Work Text:
FF7 Within A Child's Mind
by Sephiroth
Summary: This takes place 100 Years after the events in FF7
Author's Notes On "Within A Child's Mind":
PLACE: Neo Midgar (several miles from the old ruins of Midgar)
DATE: 100 years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy 7
ABOUT SETH: Seth Ian Ross is the reincarnation of Sephiroth, though he does not know it yet. He was born on the 90th anniversary of Sephiroth's death and is currently 10 years old. At this time, he is beginning to have dreams and flashblacks alluding to his past life. However, Sephiroth has been all but forgotten by this time, and so he does not know what these visions mean.
Disclaimer: Seth is mine but his original self belongs to SquareSoft. So do the lyrics of "One Winged Angel".
Within A Child's Mind
by Sephiroth
"Calm down!" the teacher told the little boy as she tried, once again, to stick the needle into the boy's finger. "All the other students did it. Don't you want to see what's in your blood?"
"I don't wanna be 'sperimented on!"
"I'm not experimenting on you, honey." the teacher frowned, wonderng where the hell that had come from. "This is part of science class. We're all learning about the stuff that's in our blood."
The boy settled down into quiet sniffling. "You won't make me a monster?"
"I promise I won't." the teacher smiled.
The boy stuck out his finger and the teacher took a sample.
"Ouch." the boy complained.
"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"No." The boy admitted. Except that moment of pain, there had been no discomfort.
The teacher smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.
****
"Your teach says you had another episode today, Seth." The boy's mom said as he walked in. "We really must do something about your outbursts."
"I'm sorry, mom." Seth said, glumly. "I just got scared."
"Why do you think people want to experiment on you?"
"Can I have a cookie?"
His mother nodded. "They're on the counter." she told him as he vanished into the kitchen.
He returned with some cookies and milk a few minutes later and plopped down onto the sofa to enjoy his afternoon munchies.
"So, why do you think people want to experiment on you?" His mother repeated.
Seth shrugged. "Dunno. Its like I keep remembering them doing that to me when I was a little baby. I lived in this weird lab and they did all kinds of weird shit to me."
"Seth!"
"Sorry, mom." Seth apologized. "Anyhow, it really freaked me out."
"Well, that didn't happen to you." Mrs. Ross told her son, gently. "You were always raised in a kind and loving home and no one ever did experiments on you."
"Then how come I keep dreaming they did?" Seth asked.
"I don't know." his mom admitted. "But let's drop the subject. Its time for dinner. Could you set the table for me?"
"Yes, mom."
(part 2)
"Seth," his mom said, during dinner, "what's wrong?"
Seth looked up. "My history class is going to see the ruins of the old city tomorrow." he explained.
"I didn't get any permission slip."
Seth handed a ragged piece of paper to her. "I didn't want to go, but the teacher said I have to. She says that the stuff we see there is going to be on a test she's giving."
Mrs. Ross signed the paper. "Why don't you want to go?"
"I don't know." Seth admitted.
"It'll be fun." Mrs. Ross smiled. "You're going to get to see all kinds are things that haven't been seen for over a hundred years."
"How was the city destroyed?" Seth asked.
"I don't know, honey." Mrs. Ross admitted. "I think it was a fire or something to do with the weather."
******
The comet came streaking through the solar system, while a lone angel stood there, watching its approach without the slightest hint of moving.
//STOP IT// his mind screamed the words that his mouth could not vocalize.
The comet did not hit Earth. Instead, after obliterating Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter, it collided with the sun.
His mind reeled with horror as the sun expanded to engulf Mercury, Venus, and finally Earth itself.
As the expanding solar furnace claimed the planet, he noticed the angel only had one wing.
Then everything went white.
***
Seth Ian Ross woke up with a scream of horror. He sat there, panting, looking around as if to make sure it was all still there.
His mother hurried into the room.
"Bad dream?" she asked.
"Really bad." Seth nodded.
*
"So tell me about the dream you had," Mrs. Ross encouraged the next morning, during breakfast.
"There was this angel, and I think hewanted to help us, but he couldn't because one of his wings was missing."
"Help us?"
"When the sun blew up." Seth explained.
"The sun blew up?" Mrs. Ross asked. "That must have been horrible. All those planets like Pluto and Neptune getting burned up like that."
"I don't know what happened to Neptune, mom." Seth admitted. "I didn't see that in the dream. and Pluto got hit by the comet."
"The comet?" Mrs. Ross asked.
