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holly-fixation · 2 months

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Fallen Silver: Ch3

Summary: Sephiroth is MIA. Second Class Rhapsodos and Third Class Hewley are tasked with locating and finding him. The public does not know of this disappearance. No one was prepared for the truth.

Wars do not end until one side surrenders. Wutai was far stronger than they thought.

Trigger Warning: Self harm (unintentional)

(More notes at the end)

Chapter 3: Repeat

“This is SOLDIER Third Class: Angeal Hewley regarding directive SMIA. We found him.”

“Then put him back on the front. Why are you calling us?”

“He’s severely wounded. We need a chopper to Midgar.”

“He’s HIM. It can’t be severe.”

“I cannot give any more details on this line. Send a medical team right now or Shinra will have your funeral after his.”

There was a pause. “...Sending a team now. Be ready for transport in three hours. After the payload is sent, return to the front lines with Rhapsodos.”

“Understood.”

It was a conversation he should have heard, something he should’ve forced his focus on, but he did not gain a single word as he begged his red haired friend to stay close no matter what. He hated everything, hated every word out of his mouth, but they broke free despite his best efforts. He didn’t understand what was happening. He was so weak, feeble, useless.

The desperation crescendoed as Angeal returned.

He reached for them constantly. Each moment without their touch spiked his agony against his understanding. With both of them, his meager train of thought remained on track. Slow, yes, but on track. The moment he lost contact with either of them, it crashed. They adjusted for him, for his need, and encouraged him to be calm. He tried to obey. He stayed still once his wounds were cleaned and wrapped. Only his friends mattered.

All was almost well until the medical team arrived.

“We'll take him from here.” A team of four approached and shooed Genesis and Angeal away.

“W-wait…” Sephiroth reached for his friends even as he was lifted to the gurney. “Don't go…!”

“It's alright. We got you. We'll fix everything at HQ.”

“No…!” He tried to turn, tried to lift himself off the platform. Two medics held him down. “Genesis…! Angeal…! Come back…!”

“They have to stay here. Those are their orders.”

“No!” Like a child's temper tantrum, he denied their words, thrashing with all his remaining might. Perhaps his strength too was childish. “No! Please! Come back! Come BACK!” The desperation spiked as his pained groans nearly formed a scream.

The lead EMT shouted the final order, “Bring them over here now!”

Angeal and Genesis rushed to his sides, and suddenly Sephiroth's rebellion quelled, his body relaxing as he held Angeal's hand to his head as if checking for a fever. They ignored their orders and stayed by him through every step of discovery until the moment in the lab where he fell silent as a sleeping babe, until the first moment every cell in his body released the need to be near them.

* * *

Sephiroth did not know how much he needed them now.

“Sephiroth, what happened?” Genesis’s voice hit the muffled air.

His inhuman eyes scanned the dead dragon as strands of its lifestream bubbled to the surface, its soul slowly leaving its body.

“SOLDIER First Class: Sephiroth.”

The silver soldier snapped to attention, empty mako eyes piercing him.

Angeal sighed, hating using his title against him. “Report.”

“I spotted this fortress. I went into the wilderness to find a dragon. I led the dragon here as a precaution. When I returned, not a single Wutaian remained. And I found this,” he held up a broken gong, one solid piece with a massive crack straight through the center, before flipping it around. There was a message carved in native Wutaian.

Three alone is strong. One alone is solid. Two alone is balance.

Two with one is unpredictable. Scales break with imbalance.

Angeal’s brows knotted. “I don’t understand…”

“They’re saying what we already know.” Genesis looked up at Sephiroth. “That letting you run wild will kill us all.”

He did not acknowledge the comment. “This is a warning. Two functional gongs remain. We need to find out where.”

“Sephiroth-”

“We need to find them before they cause more damage.”

“Hold on,” the dark haired man took the carved instrument before it cracked in the First’s grip.

