Eternal Fall

Final Fantasy and its characters are owned by Square Enix.
Warning: Violence, rape

Eternal Fall: part IX: Bang!


His glowing green eyes stared up at the barrack ceiling. He was released after months in jail, and now even his little barrack seemed cozy. At least he could be alone now. While he was in jail there were more eyes watching him than usual. But now, at least for a few hours at a time, there would be no one watching. Well, no one except--

You should sleep now. You need your rest to continue training back up to what you used to be, she said softly.

"All I did was train in that jail...."

But now you have more options.

Sephy groaned and rolled over in his bed. Suddenly a knock came at his door.

"Enter," he said, standing reluctantly. It wasn't often that someone knocked for him. If they really wanted him they usually barged in.

There was a young messenger at the door, and he stared at Sephy for a long while.

"Are you Sephiroth?" he asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes sir."

"What?! How old are you kid?!"

"I'm thirteen."

"Oh! Sorry. Well, you're still pretty young to be getting this!" he exclaimed before holding out a letter to Sephy.

Sephy watched as the messenger rode off on his bike, and he looked down at the important looking letter. Something turned in his stomach as he unsealed it and read the words.


Sephiroth. Due to your excellent performance and advanced skills, we are transferring you to Junon where you will prepare to be deployed to join our forces against Wutai.


Sephy read the letter again and again, then finally let it drop from his hands. They were sending him onto the battle field. He would be fighting in the Wutai War.... But how? What would he do? It finally occurred to him that he had no idea how he would do in actual combat. The training and exp experiments he endured had become so common and natural that he forgot he was doing it for something important. But he had always assumed they would wait until he was old enough. He didn't now how old was old enough, but he assumed they'd weight until he was... taller?

Many shadowy figures approached, and he found himself looking up at President ShinRa and a small group of Turks and senior officers.

"Pack what is necessary," the president said sternly. "You will be leaving tomorrow."



Sephy could hardly contain himself as the line of vehicles left Midgar. As soon as Midgar sat in the distance, Sephy was nearly hanging out of the window of his car. None of the officers who were watching him seemed to care. Instead, they let him take in the sky and the grass and the trees as they passed them by. Midgar was filled with machinery and industry and metal and cement. Sephy couldn't remember ever seeing a sky so blue or grass so green. In the far distance a group of chocobos pecked at the ground, looking for food. Sephy watched them until they were out of sight, and then he simply closed his eyes and let the breeze flow through his long silver hair.

It was a long drive, and Sephy thought that they had reached their destination when they stopped. But when everyone left their cars he realized there was still a long way to go. He walked to the shore very slowly, his eyes drinking up the image of the large ship in front of him. It was almost overwhelming to see it. He had read about them, but seeing one was like something in a fairy tale to him. And just when he thought it was the best part of his day... or year... he took a good long look at the ocean. His green eyes widened in amazement at the body of water that seemed to have no end as it twinkled and flowed beautifully, and the way it moved was just so beautiful and relaxing. Sephy felt his heart beating fast in his chest as he looked as the far reaching liquid that blanketed the planet. It was so beautiful.

And it only got better once he got onto the ship and felt it turn and sway in the water. It was the most fun he ever had. He stood near the railing on the top deck and felt as though he wanted to just jump into the water. He could hold his breath longer than anyone else on the ship, and he was a fast swimmer. He felt like he could just escape right then and there. Suddenly he realized that he had not mastered water as well as he could have. It was such a beautiful and relaxing element that he made a point to find the materia needed to study it right away. Not long ago, to his surprise he found out that others didn't use materia like he did. They didn't understand what it meant to become one with it and explore it. They simply found ways to trigger its secrets, but they didn't know the elements half as well as Sephy did. It disappointed him in a way. It was one thing not to have any friends to talk to about his spiritual experiences, but it was quite another to know that no one could ever understand regardless.

The ride on the ship was long, but Sephy loved every second of it. It was relaxing, and his glowing green eyes drank up every bit of the scenery. He never realized how beautiful nature was, especially after living in Midgar for so long. He thought he would be disappointed upon arriving in Junon, but he was wrong. It was very different from Midgar, and it was right on the shore. It was a huge, impressive military base with anything a soldier could ask for. Sephy was given a map and allowed to explore the area, and he watched all of the people as they passed him. Everyone looked so expressive and full of passion for their work here. In Midgar there was always a certain hopelessness in the air, but here, there was something different. Sephy realized it was the moral of the place. It was the strong belief in victory over whatever poor force wanted to get in their way.

