his own abilities
and self-worth proved to himself that he could do great things if he believed
that he could and all your friends and allies who worked together to protect
the planet from those who have no respect for it and those who couldn’t see its
beauty because their view of it has always been clouded.” Aeris looks at
Sephiroth. “My vision was clouded too. I was so determined to stop the pending
doom that loomed around me; a dark angel was waiting to strike. I had people
around me that wanted to protect me…not once did I feel the need to protect myself.
I let my guard down because I trusted in my love for them and I had faith in
them more than anything else. I wanted to protect them no matter the cost.” She
faces Cloud now. “I knew what my duty was…it was the same for all my
ancestors…protect the planet’s life and to guide the lives of those that
inhibit it. I have left that legacy in the hands of my cousin.” She looks at
Serenity who nods; accepting the duty. “My love for this planet was so great,
so blinding that I failed to see the hatred the people of this planet has
caused in others. I never blamed you for my death; if I have anyone to blame it
would be myself. This was a flaw of a victim of love.” She returns to her spot. Her parents comfort
her. (End) (“Sweet
Dreams & Starlight”- David Nevue) Sephira looks to her father, her mother and her
siblings. She wraps her arms around her knees and pulls them to her chest. She
speaks with much sadness and anger, “I never met my father. He was taken away
from me before I was born. My mother was kept away from me for sometime because
my grandfather was a mad, sick and twisted monster! He wanted me to be just
like the father I’ve never met, but even greater. He tried to raise me the same
way he had done to his son. I never got the courtesy of knowing my mother’s
name though, whether it was her real name or not, but I was named after my
father. Because of this, I was born to be his prodigy and like him so many
experiments were done on me that I am surprised that I still look human…well
not so much anymore.” She stares at her hands and arms. “Nanaki’s genes are
starting to show and each day I look like a human-beast! I look like a
mutant…but that is what I am. As you can see that by the time I was rescued
from my torment the damage had already been done.” Her demeanor returns to a
recluse state. “When I was reunited with my family I felt indifferent. They
were strangers to me but I was no stranger to them. Slowly I began to learn
more about their pasts, seeing old photos of happier days. I remember seeing photos
of my father and my mother telling me what he was like before he died. I
painted an image of a great man, solider and father. But, he was no father to
me. I felt like Reeve and Rufus are my fathers…and in a twisted way Hojo as
well. These were the men that raised me, right or wrong they were in my life
from the beginning up until now.” She holds onto Rufus’ leg. He looks at
Sephiroth and Serenity and then at Sephira. “I did become envious of my
siblings because they knew what he was like before he died.” She makes eye
contact with Riku and Sakuya, “You actually had conversations with him and know
the real him. A different man than what I came to know. A man who’s a pest and
haunts my dreams, a man who destroyed villages, towns, families and innocent people
just because they stood in his way. A man that reaches out to me constantly
reminding me of all the bad things that happened to me, a man who wants to use
me to finish his goal. How can this be the same person?” She directs her
attention to Sephiroth. “No, he had to be a phantom. The phantom of the father
I have never met I came to fear…a fear that was justified because he was able
to use me and in that moment of possession I finally saw.” She looks around the
crowd, “I saw his whole life story and how eerily similar it was to mine. The
same man had tried to make us into monsters and he had done it to my father and
to me for that one moment but we both took back control. History will not
repeat itself in his family because the one thing I do know is that they have
dealt with enough already.” Her voice becomes shaky, “We didn’t need to lose
anyone else and if they had lost me or my father for good, it would be like
losing their uncles, their grandparents, their parents and friends all over
again. I didn’t want them to face anymore pain, anymore sadness. I promised not
to make the same mistakes we all had made, what he had made and I used my
existence to help the rest of his. I was born for this and this was a
daughter’s destiny.” She sits back down in her spot with her arms wrapped
around her knees, pulling them into her chest. (End) (“Wind“-
Music that will make you Cry) Sephiroth stands and turns his back to the crowd. He has heard enough
and had to get out everything that had been on his mind. Head down, eyes closed
