A/N: To those that might be dissuaded from reading further because of a lack of Sephiroth in the first two chapters: let me assure you that our favorite silver-haired villain will be appearing soon and that half of the story will be written from his perspective.
Please review. Every single review means the world to authors, especially new ones. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Sephiroth, Final Fantasy 7, its characters and ideas are property of Squaresoft Inc.
Heaven, 9th plane:
“No way! I absolutely refuse!” came an angry shout from around the corner.
“He’s redeemable, I’m sure of it. Just give him a chance!” a softer voice replied, attempting to sound convincing.
“Are you mad?” questioned the first voice incredulously, “The man almost annihilated an entire planet! Not to mention all the people he actually killed. He even killed that girl, what was her name? Oh, Aeris.”
“But it wasn’t his fault!” the other agued vehemently, her voice rising in intensity, “Just look at the man’s childhood. He was raised by Hojo for Heaven’s sake! And then Jenova came along. I’m telling you, he can’t be blamed.”
The girl had been walking down the hall away from the voices, but upon hearing the growing argument, she quickly turned around and walked in that direction. Leaning against the wall out of sight, she listened and wondered what was going on.
“Well fine. If you think he can’t be blamed, then why don’t you take on this job yourself?”
There came a sigh, “You know this is out of my domain. That’s why I’m here talking to you. I had hoped you’d be a little more open minded.”
“Well, I’m very sorry to disappoint you,” the female voice responded, actually sounding sincere, “But I don’t think he can be redeemed. Besides, I’m too busy dealing with other, more likely souls.”
“You’re the Goddess of Redemption. Of course you’re very busy. But surely you have someone who could do the job!”
Now the girl’s curiosity was fully stimulated. Who was this man they spoke of? Almost destroyed a whole planet? That meant a lot of bad karma. But that woman believed he could be saved. This could be her big chance! If she brought this guy through she could finally prove her value to her superiors! She had to find out who the man was.
Cautiously, she stepped away from the wall and made her way over to the two women around the corner. She didn’t want to have a sudden klutz attack now. That would be really embarrassing.
She stopped suddenly.
Okay… she had known that one of the women was Ilcaliaz, Goddess of Redemption, but still she had not realized how thoroughly outclassed she was at the moment. Two first class Goddesses stood before her in all their majestic glory. Oh dear.
Was it too late to slip away? Maybe they hadn’t seen her yet. Oh heaven, where did the idea come from that they would give her a mission?
Then they noticed her.
“Yes?” Ilcaliaz asked coolly.
Trapped. Now what? She had just interrupted the conversation of two first class Goddesses. She started to sweat.
“Uh, well, I…” she trailed off, trying to swallow inconspicuously. She fought the urge to run away right then and there. You’d think that seeing absolute perfection all the time would make you get used to it. If only that were true.
“Yes?” the Goddess repeated impatiently, obviously not too happy about this sudden intrusion.
Come on girl, she gave herself a silent pep talk, she’s not going to eat you. You’re offering your services. The worst that can happen is a no. “I was walking, and well, I heard Your Graces talking, and, uh-”
Oh, how very eloquent! She yelled at herself. Just spit it out already! Oh wow, could I be any more nervous?
She took a deep breath to calm herself, “You mentioned a man that might be redeemed?” She shifted uneasily, “And, well, I was wondering if…”
“What an excellent idea!” the other Goddess exclaimed excitedly. She knew that Ilcaliaz had been about to dismiss the subject. Any agent was better than no agent.
Ilcaliaz shot a skeptical glance in her companion’s direction. She certainly did not think it was an excellent idea. “Charissialla, I still don’t think that he’s likely to succeed.”
“I assure you, all he needs is a chance and a bit of guidance,” Charissialla insisted, “So child, what is your name?”
It took the girl a few seconds to realize that she had been asked a question. She blinked a few times, shaking herself from her amazed, wide-eyed staring at the beautiful woman before her. Had she heard that right? Or was she hallucinating? Did it actually sound as if they were going to give her the job?
“M-my name is Marianna,” she answered tentatively, feeling dazed.
“Marianna,” the Goddess repeated, testing the sound of the name. “Do you feel up to the challenge?”
Ilcaliaz crossed her arms as she appraised the girl before her. “Where do you work?” she asked.
“Observation level, section thera,” Marianna responded, feeling slightly more confident in the presence of the two deities now that it looked as if she would be approved.
“Ah yes, you monitor universes for demonic intervention,” Ilcaliaz paused, deciding how important the girl was.
“You see, she’s perfect. You won’t have to transfer or relocate any of your agents and you can easily find someone to temporarily fill in her job,” the other Goddess stated.
How wonderful, Marianna thought to herself dryly, it’s always good to know just how important you are.
Ilcaliaz sighed. “Very well. I suppose there’s nothing to lose. A soul is a soul after all and duty dictates we do all we can to help those led astray.”
The Goddess of Redemption waved her perfectly shaped hand at the girl and a thick folder appeared in her hands along with a small black box.
“Go on. You are to read everything in that folder tonight. Tomorrow you will be sent to fetch him. When you are ready, the two of you will go to a world of my choosing where he can prove himself to be a new man. You are dismissed.”
Marianna dropped into a deep curtsy and hurried away, anxious to begin reading about this strange man that had suddenly become her charge. She could hardly believe it! She was going on a real mission! And she was determined to succeed, no matter what the cost.
Curiosity burned at her heart as she pondered about this mysterious man. Who could he be that he could cause such an argument between two Goddesses? He must be someone of great importance.
She quickened her pace and practically ran through the flawless marble hallway in her rush to begin reading about the man. This was her big chance and she most certainly couldn’t afford to blow it.
A/N: Well? What did you think? I’m really sorry if this chapter kinda sucked. It’s the intro, and I assure you that it’ll get more interesting. R and R!
~Lady Sanzennine~