When Sephy was done exploring he found the place he would be staying. It was a small dormitory, and to his surprise he was sharing it with many other boys. Well, he was the only boy. He was surrounded by young men. They glanced at him and greeted him, and were of course surprised to find that he was there for the same thing they were. They were surprised to find that this short young boy was thirteen years of age.

“Don’t worry,” one of them laughed, patting him on the back. “You’re just a late bloomer. You’ll grow! But what’s up with the hair?!”

“Hey! Look at his eyes!” another called out.

Soon Sephy found himself surrounded, with the young men staring into his eyes. One of them tried to shield Sephy’s eyes from any outside light.

“They glow! He’s already been treated!”

“No way?! Did it hurt, kid? Do you feel any stronger?”

“N…no,” Sephy began. “Well, I don’t remember any pain, but this was done years ago. I suppose I don’t feel any stronger either. I never really felt a difference….”

“I hope my treatment doesn’t hurt either,” one young man said, and the others agreed. “So why do you keep your hair long anyway?”

“It just grows really fast. And… Garamonde-sensei, my sword instructor, told me that it would be a good test to see if anyone could actually cut it off.”

The group of young men laughed, and Sephy’s eyes widened.

“I like that,” a few of them said, and many of them nodded in agreement.

Sephy blinked a few times as everyone went back to unpacking the few items they had. No one made fun of him or called him names or beat him up. People were acting so different towards him here. They reminded him of Dr. Gast. But Sephy knew better than to think much more about it. He knew they would forget him easily. He knew that if they all fought together, many of them would die… or they’d end up doing something horrible. Sephy closed his eyes as the images of the two little girls flashed in his head. Those two innocent girls in that video… the teen boys… the little kitten. Sephy saw little reason to get to know people if relationships and the people within them were so fragile. How did anything last in this world?

Sephy unpacked his things and rested on his bed. He closed his eyes and thought of the ocean, and he slipped into a peaceful sleep as the young men laughed innocently around him.

~~~~~~~~~~

It wouldn’t do to know much more about Sephy’s stay in Junon. In fact, it wasn’t much different from his stay in Midgar. There was endless training and more schooling. Sephy now had enough schooling to be a doctor, as well as a killer. He was provided more materia to and he learned more elements. He was taught more about different weapons, and taught even more about martial arts than he already knew. But Junon wasn’t as closed off as Midgar. And Sephy finally realized the truth. Hojo had lied to him all his life. All these years Sephy had tried so hard to please people since he was always made to feel as though he was behind the rest of the world in everything he did. But now he knew that he was being used, because he knew now that he was far ahead of much of the world. As soon as that realization hit it brought him more pain than ever. He was denied his childhood, his innocence, and normal interaction with others… and it was all for nothing. He was rushed into adulthood against his will, never realizing that no one else was forced to grow up so fast. Sephy looked around the dorm in the middle of his fourteenth year, and saw that some of the young men were still clinging to their precious toy soldiers. Had Sephy not been so conditioned to hold in every emotion, he would have fallen to pieces right there.

But there would soon be more to worry about than toys or lost innocence….