“Morale is exponentially low. This trend will continue unless I regain strength in their eyes. We must handle this before news travels to Midgar. My misstep could be forgiven if we pull through.”

“Maybe if you stop running ahead, we could handle this together.”

“Genesis-” Angeal tried to cut him off.

“No he needs to hear this!”

Sephiroth stared through them. “You can’t order me to do anything. I outrank you. I am your superior-”

“Then this is mutiny, Sephiroth!”

The word hit the silver soldier like a brick to the chest, the slight stiffening of his posture the only visible reaction.

“So you listen to me. Because I'll take these men, all of whom have followed my orders for the entirety of your capture, and we will rise against you for the sake of your self preservation, so help me Goddess.”

“Genesis, that's top secret,” Angeal tried to warn.

“All these men saw him collapse without reason. There's no secret about that and no dragon alive will change their wavering faith in your decisions. So for the love of the Goddess, listen to us.”

The waterfall of mercury lowered. Not a word left his mouth. Finally, a shred of fight lost.

Angeal turned to the troops. “Set up camp. We're claiming the base. I want ten men on watch. Go.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” The entire troop quickly entered the compound, designating who would return for supplies and who would hold down the fort. A quarter of their men returned and dashed past the frozen Firsts. Once relatively alone, the silence broke among the hard glares, downturned eyes, and concerned expressions.

“Genesis…” Sephiroth's voice was small, so very small a cat could barely hear him.

The friend's eyes never left his.

“It's not as simple as running ahead…”

“Then explain. But nothing you say will change my mind.”

He held his hand to his heart as if delicately touching a necklace. “There is too much we do not know. I take the lead to protect you all.”

“And you are the one that needs protection now. Times change. We have to adapt, not run straight into unknown danger.”

Sephiroth internally sighed. Genesis didn’t understand. The silver soldier failed to provide a more clear explanation, leaving him trapped in the hands of his fragile friends. He knew they weren’t truly fragile but he wanted to prevent any crack or fracture from forming in them with everything he had.

* * *

Sephiroth allowed Genesis to take the lead in the next push forward. However, the silver soldier kept the crimson soldier in sight at all times, not like Genesis minded. His Second Class friend enjoyed his time in the spotlight just a hair, every attack a bit too powerful, a bit too flashy, and a bit too inefficient. If their enemies were stronger, faster, they may have noticed the inherent sloppiness, taken advantage of the openings subtly on display.

They tried to stay directly ahead of the troop, but the anti SOLDIER measures threatened the lives of all unenhanced enlistees. Genesis made the decision to slow their men and take down the monsters before any cadet lost their life to nearly indestructible enemies.

They found two of these monsters. Large muscular bodies, massive ball and chains at their sides, metal armor and written charms decorating their forms, one left handed and the other right handed, perfect mirrors of each other.

Genesis and Sephiroth shared a quick look before dashing to their enemies. Sephiroth took on the left handed foe while Genesis took on the right. Each synchronized monster attack was countered with the two SOLDIERS, back to back before unleashing hell. However, the anti SOLDIER creatures were tough. Between the armor and their constant attacks, Sephiroth couldn't find an opening to slash them down or at least stun them for a bit.

Why was he struggling? They were never this great of a threat before.

Sephiroth glanced over at Genesis and saw the same realization. The redhead struggled more and more with each parried and blocked blow. Before either of them knew it, the bulky creatures yanked on their chains, and the links below the Second suddenly tied him down.

Something in Sephiroth snapped. He found his body moving before his mind caught up, slashing and pushing relentlessly until the monster freed Genesis.

The Red Mage of Shinra suddenly sprinted to the other monster, fire shooting up his sword. Though with varying strength, they both ended the creatures long before the troops arrived. Thank the gods they did. The souls of the mirrored measures did not leave the bodies. The SOLDIERs had no choice but to wait until they confirmed the deaths. That simple duty kept them in place.

The corpses exploded, plumes of black and white smoke consuming everything in sight. Both SOLDIERs immediately held their breaths. They could barely see each other through the shadows.

