--
Jenova's Other Puppet

By: Teresa Hathcock

Run!

That was all she could do. Just run. Her fists clenched, her silvery hair
flowing, her bright green eyes full of worry. Someone or something, was
hunting her, and she didn't know what to do, but run. Thud! She had bumped
into something; she looked up into a pair of green eyes, very much like her
own. She quickly stood up and ran behind the Man she had bumped into, using
him as a shield. Suddenly a wolf came out of nowhere and leaped at him. But
before the wolf was even a yard away from him it fell to the ground, dead.
She quickly started to run again for fear that the Man would do the same to
her, but she was too slow. He grabbed her firmly but gently by the arm. "I'm
not going to hurt you." He said in a reassuring tone. He stepped out of the
shadows, revealing a soft face and silvery hair, just like hers. She looked
uneasily at the very long sword that he held in his hand. Realizing what she
was afraid of, he quickly sheathed it. She still didn't feel too easy with
him. She was 9-years-old and smarter than she looked. "What's your name?" He
asked. She didn't answer. "Look I promise I won't hurt you. May I please
know your name?"

"Sephira." She said. "What is your name?"

"Sephiroth. So where do you live, little one?"

"I don't live anywhere." She said much to his surprise.

"Oh, well, umm, I guess if you want to you could live with me, until we find
you someone who would like to take you in, or something." He looked down at
her. He was about a foot taller than she was. "You have nice eyes." He
said, not realizing he said it.

"Well your eyes are exactly like mine so I guess your eyes are nice too."
She said with a smile. "Well, umm. I guess we'd better get you to my house,
the maids will fix you up once we get there." Said Sephiroth taking a look
at her oily matted hair, and unseemly cloths.

<><><><><>

"Well there you go Deary, good as new." Said an old kindly maid, who had
just given Sephira a bath, a suitable dress, and had fixed her silvery hair
into a nice long braid. "Thank you, thank you very much." She said as she
left the room. She slowly went to her room, where she was to sleep. She
opened the door and looked around her new room. There was a four-poster bed,
with a canopy, and curtains around it. There was a window that you could
open that led to a balcony. But what Sephira loved most of all, where the
extremely exquisite paintings that hung on the walls. She felt she could
just gaze at them forever, and ever. But the dinner bell rang and she had to
go down stairs. As she came down she saw many other men and women as well.
When they all were to take their seats at the exceedingly long table,
Sephira noticed that she was to sit next to the master of the house. I bet
you can guess who that was. Sephira felt nervous with all the people sitting
around her. She could feel many eyes watching her. Then finally when
everyone was seated, Sephiroth came in. He was wearing a black suit with
little golden buttons. All of the people stood and clapped. Sephira didn't
know what to do, so she stood and clapped like everyone else. When Sephiroth
sat down, everyone else did the same. Then Sephiroth stood once the dinner
was over and said, "My dear ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special
guest tonight. I would like you to meet Sephira." He motioned for Sephira to
stand, and the moment she did so, the whole dinning hall filled with
applause. Sephira felt her cheeks glow red. She had never felt so happy in
all her life.

When the applause had died down, Sephira started to feel dizzy and tired.
She started up the stairs, but tripped and would have fell down, if a pair
of strong arms hadn't lifted her up and caught her. She looked up to see
Sephiroth smiling at her. "Tired?" he asked.

"Very tired." Said Sephira, her eyes drooping. She tried to stand, but
started swaying back and forth. Sephiroth smiled again and said, "Maybe I
should just carry you."

Sephira made no reply but gave him a grateful look. She was very light, as
she was nothing but skin and bones, but tonight she was well fed and
watered, and feeling better than she had in a long, long time. By the time
they had reached her room, Sephira was already asleep. Sephiroth put her
down on the bed, pulled the blankets over her, and kissed her on the
forehead; there was no doubt, he had taken a liking towards her.

Chapter 2

Cloud looked up from the newspaper, and stared at the TV
screen. Had he really just heard what he thought he heard? "Aeris!" He
shouted, and instantly a brown-haired woman appeared at the steps of the
living room. "Yes?" She asked,

"Come and listen to this!" She came and stood by his side to look at the TV
screen. The reporter was talking rather fast.

"And many reports have come in saying that the Lord Sephiroth has taken in a
little orphan girl that looks exactly like him." Cloud muted the TV, and
said, "Now why would Sephiroth do something like that? It's just not like
him."

"You know Cloud; this could be a way of making sure he has really turned to
our side." Said Aeris with a small grin. "Maybe we should go and check on
him." Said Cloud.