~~~~~~~~~~
Sephiroth: Age Fifteen
~~~~~~~~~~

Shallow breathing fell all around him as the fleet of ships closed in on the shore. A chill shot straight up his spine, but he kept still, staring at the dark shore and the mass of ships ahead of him. No one on his boat moved. They only watched the coming land as they drew near. The soldier next to him shifted and accidentally stepped on his foot.

"Sorry, kid," the young man whispered.

Kid. They still called him that. Then again, he still looked like one didn't he? Still short and thin, with his silver hair reaching past his backside. He sighed softly had tied his hair back. He decided to keep it long, even though everyone recommended that he cut it. After all, something in him wanted to see if anyone really could get close enough to cut it off.

The continent they were landing on looked so dark and quiet. It didn't seem as though anyone could be living there or waiting there. But they all knew that the people of Wutai were waiting to kill them. Sephy had no hate for these people, but he was taught that fighting in this war was for the good of everyone. But he couldn't help but think it all seemed so petty. The Shinra and the Wutai were basically having trade disputes. A large source of mako energy was found in the area, and both sides wanted to claim it. Sephy only shook his head, wondering why these people thought the planet was something to be fought over.

Sephy turned to glance at the soldiers behind him, and saw some of them jump as he did so. They chucked at each other softly and sighed in relief. It was the glow in Sephy's eyes that had startled them.

But then, there was another sound. The wind carried the sounds of gunshots to them. All of the soldiers froze on deck, watching and listening. The sounds were coming from one of the ships. The silence was broken altogether as a wave of screams rose into the air. More gunshots were being fired, and the soldiers on Sephy's ship watched the frightening scene as the lights and sounds from the shots seemed to spread from ship to ship. It was as if the destruction and the screaming was contagious. Not waiting for an answer to all of this, the commanding officers on deck ordered the soldiers to ready themselves. One of the boys not fro from Sephy shook with fear, and he ran to vomit over the railing.

Sephy didn't reach for his gun. Instead, he stood there, watching the ships closest to the one he was on. Soon the gunshots were being fired on the ships right next to them. Two ships in the massive fleet fired flares into the air.

"What the hell are they doing?!" one of the officers yelled out. "Anyone who could help them is here! How the hell did Wutai get here so fast over that terrain?!"

Sephy's eyes followed the flares as they were fired again. But when he looked up, he saw more than bright flares against the dark sky.

"Look!" Sephy yelled without thinking, pointing into the air.

The people around him looked into the sky as more flares went up.

"What the fuck...?!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"They weren't sending flares up to ask for help," Sephy muttered softly. "It's a warning."

Suddenly the soldiers on deck scattered as the dark shape Sephy had spotted descended on them. It landed on the center of the deck with a loud thud, and when it stood, it towered high above them all. One of the soldiers next to Sephy urinated on himself at the sight of the demon as it unfolded its large wings. But Sephy wasn't so much afraid as he was shocked. He had seen something like this before. A creature like this had saved his life one. That creature was Vincent.

Sephy stood there and waited for the creature to face him. And it did, very slowly. There was hate in its eyes, but Sephy could see that it wasn't Vincent. The creature's eyes were black rather than red, and there was something in them that Vincent lacked in his demonic form: control. This creature had come to them with the intention of killing them for the sake of Wutai. Hojo must have taken whatever secrets these people possessed in order to turn Vincent into a weapon. In these brief seconds Sephy wondered if the ShinRa had kept Vincent alive somewhere in order to send him to this war.

Suddenly Sephy realized that the gunshots and screams were dying down on the other ships. He hoped it was because the creatures were dead, not the crews or the soldiers on each ship. The boy next to him who now stood in his own urine seemed to notice the same thing, and he suddenly jumped ship. The sudden splash startled the demon-like creature, and he swiftly turned around. The creature’s sudden movements startled many of the soldiers, and soon, gunshots spread across Sephy's ship as well.

But Sephy found that he was frozen in place. It was true that this creature was here to kill them, but it was once a man, and it could be a man again. Sephy didn't want to kill him. But when blood flew through the air and when a soldier's gurgling head rolled in front of Sephy, the reality of the situation smacked him in the face. Sephy knew he had to fight, or he'd die in this place without feeling fulfilled. Just as the creature lifted two soldiers off the ground with the intention of crushing their skulls, Sephy ran up and sliced his dagger through the demon's wing.

"Drop them," Sephy said forcefully.

The creature whirled around, throwing the two men hard against the deck. Soldiers all around yelled at Sephy to get out of the way, but he held his ground, his glowing green eyes fixed on the demon. It didn't surprise him when the demon’s hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him from the deck. He gasped for air, and quickly placed his hands on the demon's thick wrist. Sephy's eyes closed slowly, and just when it seemed that he was dead, the demon roared in pain and threw Sephy to the deck. But the silver-haired boy sprang to his feet and grabbed the tip of the demon's wing. Again, the creature roared and tried to swat Sephy off of the ship. But with his quick reflexes, Sephy circled the demon and grasped the other wing. It took the other soldiers a while to realize that flames seemed to shoot out from Sephy's hands every time he touched the creature. But all Sephy could hope to do was drive the creature away with his fire, because any other attack could put the ship and the rest of the crew in danger.