“Fall back,” The first and only command of the day left Sephiroth’s lips. However, despite the dissipating fog, his periphery darkened.

A memory cracked into place: his sight wavered right before he awoke in the gold chamber.

“Genesis, fall back,” His words were sharper, louder, trying to cut through the haze.

His friend stumbled away at first, mumbling odd ‘no’s and denials before suddenly bolting straight into the forest.

“Genesis!” Sephiroth shouted, chasing after the red coat.

“Stay away!”

That couldn’t be right. The smoke was finally gone. Their sight may be dark but he wasn’t blind. And even if Genesis was, why was he running? “Come back!”

“Get away from me!” He screeched, weaving through the trees like his life depended on it. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

“Gen-!” He faltered mid step, glancing down to regain balance. But instead of his leather uniform, he wore a turquoise hospital gown. And he was small, the trees towering into the sky above.

Below the sky, which darkened gray, stood a man in a lab coat black hair and black glasses, stories taller than he was.

“No…” His voice was tiny, strangled by panic, barely a whimper as every instinct urged him to run away.

“It’s time, Sephiroth.”

His head shook, his pleas desperate and childish as he fought his own mind. “Not today…! Not today…! I have to save him!”

“It’s time…-”

As quickly as the illusion- the nightmare- formed, it shattered, his vision still dark, the sky still an unnatural gray, and his steps weak with…

Fear.

But his body was normal, his clothes were ready for battle. He ran forward, his steps barely coordinated and his breath heavy. Something scraped his arm, cutting straight through the leather and his skin. He glanced down but the weapon was long gone. Wutai was firing on them in their confusion, and despite his own wound healing within the second, his friend was not gifted with such restoration.

“Genesis!” He prayed for a response over the pounding of his own heart, prayed for even a scream to pinpoint his friend.

But no sound came, his feet striking the dirt as he tried to avoid the projectiles he could not see or hear.

“Where are you?!”

Not a rustle of wind or the call of an enemy.

“SOLDIER Second Class: Rhapsodos, Answer me!”

S e p h i r o t h . . .

Silver hair snapped around, stopping dead in his tracks with his blade at the ready, shaking in his pathetic grip. Distorted and unnatural, he heard his name clear as day.

Sephiroth…

The voice was heavy, consuming, vast and endless. Where was it coming from? It felt like-

Sephiroth.

Everywhere.

Leave him. You will find him later as he found you.

Why did the voice feel so familiar? He shook his head. He needed to focus. He didn’t have time for this, rushing forward once again. “Where is he?”

Not far.

It knew? Another cut scraped his leg. “Where?” He demanded.

…We have little time. You must find me.

“I need to find him.” If this voice was another illusion he would scream. A sudden tug at his heart and he turned in a new direction, a creek he could barely see through the darkness flowing slowly within the trees. He traced the feeling, walking along the invisible string.

Follow and listen to me.

He wished he could drown the voice in the water, but a small part of him craved the cosmic calm.

I am not false. I am real. And I need you.

He ignored it, praying to spot Genesis and silently hoping it continued, each word a blanket warming his heart. Did it have any idea what it was like to constantly hear that request? And why did a piece of him want to honor it?

I am what you craved. I am what you held in the lab to be calm.

Sephiroth shook his head. Nonsense. All nonsense. No matter how much he wanted it to be true.

They silenced our connection with scales.

His charge slowed. His indescribable feeling of isolation…? No. No no no. It couldn’t be. It didn't make any sense.

I crave you just as much as you crave me, even when you cannot hear me calling out to you.

“Who are you then?” He pushed forward.

You know the answer.

Did he? The voice in his head couldn’t be real. Logically. He knew that.

It is deep within your heart and was once held close to it.

It was insane. Impossible. But the voice in his mind was kind and soft, a purr against his heart. If this start of the torture that broke him built this cruel punishment on his own, he did not know what he would do. He wanted it to be true. He needed it to be true.