"Yeah. there was this weird comet. It hit Pluto and pulverized it. Ka*BLAMO! Then it did the same thing to Saturn. Rings and all. And then it hit Jupiter." Seth at this point sounded like an excited child describing a particularly gory scene from the latest popular horror film,. "You shoulda seen it! It went right through the middle of the planet. It was so damned awesome! Turned it into a huge space-donut!"
"And what happened to Earth?" Mrs. Ross asked, concernedly.
"Aw, we just got toasted when the sun blew up." Seth shrugged as if the destruction of Earth was a bit anticlimactic in comparison to the comet bulls-eye'ing Jupiter.
The schoolbus will be here soon." Mrs. Ross told him. "You'd better hurry. " She helped him into his coat and handed him his books and the ragged permission slip. Have fun today at the ruins." she told him.
(part 3)
"Okay, everyone," the teacher announced as they gathered in the parking lot. "Now, remember, these ruins are very dangerous. So I expect you all to obey all the safety rules. Okay?"
"Okay." The students responded as they.
The teacher took a head count, then everyone boarded the bus and headed for the ruins.
"Miss Shin?" One of the students asked. "What if we find stuff there? Can we bring it home?"
"You'll have to ask the people who are running the excavation site." the teacher replied.
*
The bus arrived at the site forty-five minutes later.
"Hello, everyone." the site manager greeted them, once they were all at the entrance to the dig. "My name is Cid. This dig has just been unearthed fairly recently, so there's bound to be some interesting artifacts. Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering if you get to keep anything you find. The answer is, yes you do. "
A cheer went up from the students.
"I wouldn't cheer too much." Cid pointed out. "The ruins are only a hundred years old, so there's not likely to be much in the way of buried treasure."
"That's a very nice offer." Miss Shin pointed out.
"When I was a kid, I went on my first dig and I found something. I hid it because I didn't know if it was okay to keep it. Then, I started looking up stuff about it. That's what got me interested in history and archaeology. They'll be more interested in history if they have a personal link to it."
Miss Shin nodded in agreement, then brought her students inside..
*
As they were exploring the ruins, the students found various artifacts. Most of these were small in nature. Jewelry, utensils, and so on. The first few items were claimed eagerly, but as time wore on and the novelty wore off, many items were left out of a sheer been-there/done-that mentality.
"OH! COOL!" One of the students cried out. "Hey! Come check out what Seth found!"
Cid and Miss Shin went over to where Seth was. The boy was kneeling on the ground. resting upon his knees was a very long sword who's blade bore a slight curve. The hilt was encrusted with gems
Miss Shin and Seth looked questioningly at Cid.
"Yes, he can keep it." Cid decided. "A promise is a promise after all."
(part 4)
Seth reached down to pick up his new prize. As his fingertips touched the hilt, he felt the world flicker about him.
o/ ... ra vehem...o/ Some unseen chorus sang.
Seth flinched back and stared at the sword.
"What's wrong?" Miss Shin asked.
"It sang to me." Seth shook his head. "How come it sang to me?"
"What did it sing?" Miss Shin asked.
"You believe me?" Seth was incredulous. He had expected her to say he was imagining it.
"Sure." Miss Shin smiled.
"Some swords are like that." Cid agreed . "Especially if the soul of the person who finds them is that of a former owner."
"So it was mine in a former life?"
"Could be." Miss Shin nodded. "This song could be its way of saying its happy to see you again."
Seth was afraid, but he was too excited and too curious not to try touching the sword again. He eyed it, anxiously.
"Go ahead." Miss Shin and Cid both nodded. "We're right here. We won't let anything bad happen."
Seth reached down and, this time, firmly gripped the blade.
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sors immanis o/
o/ Et inanis o/
o/ Sors immanis o/
o/ Et inanis o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Veni, veni, venias, o/
o/ Ne me mori facias o/
o/ Veni, veni, venias, o/
o/ Ne me mori facias o/
o/ Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa o/
o/ Ne me mori facias Generosa o/
o/ Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa o/
o/ Ne me mori facias Generosa o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Estuans interis o/
o/ ira vehementi o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
o/ Sephiroth o/
Seth let go and sat back, looking very stunned. He'd seen the dream he'd had the night before, and more. Much more. So much cruelty. So much evil. And he'd seen Sephiroth's face. A face that was older, but still one he knew. One he'd seen in the mirror every day of his life.
"I.. I'M SORRY!" he burst out, as he let go of the Masumane and fled the site in tears.
END PART 4