As he had hoped, the creature flapped it's massive wings and rose into the air above the ship. After receiving many burns it hovered above the ship for a moment before setting out for land again.

"Destroy it!" one of the superior officers yelled out.

Sephy hesitated only a second, for following orders was like second nature to him. To do otherwise would mean he was a bad soldier. His eyes followed the demon as it rose into the air, and with great concentration he brought forth a powerful burst of lightning that seemed to come out of no where in the cloudless sky before hitting the wounded demon. Sephy saw to it that the bolt was large, and the death very quick. And although the creature was a demon in the sky, it was nothing more than a young Wutai youth when it hit the water. With the task complete, Sephy sank to his knees and watched as the waves claimed the body.

He hardly heard the cheers that burst into the air from his ship and some of the ships closest to it. He didn't feel as though he did something that deserved congratulations. He only watched the water, and waited for this event to pass before the soldiers were ordered to go on shore.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sephy walked slowly through the darkness with the rest of his group. His eyes created an eerie glow that made some of the soldiers nervous, and comforted the rest. It was pitch black as they made their way over the rocky terrain. But Sephy knew the Wutai had to be planning something. It was a huge continent, and it would take forever for them to actually reach the great city where the Wutai lived, but the Wutai had to know that this massive group of soldiers was after them. Sephy kept reminding himself that it was for the good of the people all over the world. It was for the good of exploration and strength through the planet’s energy. But at the same time, he asked himself why the planet should be fought over. No one should own it.

Suddenly Sephy stopped and looked around. "What was that?" he said in as soft a voice as he could manage.

"Keep moving," someone told him.

Sephy started forward again, but again stopped and looked around. "That sound.... Someone is here...."

"It's your imagination. Nerves," a friendly young man whispered to him. "We'd see them coming a mile away if they--"

Sephy pulled the young man out of the way and ducked just in time before the storm of razor sharp metal stars rained down. Sephy looked up to see the large shuriken that were now lodged into the rocks. Just as they had on the ship, many of the troops tried to scatter. But there was no where to go. They were surrounded by rocks and mountains now.

"You are surrounded! Advance no further!" a Wutai man called out. "If you advance, you will all be killed!"

Night vision goggles and other forms of equipment weren't picking anyone up.

"Materia," Sephy whispered. "They're using a cold element to somehow block their heat signature. But it must be killing them...."

"The Wutai will do anything to protect their own," the young man with Sephy said softly. "That's why they've been so isolated all these years."

Another storm of shuriken rained down from the cliffs and hit dozens of soldiers. The people throwing them had deadly accuracy. Sephy watched with wide eyes as the horrified soldiers tried to pull the metal out of their bodies, only to cause the blood to gush even faster. Some men screamed as the lethal stars pierced their eyes. Upon realizing that whoever was attacking them was had moved further down the cliffs above them, Sephy dashed forward, pushing past the people at the front of the line. He made it out into a clearing, and even from this far distance he could now see Wutai people moving around on mountain paths that weren't visible from the angle the troops had entered from.

To Sephy's surprise, gunshots erupted behind him. He whipped around to see several ShinRa soldiers firing at the Wutai attackers who continued to assault the soldiers in the mountains. Finally more shots came, and Sephy realized that ShinRa soldiers blanketed the area ahead of him. Sephy's group must have been among the last to get there.

"There they are! Fire! Fire!" people called out behind him.

"Good job spotting them, kid," another said.

Sephy heard the compliment, but it didn't register with him. Needless to say, he was too busy getting out of the way of the hail of bullets. He made it to a safe place and looked around. He turned towards the direction of Wutai, and in the distance, he saw fire and the lights from guns. It was still so far away, but at the same time... so close.

There it is, dear Sephiroth, came her voice. You should really stop running around and start killing some of those wrenched creatures.

"But... I can't. I can't do anything! All I'm good for is running away!"

You can do it. Just take out your gun and--"

"I hate guns! They aren't honorable at all! No one has a fair chance with a gun! And they don't respect a person's talent if that person can only fire a bullet at someone! I've read about honorable battles. Why can't they exist now?"

Humans aren't honorable, Sephiroth. There is no reason to give them a fair chance at anything.

"What do you know about it?!"

I know that you must kill them if you want to get out of here and save many more lives.

Sephy said nothing more to her. He only looked far into the distance as Wutai was lit up with more and more flames.