he speaks, “I’ve been alone since day one. I didn’t know who my father was…I
wish I didn’t know learn who and I wish I didn’t know now…and I was only told
the name of my mother…a false name.” He looks at Lucrecia and then closes his
eyes again. “Things aren’t always what they seem; a wise man told me
once…something I learned from a young age. Those I came to respect didn’t remain
in my life for very long and those I hated were always around. Professor Gast,
he was like a father to me and out of the main Shinra scientist I respected him
the most…but he ran away, leaving me in a den of monsters. He let Hojo take
control over my life and shape my fate; a walking mass of complexes had me on
twenty-four hour watch and deep down I knew that he and I were connected and
that’s why I despise him.” He clenches his hand into a fist. “I knew I was
different from most…that my existence was a special one. Many came to fear me
and many came to praise me only because they really feared me. I was a hero
figure but in reality I was a hero to none…I was a train wreck waiting to
happen.” He raises his head up and turn to the crowd, “People painted pictures
in their minds of what they wanted me to be…and maybe I was that at one point
or maybe their expectations of me were too high…too much for one person to
handle. And maybe that was the problem; I wasn’t seen as a person but a
weapon…a weapon with unlimited power they thought they could control. Very few
people tried to reach out to me.” He lets out a faint smile as he looks to Serenity, Genesis and Angeal. “But then I met you two and the love of my life by some stroke of fate or destiny. Us four who shared more in common than we thought we did. Not even knowing it, we felt it, a deep connection that goes back to our births; parents who sought to define us before we were even born, parents who watched our every move, parents who really weren’t a parent to any of us. When I had children of my own, I vowed not to be an absent parent, I vowed to protect and love them.” Sakuya takes one of his hands and Riku the other. “Everything started to fall apart quickly and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why. Why were my friends abandoning me? Why was my wife hiding secrets? Why was the place we called home the most dangerous place my children could be? What was really going on within Shinra? And why was this man always laughing at me?” He fiercely glares at Hojo. “It was all because they knew more than me, they figured out the truth and none knew how to tell me…none knew how I would react…no one knew the real me. None saw the sorrow.” He walks towards the fire, breaking away from his children. “Being in Shinra all alone was the greatest darkness I’ve ever felt. I wanted to leave but back then I needed to know why I was so determined to. During those seven fateful days that I learned everything, everything made sense. I was living in a world full of lies and deceit. Why does honesty come after the truth is revealed? Why do they want you to forgive them? By then it’s too late to say you’re sorry. Responsibility is taken at the beginning and not after the fact.” Lucrecia puts her head down. “All I could I see was his face laughing at me like he always does. I hated him. I hated the world he was creating… I hated its very existence. Memories don’t live like people do. They stick with you and if the wrong ones over shadow the right ones…then your existence after death will be one that’s undying and lingering. All hope was lost for me; I had lost my family, my friends, my pride, my honor. I blamed him for making me this way but who I really should have blamed was myself…I should have been honest with myself.” His wing flies outward as he catches one of the feathers that fell off. “I distanced myself from those around me, I lost trust, I lost hope…I lost love. I lost sight of the things I truly cherished being full of rage…but not anymore. I finally know the truth of my existence, my lineage and my purpose.”(End) ("Wonderland"- Michael Silverman) Sephira
gets up and wraps her arms around his leg. Serenity hugs him from behind while
Sakuya hugs him from the opposite side of Sephira. Riku puts one hand on his
shoulder and the other on Sephira’s head. He looks up at the night sky as tears
fall down his face, “The stars are up above…I think that’s the light that we
need to shine upon our eyes so we can see what we need and all I need is right
here with me now. I will protect those I love and cherish from the people who
have corrupted the planet. I want them to have a bright future that they can
look forward to…a future of peace and healing. I will make sure the planet
recovers from any other future threats because it is like a child that needs to
be care for and protected for as long as you shall live. The child will survive