<><><><><>

Sephira
woke up thinking it was all a dream, saying with a sigh to herself, "It was
a dream; I'm just sleeping on the doorstep of someone's house again." She
opened her eyes and was astonished. It wasn't a dream at all! She slowly got
up from the bed and went to the closet. When she opened it her eyes grew
wide, for in front of her was a wardrobe full of the finest looking dresses
of all kinds of sizes. She picked one with ruffles and pearls that fit her
just right. When she was dressed she looked at her hair. The braid that was
in her hair was falling out and tangling.

Then she saw a rope hanging from the ceiling with a note attached to it that
said, "Ring for Maid" She gave it a hard tug, and almost instantly a lady in
uniform rushed up to her room. "Yes Ma'am?" she asked, with a smile. "Could
you pretty please help me with my hair?" Sephira asked timidly. "Certainly
Ma'am." Said the Maid kindly. When she was done, and Sephira was all ready,
the breakfast bell rang. Sephira went down the stairs and heard voices, not
just Sephiroth's, but others. She sat at the top of the stairs and listened.
She caught a few words that they were saying. "Well Sephiroth, this
certainly is a turn out. We had never expected anything like this to come
from you." Then she heard Sephiroth's voice. "Your right Aeris, but I'm not
really that cold hearted anymore. Just give this chance. Aeris. Cloud.
Please. I feel like I should care for her, like she's my sister or
something. So don't take her away from me, not yet." Then Sephira heard a
firmer voice say, "We'll give you this one chance Sephiroth, but if you blow
it, then." The voice trailed off until it was nothing but a whisper. "I'm
warning you. I'll beat you until you can't come back."

"I understand. I won't let that happen.like last time."

Thinking that she should stop eavesdropping, Sephira slowly went down the
stairs, and at her approach Sephiroth smiled. Beside him was a tall man,
with blue eyes and blonde spiky hair. Next to him was a pretty brown-haired
girl with green eyes. As Sephira came down the stairs Sephiroth held out his
hand to her which she took. She didn't like

the eerie quietness of the room; and she definitely didn't like to be the
center of attention.

Sephiroth led her to the other two people. "Sephira, this is Cloud, and this
is Aeris." Sephira made a low and clumsy curtsy, Cloud nodded, and Aeris
smiled. Then the doorbell rang, breaking the uneasy silence. Sephiroth
walked to the door and opened it. When he came back he was holding a letter
in his hands. "I wonder what it could say?" he mumbled to himself. Then as
if he forgot all about the other three, he walked to his office and closed
the door. The letter went like this:

Dear Mr. Sephiroth,

We are rather pleased to inform you that you have a relative.
A sister to be exact. As you may know, you were born from the Dr. and Mrs.
Hojo. Well it is said that they had another child a little while after you
left to join soldier. Hojo injected Jenova cells into her and has
experimented on her also. As far as I know, her name is Sephira. She has
been living somewhere between sectors 5 and 6 of Midgar. Please find her and
take good care of her, for she is all you have.

Sincerely,

Minerva Epworth,

Head
of the M.O.S (Midgar Orphan Society)

Minerva Epworth

Sephiroth jumped from his chair and dashed out of the room. He never knew
what it was like to have sister or a brother before. He looked all around
for his newfound sister, but couldn't find her. He walked up to her room.
She was sitting on the bed reading a book. The curtains were closed, so she
didn't see him come in. When she came out of the curtains she saw him. She
had never seen someone so happy in her life. Then she felt an excruciating
pain in her head, one that she experienced before but not as bad as this.
The pain in her head was starting to blind her. She was slowly falling into
unconsciousness. She was dreaming that she was in some place, but where was
she could not say. Then she heard a voice behind her. And it said, "Hello my
Dear. How did you come to be in the Lifestream?" Sephira looked behind her.
But all she saw as a green mist. Then mist started to form into a shape, a
shape that Sephira had seen once before, but couldn't remember. It formed
into the shape of a woman. She was wearing glasses and had long brown hair.
Sephira didn't know what to say. Then finally she found her voice and said,
"Where am I? What's the Lifestream?" The woman smiled and said, "The
Lifestream is where we are. It is all around us." Sephira was still
confused. "Who are you?" She asked.

"My name is Lucricia Hojo." The lady smiled again, "Don't worry, I won't
harm you."

"Where's Sephiroth?" Asked Sephira. "Don't worry." Lucricia said, with a
reassuring smile. "You are just dreaming. You'll soon wake up with a new
power inside you. Use it well." And with that the dream faded.

Chapter 3

The nagging feeling that Cloud had slowly crept and grew
inside him.