~~~~~~~~~~
Age Sixteen
~~~~~~~~~~

Sephy made his way back to the camp and went to his tent to rest. He was covered with blood, but he didn't care. He managed to get too close to some Wutai explosives. Even hours after it happened, people still stared at him in disbelief because he still had all of his limbs. His body was already healing the wounds covering his body, and despite the pain, he walked around as if nothing happened. He had learned to act as though the pain wasn't bothering him.

"Hey shorty," one of the guys in his tent greeted him. "Damn! You look like shit!"

"I am aware of my appearance, thank you," Sephy said. He didn't say it harshly though, and he wasn't overly blunt. Sephy was actually very polite and calm at every second.

"Hey, don't lie down or anything," the young man said. "There's something you might want to see. Come with me."

"It's getting dark. We should--"

"We won't be gone long! No one will know we left!"

Sephy nodded and followed the young man outside. To his surprise, the young man led him behind the tent and through a thick mass of trees. Then, they entered a cave. The young man carried a lantern with him as they walked further and further in.

"I don't think it's wise to be in an uncharted cavern," Sephy said softly.

"Well, think about it," the young man smirked. "The camp is so close, right? Well what if some dirty Wutai were hiding in here and waiting to kill us? It's a good thing we found the place. Besides, we already took a look around before you came."

"What is so important then?"

Sephy heard a scream and he suddenly dashed ahead. He ran quickly, and he realized that the cavern was getting lighter. More lanterns were situated inside. In moments he found himself in a large open space deep inside, and he nearly crashed into a few more boys from his tent.

"Hey, Sephiroth!" one of the boys yelled. "You're here too! Big surprise! Hey... you look like shit!"

Sephy blinked. "I heard a scream."

"Was it that loud?" another young man said nervously.

"Loud enough for me to hear further up in the--"

"See bitch," Sephy heard someone say. "What did we tell you about screaming?!"

Sephy turned to see one of the young men as he pinned a young Wutai girl to the ground, his hand over her mouth.

"What... is going on?" Sephy asked, approaching him.

"Hey, hey!" one of the other boys laughed. "You have to wait your turn!"

Sephy looked around at the five boys. "I assume this girl is a prisoner of war. There is no reason to treat her unjustly. She has already been captured and disarmed."

"They like being treated unjustly..." one young man chuckled.

Then another scream ripped through the air. Sephiroth turned to a much darker part of the cave to see a sixth soldier plunge himself into another Wutai girl, penetrating her anally. She cried as he bent her over a large rock and raped her. He heard laughter behind him as some of the boys encouraged the young man to hurt her more and more. Sephy took a couple steps toward him before he felt a gun touch the back of his head.

"Do you have a problem, Seph?" one of the soldiers behind him asked. "What do you care anyway? They're just Wutai trash."

"I'm not able to see any great distinction from the Wutai and anyone in the Shinra. Nothing that would justify what you're doing now."

Sephy started to take another step forward.

"I will shoot you," the young man behind him said. "I'll spray your brains all over this cave. Not even you can heal from that."

The girl wailed in pain, and the man behind her groaned as he continued to thrust into her.

"You might as well shoot me," Sephy said, advancing for the rapist. "If I make it out of here, I will report you all. So shoot, or leave now. Either way, these girls go free."

And then a shot rang out, but Sephy remained unharmed. He looked up and let his eyes focus on the darkness in front of him. The girl was no longer moving as the soldier pumped into her. Sephy already knew that she was dead. Her blood and bits of brain matter lined the rocks. The soldier had shot her, and was now continuing to fuck her dead body. Her anus tightened as she died, and he groaned with pleasure as he came. He pulled out and left her body bent over the rock.

Oh calm down, Sephiroth, his self-proclaimed guardian angel said suddenly. Why are you so angry? She was a disgusting little slut. She deserved to die.

Her words only filled him with more anger. With a speed that none of the other soldiers could detect he seemed to disappear from view.

"Get away from her," they heard him say forcefully.

The soldiers turned to see that he had somehow managed to move behind them, and he was now pointing his gun at the one who was toying with the other girl.

"Get away... now," he said again. This time, the young man got up, and the girl scrambled and moved away from them.

"He won't shoot," one of them said. "He's the biggest pussy on the battlefield."