Close to his heart. His hand moved unconsciously to where he kept the necklace all those years ago. Why couldn’t he stop the single title from leaving his lips?

“...Mo-?”

A scream knocked him out of the shock.

He’s close. Go.

Following the thread pulling his heart, he leapt across the river and quickly found Genesis against a tree, cuts and throwing stars scattered through his body like the night sky, his right arm broken and cradled by his left, his right leg broken and laid straight out, his eyes clamped shut.

He responded as if feeling the very presence of the other soldier. “Go away… Please go away already…”

Sephiroth ignored the whimpers as his friends once ignored his own. He carefully kneeled before the Second, the redhead flinching, bracing for impact.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He reached for the injury on his leg.

He cannot hear you.

Genesis screamed at the contact.

Sephiroth instantly let go but the man before him writhed, struggling to crawl back. “What’s wrong with him?” He winced at another cut but was thankful it didn't harm his friend further.

Genesis fell back and clawed at his neck, struggling to breath, but the only marks were his own nails digging into his skin. His eyes opened reflectively, bulging in terror. Within the mako blues and whites, black rods floated on the surface like bacteria under a microscope.

The silver soldier grabbed his friend's hands and pulled them away.

“Spare me…!” He begged through large gasps of air. “Please stop…! Sephiroth…!”

Delay his symptoms.

Though not at all the exact words, Sephiroth knew exactly what to do, mumbling a small apology before knocking Genesis unconscious. Just as promised, his breath regulated, eyes closing and body falling limp.

It is not safe here.

Whatever this chemical was required the lab to flush it out. He had no idea how long the ailment would last for his friend if even he had not metabolized it yet. Sephiroth threw his friend’s arm over his shoulders, carrying the deadweight through the shallow creek and back through the forest. More of the attacks came, single slashes to slowly weaken them, clearly aimed at Genesis so Sephiroth would have to take the hit. With his senses impaired, he couldn’t see them coming.

Angeal caught up to them before they left the trees.

“What happened?”

“Some kind of chemical. I don’t understand what it-”

It forces the mind into panic by displaying individual phobias. It convinces the afflicted that escape is the only option and weakens any attempt at retaliation.

Sephiroth swallowed before relaying the message.

“How does Wutai have a weapon like that?” Angeal carefully carried Genesis.

“They’re injecting it into monsters. Maybe breeding it in. We need to get Genesis to Midgar. It’s not dissolving.”

Now mako blues met his inhuman eyes. “Are you okay?”

Sephiroth nodded. He must have the rods too. “I believe I have some resistance to it. I’ll go ahead and call for transport. Keep him unconscious. He’s not thinking straight and he’s putting himself in danger.”

The silver soldier barely heard the ‘sounds familiar’ as he marched to the base. At his direct order, transportation appeared within the hour.

* * *

The three strongest SOLDIERs once again stood in the research and development lab of Shinra Tower. Sephiroth explained the situation to Professor Hollander and his team. The monsters, the smoke, the darkened vision and instinct to run, the ‘phobias’, the weakness, and how the only difference between himself and his friend was his former exposure to the chemical before his capture. Hollander decided to test the silver soldier’s information by allowing Genesis to wake. Only if the tale was true would he begin working on a cure or at least grab some samples before attempting to flush it out.

Sephiroth and Angeal watched through observation glass to make sure Hollander didn’t try anything dangerous. Both Hollander and a team of nurses stood by inside the chamber.

You do not want to see this.

The First did not tell anyone about the voice, and despite its earlier truth, he refused to leave his friend.

When Genesis’s eyes opened, his terror returned instantly, pushing back into the bed frame as if a threat stalked directly in front of him. “No… no no no- no more! I just want to be enough! Why is that so bad?!” He winced, turning, hiding.

Then he suddenly pinned himself to the wall by his shoulders.

“Stop! Please stop! I don't want to hurt you! It's not like that! Please!” His right hand came up in protection, attempting to block what no one else could see despite the broken arm.

