Hindsight: Chapter 4

Rabanastre, 1793 A.D.

"You there."

The boy didn't look up. Shivering from the cold, he huddled closer to the small fire he had created out of twigs and dirt. Sighing softly, the man knelt down and looked the young boy in the eyes.

"That won't last you the winter. If you continue to sit here like this, you'll die before nightfall. Why are you here?"

"I don't have any place to go." The boy whimpered gently. "My mom and dad are gone."

"I see." The man replied before climbing to his feet. "And not a scrap of food or warmth to nourish you. How sad."

"I can take care of myself." The boy replied, before what little of a fire he had left flickered and fizzled out. "Oh no!"

The man could only watch as the boy desperately used two burned out twigs to attempt to start another fire before throwing the frail pieces of wood to the side. He shivered in fear and from the cold. Taking off his heavy jacket and placing it over the boy, the man held out a hand.

"Come with me. I'll take care of you."

Surprised and overjoyed, the boy leapt to his feet and hugged the man's leg tightly, sobbing into the fabric.

"What's your name, child?"

"Sora." The little boy sniffled. "What about you?"

Smiling, the man ruffled the child's hair. "Sephiroth."

-------

Sephiroth... this can't be you.

It can't.

What happened?

Why did you give into the darkness?

Why did you--

"Sora, fight!" Nanaki screamed over to his hazel-haired companion, but the boy was frozen in place, swords held up to defend against any attacks.

"I... I..." Sora stammered, backing away slightly.

Sephiroth charged after him, howling errily as he readied his claws. The force of the blow connected with the twin swords, and the hazel-haired warrior grunted as he was knocked back. His reflexes were shot. All he could do was defend.

A shrill screech suddenly caught his attention, and the corrupted aeon was knocked to the side by a mighty Firaga blast. Sephiroth clambered back to his feet and snarled viciously.

"Sora, come on! We can't hold him off like this!" Namine cried.

"I can't fight him... I can't kill my comrade..." Sora muttered, trembling. "I-I won't..."

Before another word could be said, Sephiroth lunged at the White Mage. Namine swung at the creature with her mallet, the heavy wood colliding with its head and knocking it to the ground.

Nanaki backed up to the warrior's side. "He's not your comrade. Not anymore. He's a corrupted aeon that needs to be stopped."

Still trembling, Sora held up his two swords and focused on the chilling energy radiating from the former Immortal. It felt dark and evil, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Nanaki was right. This wasn't Sephiroth. Not anymore.

The aeon suddenly leapt to its feet, and into the air, teeth bared and claws extended. Namine gasped and pulled up her mallet, squeezing her eyes shut and bracing for the impact.

A couple of seconds passed. Nothing.

Opening her eyes once again, she found Sora about two feet in front of her with both Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi stabbed into the creature's chest. It moaned in gutteral pain and withdrew from the pair as Sora yanked the swords out and slashed at the aeon.

"You're not him." Sora hissed, the angriest anyone had heard him yet. "The Sephiroth I knew would never harm an innocent."

The creature fell back, but that didn't stop Sora. The hazel-haired warrior charged after it, slashing with his two swords again, and again, and again. Each blow brought along a shrill screech of pain, but Sora didn't even seem to hear it.

"Sephiroth was brave and true! He defended everyone! Everyone! You're not him! You can't be him!"

As the three travelers witnessed the onslaught, a worried look passed Namine's face.

"Something's wrong."

Slash. Slash. Slash. There was no escape. At that moment, even Sora's face twisted in pain. The glowing of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi died, and the two swords clattered to the ground. Sephiroth, completely sliced up beyond recognition, dispersed in a flurry of pyreflies. The hazel-haired warrior clutched his head in agony and crashed to his knees. Neon markings crawled up on the entire left side of his body, and he cried out in pain.

"It's happening again!" Nanaki shouted in panic and rushed up to the Immortal's side, Riku, Namine, and Axel not a second behind.

"What's happening?" Namine called back over Sora's cries.

"T-The... curse..." The warrior groaned hoarsely. "Stop it... please..."

"You'll have to do it, Namine. Only a White Mage can stop it." Nanaki spoke softly.

"But... but, how?"

"Just put your hand on his back and concentrate."

Nodding, the mage placed her hand upon the groaning Immortal's back and concentrated her magic on breaking the spell. Slowly, but surely, the neon markings faded and began to recede. The warrior relaxed, still breathing heavily from the pain.

"What was that?" Riku asked.

"Punishment." Nanaki replied simply.

"Punishment? What'd he do wrong?" Namine asked, still confused.

"There was a reason for Immortals to never show signs of intense emotion during battle." Nanaki explained. "When an Immortal is inaugurated, a curse is placed upon them to react to severe stress and emotion. They're to never let any pain or sorrow get the best of them during battle which could be detrimental to the success of their mission, or else they're punished with excurciating pain leveled with the amount of stress they're undergoing to remind them of their task."