It was making him feel uneasy, and uncomfortable. Something was telling him
that he had to go back. He tried to push it away and keep on driving down
the street but it just pushed back, making the feeling grow even more.
Finally he pulled the car to stop and turned it around. Aeris was about to
question him and ask what he was doing, but he held up his hand to silence
her. She started talking anyway. "Cloud what are you doing? Are we going
back?" Cloud just kept driving. He didn't like to share his feelings,
sometimes not even with his own wife. They kept on driving until they
reached Sephiroth's mansion.

Cloud pulled up into the driveway and turned the car off. Sephiroth had seen
them coming and was waiting for them at the 2 large doors of his house.
"Welcome back" he said sourly, "Guess what I just found out? I have a
sister."

"Wow! How do you feel?" Aeris asked. Sephiroth pulled a strange look. "I
feel. like.I don't know." He said shaking his head and sighing.

"Well, where is she?" asked Aeris who's excitement was growing.

"When I told her of the news, she passed out suddenly." He said sadly.

"And she hasn't come to yet?"

"No. She hasn't even moved."

"May I see her?" Aeris asked

"Sure." Then he led Cloud and Aeris up to Sephira's room, where on the bed
they saw, out cold, Sephira. Aeris made her way towards her and put her hand
on her forehead.

"She's dreaming. But of what I can't tell. I can make out that she's
dreaming of the Lifestream, and she's with someone, but I can't tell who it
is." She took her right hand and touched Sephira's hand. Then a green light
shown around all of them and Sephira was awake. "What happened?"

"You passed out. What did you dream?"

"A woman named Lucricia Hojo told me that I had been in the Life Stream. She
said that I was exposed to mako. What's Jenova?"

"Jenova is a being that lived a long time ago and is an ancient, like me."
Said Aeris.

"Lucricia also told me that I had Jenova cells inside me. What does that do
to you?" asked Sephira.

"It makes you stronger than you're supposed to be and it can take over your
body if you're not careful." Said Cloud solemnly with a glance at Sephiroth.

That night Sephira couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned
around in the bed, trying to get comfortable. She could hear the words that
Cloud had said. "It can take over your body if you're not careful." That
thought kind of frightened her. What if it took over hers? She was only 9
years old and she got scared quickly. She climbed out of bed, grabbed the
nearby candle, and walked out of the room. She knew exactly where she was
going. She pushed open the door of another room. It was the largest bedroom
in the house. It was his room; the only place where she could feel safe. It
was a comforting feeling to have a big strong brother to keep you safe. She
climbed onto the bed, and shook him gently.

"Huh? Sephira? What is it?" He asked gently but tiredly.

"I'm scared. May I sleep with you tonight?" She said in a small voice.

Sephiroth laughed a little. "Alright, get in." He said smiling. It was
rather sweet, looking down at the two, snuggling close to each other for
warmth. People who had known Sephiroth's past wouldn't have believed it
possible for him to be so softhearted to a little girl.

Chapter 4

Sephiroth opened his eyes. He blinked them a few times before
sitting up and rubbing them. He yawned and looked around, then he remembered
last night's events, and looked beside him. But Sephira wasn't there. "Hmmm.
She must have got up before I did." He thought. Then he heard a scream
coming from the kitchens. He jumped out of bed, Put his shirt on, and rushed
down the stairs. There was a long trail of blood from the kitchen to the
dining room. Sephiroth felt sick as he ran past all the dead bodies, looking
around to see if any of them were Sephira. Then a thought struck him. He
should go and get his Masamune, in case he should run into the person that
had killed all these people.

He ran into his study room, but the glass case that he had put it in was
smashed, and the Masamune was gone! Someone stole it. "But they won't be
able to use it." Sephiroth thought with a smile, "I'm the only one who can
use it. Unless." He turned around to see Sephira. She was holding the
Masamune in one hand, while in the other hand was the Black Materia. "How
did she find it! I kept it heavily guarded!"

"Brother." She began. "Come with me, and we can rule with our mother. They
won't be able to defeat two of us." She said with an evil smile.

"Sephira, give me the Masamune, now."

"Why Brother? I need it right now. I shall make you another."

"How did you get that?" Sephiroth asked, pointing to the Black Materia.

"This piece of junk? That is not your concern, now are you coming to help me
or not?"

"Sephira, I can't let you do this. You have two choices. 1. You give me the
Materia and My Masamune, or 2. You learn the hard way."