However, his left hand seemed completely out of his control as it slammed into his shoulder, repeating again and again until the bone shattered.

He squirmed and hissed harshly, desperately trying to get away from the threat he believed attacked but was truly himself, the toxin claiming his mind. “I’m strong! I’ll be perfect and one day I will surpass you, Sephiroth!”

The audible inhale told everyone what Sephiroth he was truly thinking. Why was Genesis afraid of him?

“Shut up Shut Up SHUT UP!” All of a sudden tears fell down his red cheeks. “Stop it… Stop it, I beg of you… I don’t want it to be true… I’m trying… I’m trying-”

First, he threw himself off the medical bed, pinning himself against the wall.

Then he gasped, clawing at his damaged neck just as before, choking and thrashing and whimpering.

“Tie him down and take samples before tranquilizing him. We need this compound now! Quickly! Quickly!”

As the nurses and scientists stepped up, Sephiroth stepped back, his heart heavy and his mind blurred. Why was Genesis afraid of him? What could he possibly do to change this fear? He saw Genesis as a worthy component. Why did his friend see him as a tormentor?

He needed answers. He glanced at Angeal, seeing the Third completely trapped by the vision of his oldest friend’s torture. Shocked. Focused. Horrified. The waterfall of mercury suddenly left the room and appeared down a dark hallway with little traffic.

“You knew,” He accused at a whisper.

I did.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Because it would hurt you.

“Why is he afraid of me?”

He fears your true thoughts.

“About him?” Sephiroth would throw his life down for Genesis. He joked about the constant Loveless recitations but that didn't mean he hated them. He sparred with his friends to spend time with them and to hone their skills. He would never attack like that.

He has thoughts of himself he prays you never use against him. Each reflection is thrown back at him with your voice, and each injury he causes himself, he sees you.

The Soldier's eyes fell. His hands began shaking even as he closed them into fists.

Before your capture, you experienced similar symptoms. They dispersed when you awoke in the golden chamber.

“How long did it last…?”

After a week, you fell unconscious. I do not know if the smoke failed or if your captors had a cure. You had no memory of the effects or of me once awoken.

He scoffed sadly. “Why would I take your word for it? How do you know what he’s thinking?” He heard a step behind him and snapped to the source. He suddenly found himself face to face with the dark haired scientist with black glasses.

“Take whose word, Sephiroth?” Hojo questioned immediately.

The silver soldier stared down rigidly and did not answer.

“We'll return to that later then. Come to the lab. I need proper samples while that toxin is in your system.”

“We're already in a lab.”

Hojo scoffed. “That buffoon couldn't properly stock his own pantry, let alone purchase useful equipment. This flashy garbage limits and coddles the user for the sake of ‘user friendliness’. Nonsense. All nonsense. Now come along. We're wasting time.”

Sephiroth was about to deny the scientist when he suddenly remembered the box, one that suddenly cured his desperate isolation. He needed it again, both to test it against this voice he did not want to believe and to defend himself from any other gong Wutai possessed. If there was any chance of discovering what that container held, he would take it.

Hojo grinned as the silver soldier took the lead, unable to hide it as all the tests they needed to complete flooded his mind.

* * *

Skin samples. Blood samples. Swabs and needles invading his skin. Sitting in the exam chair, Sephiroth allowed the tests in silence. Hours passed as he waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Hojo didn’t seem to notice, separating the samples and placing them under various different tests. At one point he claimed to be isolating the toxin, but so far no luck. Concentration levels throughout the soldier’s body were too low. No standard samples contained any useful results. Eventually, finally, Hojo stood before him, scanning up and down before settling on how to continue. At his order, lab technicians entered, rolling in carts full of medical supplies and surgery equipment. The head scientist lifted a full syringe before locking eyes with the silver soldier through a shield of black glasses.

“No,” came Sephiroth’s first word since they entered the room.

“Come now. It’s the logical next step. Don’t you want to help Rhapsodos?”