"You said it happened 'again'." Riku stated simply.

"It happens once or twice to every Immortal when they first start out. None of them are ever told of the curse and most find out on their own." Nanaki looked down at Sora, who still seemed to be collecting himself. "He was young. Within a few days of being inaugurated, on his first mission, he witnessed a horrible onslaught which put him under a blinding rage. This was the first time the curse got the better of him, and would've most likely killed him, hadn't there been a White Mage around to keep them all in check."

"But this time, it was more personal. Right?" Namine asked the lion-like creature.

"Yes." Sora replied hoarsely, picking himself off the ground lethargically. "I never thought I'd ever have to kill an ally... ugh. I just hope I never have to do it again." The warrior groaned and stumbled to his feet. "Hate it when that happens." He grumbled, rubbing his head.

"So... that's it? He's gone?" Riku asked, looking around.

"Yep. Psycho-Sora: 1, Even more Psycho-Sephiroth: 0." Axel commented, a smirk on his face, earning a well-deserved glare from said 'psycho'. "Just remind me to never get that kid in a pissy mood if I plan on keeping my limbs."

"Who are you to gloat? You didn't even do anything." Namine snapped.

"Morale support?"

"Anyway, Nanaki. Is there any way to break the curse?"

"You would need to find someone extremely skilled in powerful magics who would know all about it, but since Ansem and Sora's supposed 'deaths', the need to inaugurate new Immortals has vanished. The curse spell has been forgotten by many."

"Someone extremely skilled in magic, huh?" Riku pondered.

"What's with that tone, Riku?" Sora asked. "Do you have someone in mind?"

"Namine, what about the King?"

"Oh yeah, that's right! The King's skilled in magic, maybe he'd know!" Namine exclaimed happily.

"King?" Sora echoed.

"King Mickey!" Both exclaimed.

Axel, Nanaki, and Sora just stood there blankly.

"That was creepy." Axel muttered.

"But, wait. Isn't it against the law to break an Immortal's curse?" Sora asked his two conrades worriedly. "You could get caught or executed or--"

"That was 200 years ago, Sora." Namine giggled. "Old news."

"But what about Ansem?"

"Think of it this way." Riku began. "Without the curse, nothing's holding you back. You'll be able to beat him for real this time."

Sora thought about this for a moment. By breaking the seal, he could gain unlimited power he couldn't possibly have hoped to gain before. But, on the other hand, it meant breaking the law he was accostumed to. That all Immortals were accostumed to. Decisions, decisions...

"I'll do it." The hazel-haired warrior nodded. "I'll get rid of the curse."

"So, then! We're off to see the King!" Namine cheered.

"And I'm coming, too!" Axel exclaimed.

"Nah, ah, ah. You're staying." Nanaki scolded.

At this, Axel stopped in his actions. "But... but, I wanna help."

"You can help by cleaning up your mess here." Nanaki ordered. "If you hadn't slacked off on your duty to go to the bar in Treno, you wouldn't have been poisoned and Midgar would still be in one piece. Now, come on."

"They get to visit a king and I gotta clean up trash?!"

"Yes."

"Well... these guys can help too, right? Huh?" Looking back, the three travelers had already made their escape and the Falcon could be seen blasting off into the distance. "...damn, they're good."

-----

Onboard the Falcon

"Man, that was close. I thought we'd have trash-duty for sure." Namine panted.

"So, where we headed?" Sora asked his companions, still breathless from running.

"Disney Castle." Riku replied simply. "Should only take a few hours to get there."

"This King Mickey... what's he like?"

"Not the type of king I'm sure you're expecting." Namine said with a grin.

"Shame I won't be able to really see what he looks like either." Sora shrugged. "Is he really young, weird, what?"

"Young, kind of. Weird, yes." Riku grinned. "But he's pretty serious when he wants to be."

"I'm sure you two will get along perfectly." Namine added.

"If he doesn't go berserk again, that is."

"Hey!" Sora shot back. "That wasn't my fault."

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ship, knocking the warrior and the mage off their feet.

"...the hell was that?"

"I'll go look." Namine offered, climbing up to the deck, unlocking the hatch and stepping out.

A few moments of silence incurred before a whimper of, "We're screwed!" erupted from the deck. Setting the Falcon on auto-pilot, both Sora and Riku joined Namine on the deck of the ship. Flying directly over the ship was a giant Heartless dragon with a long white mane, cymbals for feet, and very tattoo-like markings all over its body. Ramming the ship once more, the three travelers were nearly knocked off. It gave one last almighty roar before flying off past the ship and dissappearing into the clouds. Namine, Riku, and Sora gazed blankly in the direction of the creature.

"Is it gone?" Namine asked quietly.

Another roar vibrated throughout the ship and as the Falcon sped through the clouds, the Heartless was seen readying a powerful electrical blast in their direction.