"So I take it you have betrayed our mother? You call yourself a son of
Jenova!" Sephira said, wielding the Masamune. "I am sorry Brother. I can't
let you get in the way. You must die if you don't help." After she said
these words she cast some spell on herself that enabled her to have a full
grown body. She grew almost as tall as him, and her hair grew longer and
longer, until it stopped at the top of her legs. She drew herself up to her
full height and dashed at him, faster than lightening and stabbed him in the
arms and then in the legs. "That should keep you out of trouble for awhile."
Then as she started to walk away she turned around, and her eyes weren't
glazed over like they were before. She shrank back to the proper size of a 9
year old and ran back to Sephiroth. "Oh Sephiroth! Did I do that? Please say
I didn't!" Sephiroth nodded wincing as he tried to move his arms and legs.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! She's making me!! Ahhhhh!" She grew back
to a 19 year old size and laughed. "Foolish little girl she is." She picked
the Masamune back up from the floor and laughed again. "Well I guess I
should dispose of you after all." She stood up in front of Sephiroth and
prepared to strike the final blow. But then something happened.

"NO!" Sephira's form appeared in front of her 19 year old self, desperately
trying to hold herself back. "Sephiroth go! As fast as you can, to Cloud! He
'll help you defeat me!

Cure 3!" She shouted and his wounds were healed. Sephiroth got up and ran as
fast as he could go, to Cloud's house. He knocked the door down when he got
there and said. "Quick come with me! Something happened to Sephira! She's
doing...you'll see."

Cloud rushed outside, Aeris was going to follow but Cloud stopped her. "No
Aeris! You need to stay here. I can't lose you again. It was only by luck
that I got you back last time. It might not happen again." He gave her one
last loving look and dashed with Sephiroth to his car. When they got back to
Sephiroth's mansion, Sephira was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?" Cloud asked Sephiroth. "I don't know, but she can only
travel and walk around when she's inside her body. So that must mean that
Jenova's got a hold of her again!" Said Sephiroth as they both ran back to
the car. They drove back to Cloud's house where they saw Sephira's 19 year
old form holding Aeris in front of her with the Masamune pointed at her
back.

"Well this does look familiar doesn't it Cloud?" She said chuckling. "Let's
see.How about we take you back to when this last happened, eh?" Then
everything became a mist. They were all teleported to the past, at the
Temple of Ancients. Cloud didn't want to see his love die again right before
his eyes. He tried to close them, but he could still see it as if his eyes
were open. There she was, locked in prayer. Not knowing what was to happen
to her. They were 2 years in the past. Then suddenly Aeris and Sephira
evaporated from beside them. Cloud tried to run to them but he couldn't
move, he had to stay there and watch his love die. He looked at Sephiroth.
His eyes where closed and he was shaking his head. He could obviously see
what was to happen as well. Then a bright light shown around them and he
came down, or was it him? It was Sephira, and as she came down from above,
she looked right at Cloud and smiled evilly. Cloud looked into her eyes, and
surprisingly they were full of sadness. Sephira was inside of that 19 year
old that was holding her spirit captive. Then in a flash of light the sword
went through. The scene in front of them evaporated and they were back in
the real world. Cloud saw Sephira pull the Masamune out of Aeris, who fell
to the ground. Cloud felt the anger mingled with sadness rush over him. He
could hear Sephira talking.

"Now that the last Cetra is dead, I can fulfill my duty and be a faithful
daughter to my mother. Unlike some people I know." She added with a fierce
glance at Sephiroth. Then she fell to the ground beside Aeris and started
holding her head and screaming in pain. Sephira materialized in front of
them, she was crying.

"Sephiroth I'm sorry! Cloud I'm sorry! Sephiroth grab the Masamune and
strike me down now! Quick before I do anything else!" Sephiroth grabbed the
Masamune in both hands and prepared to strike. He looked at Sephira's body.
It was writhing in pain and shrinking to its normal size and back again. He
quickly pierced her through the back. Immediately her body shrank to its
normal size and her spirit went into it. She was just barely alive when
Sephiroth rushed to her side.

"I'm so sorry Sephira."

"It's ok. It had to be done right?" Sephiroth nodded. "Cloud?" Said Sephira
weakly.

"Yes Sephira?"

"I can resurrect Aeris for you."

"You.you can?"

"Yes I'll do it before I die." She mumbled a few words in a different
language and Aeris' eyes opened up. The stab in her back closed and she
stood up. Cloud ran to her and hugged her close. "Thank you." He managed to
say.

"No problem. Goodbye Sephiroth. You will be in my heart."

"And you will always be in mine." He said. He held her hand in his.

"Goodbye." And the small lips spoke no more. Sephiroth let go of the hand
that had suddenly become so cold. The smile that was on the lips turned into
a frown and the eyes bright green dimmed to a dark forest green. Sephiroth
closed the little eyes and turned to Cloud. "It was the only way my friend."
Cloud said putting his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "Sephiroth gave him a
strange look when he said friend.

"Aeris and I decided that when you found your sister we would think of it as
a test to see if you really came back to our side. And you did. Now we
know."

"Thank you." Said Sephiroth. "Both of you."

The End

Teresa Hathcock
arvel@altn.com