by the never-dying will of a father’s revenge.” He places the feather in
Sephira’s hair. She smiles and hugs his leg. Faint whimpering and unsteady
breathing can be heard among the crowd. Lucrecia tries to fight back her tears
but they won’t subside. She holds her head back hoping that they will return to
her eyes but they reroute to the corners. (End) (“Lucrecia
Crescent”) She gives up
and places her face into the palm of her hands. Overwhelmed she sobs, “I am,
finally with you now…and all I feel is sadness. I can, finally hold you…talk to
you…hear your voice…smell your scent, see the man you have become and even when
this should be a happy moment…all I can do is cry. For so long I have felt dead
inside constantly trying to run away from my fears and when I am confronted all
I can say is, ‘I’m so sorry’. What I really wanted to say was the truth.” She
looks up and over to Vincent, “The guilt over an accidental death overwhelmed
my heart and not telling you that I played a role in it-broke it. Any kind of
relationship we were supposed to have was destined to fall apart from the
start. My manifestation of emotions; guilt manifested into fear after I became
pregnant. I feared that my child would like you or even worse, your father. I
didn’t want a constant reminder of this guilt staring back at me every day for
the rest of my life. So, I ran. I ran away from the life I wanted to have but
felt I didn’t deserve. I brought more guilt onto myself after I chose to give
birth to Sephiroth, knowing the future he would bring. When Hojo took him away
from me…I am ashamed I must say because I gave him away. Deep down, I didn’t
want to see the man he would become, I wasn’t ready to be a mother, I wasn’t
ready to truly love or devote myself to anything…not a son and not even
science. I just wanted to die.” She looks over to Sephiroth, “Frozen in time, I
sat in a cave constantly wondering where you were, if you were still alive and
if my visions came true. When Vincent told me that you were dead, I was
relieved at first. My secrets were buried along with you, but then I had a
sense that he was lying. I knew that I did the wrong thing by not being in your
life. Both of us were dead inside and I had left a large scar on your heart,
which could have been healed…If only I was there for you when you needed me the
most. All you wanted was a family and for my own selfish reasons I took that
away from you- a mother’s love for her son. I really did love you, I still do.”
She inhales loudly, trying to catch her breath. Sephiroth kneels down before
her to eye level and cradle his hands around her’s. “I cry for the both of us,
I cry for all the pain I cause your family and all the pain I’ve caused our
family. Is that all I can do? Is cry and say, ‘I am sorry’…but not once did you
blame me and neither did you. You both are here now with open arms. I was so
blind to see that I was the one who needed to forgive myself.” Vincent puts his
hands on her shoulders. “If I had only seen that you loved me even after
everything I’ve done and that all you wanted was a real mother despite any baggage
she may have…just maybe we could have been the family I now know we deserve.
This is a mother’s regret.” Vincent and Sephiroth cradle her as her breathing
rate starts returning to normal. “I really do love the both of you.”(End) (“Hope of
the Future”) “I know you
do now, I know you did then.” Vincent gazes off into the distance. “As I slept
in that coffin for all those years, I couldn’t help but wonder how I ended up
here. I convinced myself that it was punishment for my sins. Everything that I
felt as right and real I didn’t fight for; I gave it all up too easily. Even if
I wasn’t right or you, I knew he definitely wasn’t. He never had your best
interest at heart and to a certain degree-neither did I. I never knew how you
truly felt and what was truly bothering you and when I thought I knew…I didn’t
know the extent of your guilt and how I played a role in driving you into the
arms of another man.” He turns Lucrecia around to face him as Sephiroth stands
behind her. “I should have let you know that I understood the dangers and
consequences of being a scientist. And that I didn’t blame you or anybody for
my father’s death. I wish I could have stayed strong for you and fight for us
when you didn’t have the strength too. I read you all wrong, but when that
gunshot went off and I feel to my knees in pain…I looked up at you and saw
everything in your eyes. For the first time, I finally saw the real you…the you
I fell in love with.” Lucrecia rests her head on his chest to hear his
heartbeat. “Laying there in my coffin I couldn’t help but to wonder how I ended
up here, but I am glad I did. Even with all the mistakes we made, you wanted me
to continue on with my life and right our wrongs. You put this beast, this
Chaos inside me believing I would be the one who could save the planet from