"Nope." Riku responded.

"We can't attack it like this." Namine spoke. "Should I summon something?"

"I've got it covered." Sora exclaimed, holding out Titania's plush toy, and getting a running start. "Titania, release!"

In a blinding flash of light, the doll stretched and morphed until it took the form of the Wyvern once more. Landing on the mystic creature's back, Sora and Titania leveled with the ship.

"I'll knock it out of the way, but I might need help defeating it!" Sora called back, before taking off with the Wyvern.

Fully charged, the Heartless fired the electrical blast at the ship. With a flick of the wing, Titania deflected the blast back at the Heartless, and the explosion consealed it in smoke. Using a blast of fire to break through the smoke, Titania dove into the clouds to fend off the monster.

But it was nowhere to be found.

"Titania, did we get it?" Sora asked the Wyvern.

The Wyvern looked back at its rider. "No."

A shrill screech pierced the sky and the Heartless plummeted to the ground, ramming into the Wyvern, entangling it within the cymbals. With another blast of fire, Titania severed the cymbals and escaped. Pulling a 360 around the Heartless, the Wyvern prepared a blast of its own and fired directly at the dragon. The Heartless was knocked back, but turned and aimed for its former target; the Falcon.

Looking down, however, the Heartless noticed Riku's arm illuminating with a powerful dark energy. He smirked.

"Say goodnight." He hissed, and fired an enormous blast of dark aura at the monster.

Giving off one final screech, the Heartless disintegrated into a flurry of smoke that turned the sky black for a few moments, then dissapated. Silence incurred before a wisp of the darkness floated down onto the ship and reformed into a soft plush toy resembling the Heartless.

"Well, what do you know?" He murmured.

"Alright! Way to go, Riku!" Sora cheered atop Titania, while Namine ran up to the warrior.

"Hey, a summon plushie! Wait, so what was it?"

"A Heartless... aeon?" Sora offered.

"Good enough for me." Riku shrugged, slipping the toy into his pocket before heading back into the ship. "That was fun. Can we go now?"

"I don't think we should be taking the ship..." Namine pointed towards the engine, which had been almost entirely destroyed.

Sora was equally confused. "If the ship's been damaged that bad, how is it still going?"

"We're crashing."

"Oh."

Riku and Namine looked at each other with sudden horror. "We're crashing!" They exclaimed as the ship began to jerk and implode.

Titania swooped towards the ship and growled at the two. "Get up here! Hurry!" Sora exclaimed.

Wasting no time, the warrior and the mage quickly leapt off of the Falcon and onto the Wyvern. Both watched as the ship plummeted to the ground and exploded upon impact.

"Aw man... Roxas is gonna kill me." Namine whimpered.

"Guess we're going by Wyvern, then." Riku spoke.

"Being commandeered by a guy who can't even see." Namine added.

"...you were right. We're screwed."

-----

Uncharted location, three days later.

"Sire! Sire, there's a problem!"

A fat, cat-like creature sprinted down the hall as fast as its legs could carry it, tumbling a few times along the way. It slammed open the doors, causing the inhabitant inside to look up from his reading. He scowled.

"What do you want?" He asked, obviously annoyed.

The cat-man only stammered, pointing towards the entrance frantically. "T-the Heartess! The one you dispatched! It's--"

"How many times have I told you not to disturb my reading, you irritating little twit? I should've fed you to that NeoShadow when I had the chance." The man continued, not taking in a word his accomplice was even saying.

"But, the Heartl--"

"Or maybe I can call Melcanum in here and--"

"THE HEARTLESS IS DEAD!" The cat-man screamed angrily, fed up with being interrupted.

The man perked up a bit at this, closing the book and eyeing the other occupant closely.

"Storm Rider. The one we captured from the Land of Dragons. You're positive?"

"Of course! What other one would I be talkin' about?!"

"Who?"

"Duh... who what?"

"Who incapacitated Storm Rider, you bumbling idiot?!" The man screeched.

"Jeez. No need to get yer robes in a bunch. Anyhoos, there were these three kids, see? One was kinda small and was wearing this frilly skirt thing, the other had all this tribal mumbo-jumbo and had this freaky-lookin' sword that was kinda like a bat wing or somethin', and... uh... the last one was really weird lookin'. He was wearin' these fancy-lookin' clothes and was riding around on some kinda giant white bird thing or somethin'."

That got the man's attention. "White bird? Interesting..." He pondered, rubbing his chin. "Tell me, what did this 'white bird' look like?"

The cat-man scratched his head. "Uh... well... it was really big... kinda scaly lookin', and it talked. Think it's name was... Titanium or somethin'."

The man grinned. "Titania. This proves it."

"Uh, proves what, sir?"

The man didn't answer. Reaching for his lance, he sat up and pointed it at the cat-man. "Ready the remaining Heartless, Pete. It's time."