Final Fantasy VII: Sea Spray ( a tale of romantic obsession) Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. I ain't gettin' paid. Warning: Very strange. Pairing: Priscilla and Sephiroth ( I told you it was strange.) Rating: PG-13 (for language and mild violence.) Archive: Sure! ------------------------------------------------- -Chapter One- Still slumbering within its mako coccoon, Sephiroth's body finally completed its regeneration. Only a week earlier, it had been barely more than half-complete. But the additional energy coursing through Mt. Gaea for the past seven days had sped up the process over a hundred-fold. The increased speed of the regeneration was not without its consequences. Sephiroth's muscles, while full formed, did not have time to strengthen properly. When the coccoon dissolved, leaving him lying on the floor of the crater, Sephiroth lay there, shivering and naked. Although he was still quite powerful, the extended lack of use of his original body left him feeling weak and clumsy. Both of these were feelings he did not enjoy. Still, he was alive. The awkwardness would pass eventually. Still blind from the extended time he'd spent in stasis, and shaking violently as his body tried to warm itself, he made his way, inch by freezing inch, down the side of Mt. Gaea. He knew he should wait until he was stronger. He also knew that time was against him now and he no longer had that luxury. About half-way down the crater, he stumbled over the body of one of his clones. Running his hands over the body, he discovered it was one of the Class One clones, one of those rare ones whose body duplicated his exactly. He liked those clones far better than the embarrassingly stooped ones who went around mumbling incoherently and wearing rags all the time. "That guy in the pipe was a real loser," he recalled as he stripped the dead clone. He dressed himself in the dead man's black leather pants. 'Thanks," he told his double. He had no materia or means of disposing of the body, so he buried it under the snow and continued on his way. He still hadn't worked out where he was going. Location was not as important as climate. "Let's just find someplace that's not ridiculously cold." he decided. Once he was healed, he knew, his body would be able to withstand any temperature. For now he was like an unloaded gun; potentialy deadly, but not much of a threat in his current state. Reaching the base of Mt. Gaea at the wee hours of the morning, Sephiroth made his way across the frozen wastes. "If I just keep walking in a straight line, I should be okay," he told himself, refusing to let his blindness deter him from his goal. He couldn't tell if his eyes were getting better, but he doubted they'd improve much as long as he was in the bitter cold he now found himself in. "It'd be easier if I could see where I was going." He didn't know how long he'd been walking when he collided with something large. He touched it, tentatively, and recoiled in horror. It was a very large dragon. He waited for the inevitable attack. In his current condition, there was no way he could survive. Nothing happened. He touched it, again, still tentatively at first, then with more assured movements. It was dead. "That's a relief," he told himself as he continued on his way. About forty-five minutes later, he reached another obstacle. This one was flat-edged, with a rough surface that seemed somehow familiar. "It's concrete." he told himself. "A wall. I've found a town, it would seem. Pity its in such a cold location. This is defintely not where I'm going to stay. Only an idiot would live in a place as cold as this." *WARK!* Sephiroth followed the sound to the chocobo stables. "I should find a golden chocobo." he decided. "That would make my journey far easier." He touched each chocobo, feeling for the semi-electrical warmth the golden ones emanated. "No," he shook his head, each time his hands touched an ordinary chocobo. After about twenty birds he was about to give up when he felt the tell-tale warmth. Unhitching it from its post, he climbed astride it and spurred it into motion. The bird dashed off at top speed with Sephiroth hanging on for dear life as it tried to throw him off. He finally got it under control after almost an hour. By that time he was nearing Junon Harbor. He raced the bird up the electrified pipes that jutted up to the Shinra-owned city, ignoring the bird's dying screams as the currents running through its body cooked it alive. His own body was naturally immune to the charge, but it he was still too weak to climb the pipes on his own. At the top of the pipes the feel of wind and the distant but still-detectable ocean-scent told him that Junon was gone. "What happened?" he asked himself in awe. "Of course, the Junon Cannon! So, that's where that energy came from! But who sent it? And why?" He heard the hum of a hydrolic engine and realized the elevator down must still be there. He decided he was more likely to get his answers in the town below and made his way over to it, ignoring the wave of dizziness that swept over him. He climbed onto the elevator and made his way back down to ground level. As he was stepping off, another wave of dizziness hit and he tripped over the threshold of the elevator door, striking his forehead on a crate as he fell. ***** Several hundred miles away, Elena of the Turks lay in her bed, sobbing and holding her swollen stomach. She was still a virgin, saving herself for Tseng. But he would never believe that now. When she'd gone to Hojo's lab, he'd been holding a long needle and smiling. *****FLASHBACK***** "Its a mako injection." he had told her. "It'll make you faster and stronger. You're in love with your boss, aren't you?" "Tseng? Yes," Elena had blushed. "but I'm so slow and clumsy sometimes. So he never notices me." "Well, this will take care of that." Hojo had said as he'd injected it into her abdomen. *****END FLASHBACK***** She realized she should've questioned why he didn't inject it into her arm. But at the time, she'd just assumed it was because he loved doing things differently from other scientists. "What am I carrying?" With Hojo giving the injection she had no idea if it were human or animal. She hadn't even realized she was pregnant until it was far too late to stop it. When her periods had stopped, she'd taken their cessation for early menopause and had wept at the idea that she would never bear a child. Now she wished with all her heart that such had been the case. ***** "Here you go," a cheerful voice announced. "some nice fresh soup. Eat it all up." Sephiroth opened his eyes and was relieved that they seemed to be working now. He wished they had picked someone prettier to look at. The girl offering him soup wasn't ugly. But she was excessively plain. He'd never seen anyone as ordinary-looking as her. Definitely not the type of person a man of his stature would associate with. "My name's Priscilla," she told him. Sephiroth pushed the offered soup away, but the girl wasn't about to give up so easily. "You have to get all better so you won't pass out at our wedding." she explained, pushing a spoonful of soup into her mouth. Sephiroth nearly choked in surprise, somehow managing to swallow the soup rather than spit it out. It didn't taste too bad, he had to admit. It was certainly easier for him to stomach than the girl's ridiculous statement. "Why should I marry you?" "Well, you obviously need looking after." Priscilla told him. "You can't even get off an elevator without ending up unconscious." "I wouldn't have gotten hurt if it had been made properly." "The elevator is fine," Priscilla informed him, "even if Shinra did make it. Not everything Shinra creates goes to pieces like Sephiroth." Sephiroth realized she had no idea who he was. "Excuse me?" he glared. "I happen to be Sephiroth!" "Of course you are." Priscilla said, not believing him for one minute. "Even so, you need someone to look after you. I bet you haven't had a decent meal in a long time. Or a decent night's sleep for that matter." Sephiroth let out an exasperated sigh. "Now, just a minute!" he protested. Priscilla gave him a short, chaste kiss on his nose. "Finish your soup." she told him. "And when you're done, you can give me your clothes." "WHAT?!" "I'm doing laundry today, so I might as well clean the stuff you're wearing. You'll have to wrap a blanket around yourself until they're done, though. None of my things would fit you." "Now, just a minute here!" Sephiroth began, but Priscilla walked out of the room. "Do *not* ignore me." "You seem tense," Priscilla told him, "so I'm going to run you a nice warm bath. That way you can relax while I wash your clothes." Sephiroth made a slight noise to indicate just how annoyed he was and was rewarded with another kiss on the nose.