your son…who I now know to be our son. Save the planet from our mistakes, our
lack of action to prevent a future no one wanted, to disprove a vision that
unwillingly came to you. In all this chaos, I believe we were too hard on
ourselves; we blamed only ourselves but even if things turned out differently,
I’m sure there would still be a Sephiroth…that needed to be saved from the one
thing he believed to be his focus for life…I just thankful that it was this
Sephiroth. I’m thankful to you for giving me the strength, putting your faith
in me. I’m thankful for you not only saving me from death but from my own
self-loathing.” He looks over to Cloud, “Someone once asked me, ‘Are sins ever
forgiven?’ My reply should have been, ‘Have you forgave yourself?” I have now
and with this new found strength from inside my heart I will protect this
planet. I will continue to overcome my sins a gain a sinner’s redemption.” Lucrecia
kisses him shyly but he pulls her in closer. Sephiroth waves his family over so
they can meet their grandparents and in laws. Everyone gathers around there
families, old and new. The crowd becomes quiet for a few minutes, all staring
at the fire as if they can see their whole life stories in the flames. (End-3:07) (“Picture Me"- Yiruma) Even though he isn’t a weapon or a guardian, Riku has a few words to
say too; speaking for his sister and himself, “I am the oldest, big brother
that has to protect his little sisters. My father and my uncles always told me
that if anything was to happen to them that it was my responsibility to look
after my sister and my mother. I was so young, I still am and I didn’t want
that day to come but it did…quicker than I ever imagined. I was prepared
though. Our parents weren’t around much as we wanted them to be. Big sis and I
kind of raised ourselves ever since our grandparents were killed…we couldn’t
believe our uncle had killed his own parents and we couldn’t believe our
parents let Shinra destroy Banora. Since that day, our parents were
absent…always going on missions or doing research. The president’s son would
check up on us…at one point more than our own father did. At least our mother
tried to help us understand what was going on and their roles in this…somewhat.
I did respect the fact that our parents were making great sacrifices to keep
our family together and to keep us out of harm’s way.” He fiddles with the
blindfold in his hands. “Everything changed after that one day. I started to
doubt that the man I’d known as a kind, strong loving father could do such a
horrendous thing and had the intention of doing more. I denied it, but I came
to terms with it. He was just like my uncle, both had snapped and there was no
way any of us could bring them back. So, what does that mean for me? Was I
going to end up like them? I am my father’s son; there is no denying that…I
look just like him. That’s…what I began to hate about myself. Every time my
mother looked at me…she would cry. She can’t help but to see him in me. In
time, I refused to look at myself in the mirror, especially when the rumors of
his return circulated around town. Rumors that my uncle was still alive drove
our mother crazy, but not insane. I needed my own identity, so I decided to
wear a blindfold. In the darkness, I could see myself how I wanted to. My eyes,
the gateway to my soul were locked away and I was ready to move on. But how can
you really know yourself and know why you are moving on if you deny where
you’ve been.” He sits in-between Sakuya and Sephira. “When little sis came
along, I needed to know what she looked like. So on that day those two men came
to our house, I removed it and after so many years in the dark a new light
shines. She was her own person; despite the dark black hair and ancient green
eyes. I walked over to the mirror to see myself and what I saw makes
sense-glowing yellow eyes.” He looks at Vincent, “After hearing your story,
everything made sense. Life is about choices and those who choose to knowingly
or unknowingly impact my life in a negative way is separate from the choices I
choose to make in response and only I can choose to continue to fuel the
negativity or channel it into positivity. Someone has to break the cycle
eventually, so why not start now? I only hope that my friends and I and our
generation can. We all want to see the stars shine because they give us hope;
to see the dark’s light.” (End) © 2013 Jasmine S. Edwards |
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Added on August 14, 2013 Last Updated on December 14, 2013 AuthorJasmine S. EdwardsRochester, NYAboutCollege student who loves to write in my free time :) Always looking for inspiration and a good story to read. I write what comes to my mind or my takes on stories unfinished. My smart phone, a pen a.. more..Writing
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