The glow in Sephy's green eyes started to intensify. His eyes held all of his emotion, because the rest of him was trained to hide it.

"Leave this place," Sephy said softly. "Please."

"What did I tell you guys?" one of the young men said, approaching Sephy without fear. "Biggest pussy on the field."

The young man's fist suddenly shot through the air, but to everyone's surprise, Sephy caught the young man's hand before it connected with his jaw. The young man suddenly started to cry out, sinking to his knees slowly. Sephy's gaze pierced him like a sword as he effortlessly started to crush the young man's hand. But he stopped before any bones broke. Suddenly some of the items the boys had dropped started to catch fire. They looked around in confusion, and soon parts of their clothes and hair started to spark a bit. Their eyes fell back on Sephy.

"I asked you to leave!" Sephy yelled. "Or do you want to die here?!"

Sephy caused one of the lanterns to explode in the corner of the cave, and the group of young men took off running in fear. It was a while before their footsteps could no longer be heard. Sephy sighed and glanced at the body of the dead girl. He slowly walked over to her and pulled her from the rock. He laid her down carefully. He wished he could bury her or at least place a sheet over the body, but there was nothing he could do for her now. He had no idea where she lived, and even if he did, he couldn't be seen with a dead, naked Wutai girl. He didn't want the Wutai to think that he killed her in cold blood, and his superior officers might think he raped her. But most of all... he didn't want anyone to see her like this. He didn't think she would want that.

Suddenly Sephy's eyes snapped open when he remembered the second girl. It's not that he forgot her, but he did forget the fact that she hadn't run out of the cave or escaped. She was still here... and one thing you should never do is turn your back on someone who is at war with you....

Sephy whirled around, right in time for the shot to graze his shoulder. The sound of the gun echoed through the air in the cave. He backed against the wall slowly as the Wutai girl pointed a gun at him.

"Miss please," he said gently, holding his hand out. "I mean you no harm. Give me the gun and everything will be okay. If you kill me it will only make things worse for the Wutai."

The girl was shaking violently, and she looked down at her dead friend. Her hateful eyes moved back to Sephy slowly. He knew that she would pull that trigger. He glanced at the dead body lying not far from them. The poor innocent girl was raped and murdered. She had nothing to do with any of this, did she? Sephy's green eyes fell back on the girl with the gun. He slowly walked up to her, and with a burst of his lightning fast speed, he was in front of her in no time.

"You have been wronged," he said softly as he took her wrist gently and led her hand up so that the poi pointed straight at his forehead. "I would do anything to give you back your innocence. All of you. If your hate would end here, satisfied, I would give my life."

He closed his eyes and his features remained relaxed. His hand slowly fell from the girl's wrist and left her pointing the gun at his head. He could feel the gun shaking, and the girl's sobbing rang in his ears.

His eyes opened on their own when the shot was fired. The girl fell against him, the gun falling from her hand. He shook his head slightly and then closed his eyes, regaining himself. She had the chance to kill him, but instead she took her own life. Why didn't she try to escape? Why didn't she shoot him? Why did she pierce her own brain with that bullet? Sephy rested her next to the other girl, and found that he couldn't take his eyes off of them. And finally he saw something that he the shadows of the cave and the commotion had hidden from him. They were twins.... Sisters....

Sephy stood up slowly after a long while. He pulled out a knife and cut off some of his silver hair. Not much though. No one would notice it was missing. He rested the strands between the girls.

"You could have come close to cutting it off," he said softly. "I would have let you."

His face held no emotion as he walked out of the cave. He cleaned off quickly, then went to his tent and flopped down onto his cot to sleep. The other boys watched him with anger and fear. But no one did anything.

"Oh yes," Sephy said suddenly, startling them all before they could fall asleep. "First and foremost, I have reported you. Second, if I catch any of you hurting another human or creature in your entire lifetime, I will kill you."

Silence then fell over the room for the rest of the night. But the silence was loud in the ears of the other soldiers. Sephy dozed off finally, dreaming of what the twins would have been like if Wutai still had its innocence.


~*~*~*To Be Continued*~*~*~