“You are not sticking anything in my eyes until you give me something I want.”

Hojo crossed his arms. “And what is that? More information about your mother? How many times have we-”

“I want the container.”

His wrinkly face scrunched in confusion. “...What container?”

“After my capture, you gave me a container before beginning surgery. I want that container and its contents.”

“Absolutely not. That situation demanded immediate remedy-”

“I will continue to hinder progress in Wutai if I do not have it in my possession.”

“Are you really threatening your duty over this?”

“I am stating exactly what will prevent last week’s catastrophe from happening again.”

Hojo’s mouth closed. He placed the needle down before waving his hand at the others. “Leave.”

The lab techs exited without another word. The door slid closed behind them, sealing the scientist and the SOLDIER in the examination room.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I need it.”

“It isn’t a drug.”

“I don’t care what it is.”

“I will decide whether or not you receive anything. Do I make myself clear?”

Sephiroth glared from beneath his bangs, black rods stirring in the whites of his eyes.

Hojo simply waited, the whirr of machines the only sound heard until someone dared break the silence.

The silver soldier didn’t want to back down, but Hojo watched a few stray rods swim onto the mako blues. A soft grunt left the man’s lips, his hand supporting his head as his eyes closed harshly. The world darkened as he felt smaller and smaller, weak and insignificant.

Sephiroth.

“Not now…” his second hand flew to his bangs. He clenched his teeth to prevent any more unconscious words from escaping.

Hojo simply observed, a small smirk growing in fascination.

Stay still.

He clenched harder, but soon the unnatural feeling left him. His eyes opened to the same haze, not perfect but bearable.

“Is the neurotoxin making you hear voices?”

“No,” He spat immediately, his voice stronger but lacking the might he truly held. “This isn’t the problem. I know you still have it. Let me test something.”

“You have yet to provide a decent reason to do so.”

“Wutai has more weapons than we thought,” the boy surrendered, seeing that denying the scientist would trap them in deadlock.

“Of course they do-”

“Weapons with the same effect as my capture.”

Hojo’s amusement dropped. “What.”

“That infuriating isolation that completely incapacitates me-”

“Did you let them capture you again?”

Sephiroth almost laughed. “No. They played a gong of Leviathan scales and I collapsed instantly. That same annoying clinginess locked Angeal and Genesis. They dragged me away from the base. The troop saw everything.”

“Are there multiple gongs?”

“We assume.”

“Have you collected any?”

“Yes. I retrieved a broken one.”

Hojo brought a hand to his chin in thought. “If we repair it, we may not need that container.”

Sephiroth shook his head, his bangs protecting his eyes. “Hojo, I don’t think I can grow a resistance to that…”

“Well we won’t know until we try.”

“We should first try the thing that works. That container.”

“First we focus on a cure for your dear friend and then we can build your immunity.” Mako blue eyes met his blacks. “Or I can hand you that container and leave your friend to suffer. Hollander’s had no success so far, and knowing him, he’s probably searching in the wrong place. It is a shame. The longer it takes to find a cure, the longer he must remain in Hollander’s lab for his own safety.”

Inhuman eyes fell.

Don’t listen to him.

He felt the choice slipping away from him.

It will only bring pain.

Hojo sighed. “Oh well. I’d much prefer having a different specimen in the lab.”

Sephiroth.

He had no other option. “Find the cure…”

The silver soldier refused to see the slimy grin on the scientist’s face.

Thanks for reading!

Author’s note: I have no idea why this AU appeals to me so much, but it does. And with the unintentional help (and permission) of @rottenpumpkin13 , I finally had the piece I needed to continue it. I hope you enjoyed chapter 3.

Chapter List

#sephiroth #ffvii #final fantasy vii #ff7 #final fantasy 7 #genesis rhapsodos #angeal hewley #ffvii hojo #ff7 hojo #hojo ff7 #hojo ffvii #jenova #trigger warning #tw: self harm

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