Chapter Text
He seeks to hurt me- hurt us! Defeat him, my son!
Up until that point, his mind had been fogged over, like frosted glass in a blizzard. All he could feel was a strange warmth enveloping his being in what must have been a motherly hug - after all, She was his Mother. She had first spoken with him not too long ago, told him of what the townspeople had tried to do to Her.
It didn’t matter now. They were gone and Mother was safe. He should listen to Her, get rid of this-
Pain lances through his mind as something deep, deep inside his soul denies this. He couldn’t hurt Zack, and Zack would never hurt him.
So why…?
Defeat him, eliminate him, take him down! He seeks to stop us - to kill us! She speaks again, and the pain comes back. “You must be mistaken! He would never hurt me, Mother! He would never hurt you!” He begs. Though his mind is fogged, so consumed by his Mother’s love he can hardly consider a thing else, his soul knows that Zack would never .
He shall betray you just as those others did! Do you not see how he fights you? How he tries to slay you even now?
The thought of Zack - kind Zack, the charming puppy - trying to kill him draws his attention to the ongoing battle. When did he start fighting?
He doesn’t know.
Before his sword can hit what’s sure to be a debilitating, if not deadly, strike, he draws back. “Zack…? What- I don’t…”
It's just a moment until he’s provided with an answer. “Seph! …You’re yourself again, right? Not going to try and burn down more towns?” Zack pauses, breathing heavily.
My son! He’s trying to trick you, to ruin you! Kill him now!
“He won’t, Mother. We can… trust him.” He pleads, barely managing to get it out around the fog and the pain and the sheer, utter confusion. Just what happened? He burned down a town? Are the people alright?
When his knees buckle under him as his mind flares in agony, Zack catches him before he can hit the ground. “Woah now, don’t go hurting yourself. I’m guessing you’re talking to that… lady up there?”
That lady? Is he talking about Mother? The moment the thought crosses his mind, the pain worsens. He can hear Her screaming at him, telling him to take down Zack, but… he can’t bring himself to even consider the thought. How could he ever hurt him, the one person who has stuck with him through everything. Who continues to help him even though he apparently burned down a town.
The boy has always been unflinchingly loyal to the people he cares about. Up until the man's last breath, he never wanted to hurt Angeal. Even despite everything he did, he was still willing to try and help Genesis because Sephiroth wanted his friend back.
Slay him, my son! Kill-
No . He won’t hurt Zack. Even if it means he has to defy her.
The pain recedes for a moment, and he can vaguely make out that the boy’s trying to say something to him, but before he can respond or even attempt to decipher what he’s saying a wave of agony crashes down on every fiber of his being. He thinks he’s screaming.
He can’t tell.
Between the pain, he reaches for Zack. He needs something to ground him, something he knows. Someone he holds so very dear to his heart. The boy reaches back, and he shakily buries his face in his shoulder. Mother screams with rage, the pain ebbing and flowing as her presence weakens and strengthens and weakens again.
It’s like being torn in half.
“Shit, Seph! Breathe with me, man. What’s wrong?”
He gasps, barely managing to choke something out. “Mother won’t- I don't want to- hurts-” It’s barely coherent, but Zack seems to get the gist of it. “She’s doing this to you?” He nods. That’s all he can do, at this point.
The warm arms that are the only things separating him from oblivion vanish for a moment. In that moment, her screams of rage turn into ones of agony and the pain finally soothes down into something more manageable.
A glance to the side shows the buster sword pierced straight through the glass, straight through Mother. Strangely enough, he doesn’t mind as much as he thought he would.
Zack rushes back down to him, pulling him back into his arms. “You feeling any better, bud? Thought it would be easiest to just… take the direct route.”
Humming, he watches the trails of mako on the side of the reactor as they climb up the walls. He doesn’t think he has the energy to do much more, honestly.
Wait.
Mako shouldn’t be…
The boy seems to have noticed something too. “Hey, Seph? Is it just me or is the mako coming towards us? Really fast?”
He doesn’t wait for an answer, going to pick Sephiroth up and carry him outside. He barely manages a few steps before his legs buckle underneath him. “Dammit. Just my luck. Hey, how much do you wanna bet it’s after the uh… thing in the tank? I hope it’s after the thing in the tank.”
A few of the trails do break off to surround Mother, but the majority of them continue their approach until they’re fully surrounded. Once that happens, they reach up and start to pull at something inside them, each touch to their skin seeming to sink deep within their bones, leeching the last of their energy away.
The last thing Sephiroth hears before succumbing to their gentle touch is Zack cursing under his breath.
The next thing he sees is the fading form of the Ifrit summon, slayed by his blade. The hushed ambiance of the Wutai jungle is the next thing he notes, and it’s only then that his mind lurches into awareness. He remembers this. It’s when Angeal defected and abandoned him and Zack.
The name is on the tip of his tongue as he snaps around, and there the boy is, pulling himself shakily onto his feet. Though his body is the mere sixteen it was during the mission, the eyes that meet his own are anything but.
“Zackary. What’s the last thing you remember?”
Whatever this is - a hallucination caused by the mako or, by some unimaginable twist of fate, the real, genuine past, he needs to know if he’s alone.
Please, don’t let me be alone, he prays to the Planet in a hushed whisper.
“Nibelheim. Seph, what happened?”