Series:FINAL FANTASY VII:

Title: A Chance For Goodness

Author: Sephiroth

Disclaimer: Squaresoft owns 'em. I don't. I'm not getting paid for this.

archive: yes

A CHANCE FOR GOODNESS

by Sephiroth

Cloud listened to the whoops and cheers on the bridge of the Highwind for a few moments longer. A tear came into his eyes. Was it really worth it, he wondered. "Did I do the right thing"

"Something wrong?" Tifa joined him. "Its about Aeris, isn't it. You want to find her. To bring her back. Perhaps we could do that at..."

"Yes, but I need to have an important talk with all of you." Cloud stepped up to the center of the bridge and spoke up, making sure all ears were on him. "I'm going to the LIfestream." he said. "And if its not too late, I'm bringing Aeris back with me. But my heart tells me that is only half of what I must do. You see, there's someone else there who I'm also going to bring back. Now, I won't do this if even *one* of you says no. But, know this, I feel that if he'd known the truth, the real truth, from the beginning, things might have turned out different. That's why I want to bring Sephiroth back, too."

"But you hated him." Tifa protested.

"I hated what he became, Tifa." Cloud corrected her. "I hated the things that monster did. And the thing I hated most about it was that it detroyed a good man that I once loved. That man became that monster because he was abused and lied to. It's not right that he should suffer because of another's lies."

"He chose his own path." Red XIII argued.

"But if he had known the truth, he may have chosen a different one." Cloud pointed out.

Vincent stepped forward. "Much of what Sephiroth had to deal with was my fault. If I had come forward five years ago, when he attacked Nibelheim... if I'd had the courage to tell him the truth, intead of hiding like a coward, I might have saved him. I should'e saved him when he was born. But I was too great a coward to try. After his mother died, I feared for my life and for his, too. I knew if I tried to save him, the truth might come out, and if Hojo knew..." he stopped.

"Sephiroth's not Hojo's." Cloud realized.

"Lucrecia was promised to me long before she fell under Hojo's sway." Vincent explained. "We were going to marry that summer, but he seduced her with his false promises and lies. By the time they did marry, Lucrecia was already six weeks pregnant with my son. Lucrecia and I both knew, but we also knew Hojo would have the pregnancy terminated if he found out. So we kept it a secret. When Sephiroth was born 'ahead of schedule', Hojo simply took it as a side-effect of the mako and Jenova injections."

"Will you assume your proper role as his father when I bring him back?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." Vincent nodded. "I owe it to both Sephiroth and Lucrecia."

"I can never forgive the monster that killed my father." Tifa vowed. "But I did respect the man that monster once was, and if that good man can be restored, then we should bring him back."

"Then it's settled." Cloud agreed. "I'm going into the Lifestream and I'm going to bring them both back with me. Set course for Mideel."

"Right!" Cid growled through his cigarette. "Personally I think you're all taking a foolish chance. But then, I was willing to let Shinra send me into deep space in an untested rocket, so who am I to talk?" He gave a grin and set the course.

*****

"Sephiroth..."

Sephiroth opened his eyes. He looked through the barrier of the prison he was encased in.

"Have they finally passed judgement on me then, mother?" he asked, sadly. "Am I going to Hell?"

"No, my son." Lucrecia replied. "You're not going to hell. You and Aeris are going to be ressurected. Your friend Cloud is coming to fetch you."

"But why?" Sephiroth was confused. Why would anyone from Nibelheim want him back?

"He thinks you deserve a second chance." his mother nodded. "I've come to prepare you for your return. You see, its been agreed that you should have a second chance. My son, you shall have the life you were meant to have. Untainted by Hojo's madness or Jenova's curse."

Sephiroth's prison vanished from around him.

"He's here." Lucrecia told her son. "Wait here. I must speak with him first. Then, I will call on you."

*****

Cloud looked around as a kitchen appeared around him. A woman walked through the door. She was quite attractive.

"Lucrecia?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes. That is who I was. You've come here to bring my son back to the world of the living."

"I know this must be hard on you. Losing him again after..."

Lucrecia put a hushing finger to Cloud's lips. "It makes me happy to know that my son will finally get the life I wanted for him. But I should warn you, if your intention is to bring back a good general who can lead a new army, it is best that you leave without Sephiroth. He cannot help you in that department."

"I do not wish to exploit him." Cloud reassured Lucrecia. "Only to give him the life he deserves."

Lucrecia nodded. "SEPHIROTH...." she called.

Nothing. Not so much as a peep.

"Excuse me a moment." Lucrecia smiled as she left the room. She returned a few minutes later, looking flustered. "Now where the heck has he taken off to. I told him to wait."

Aeris walked in at that moment, she was laughing and carrying a silver-haired, aquamarine-eyed toddler in her arms.

"I told you to wait, young man."Lucrecia scolded the boy as she took him into her arms, her affection for her son never leaving her eyes. "Oh, but I can't stay mad at you. I love you, Sephiroth. Now you be a good boy for Cloud and the others and make me proud."

"I will, mommy." Sephiroth promised.

Lucrecia handed the toddler to Cloud. "Not quite what you expected." she smiled at the nonplussed ex-SOLDIER. "But if he's to have a new life, I want him to get a whole life, not just half of one."

"He shall have it." Cloud promised.

*****

"Look!" Yuffie pointed at the glowing mako pool.

"Aeris!" Tifa reached down her hand and pulled Aeris up to safety. "Are you okay? Where's Cloud."

"He's having a little problem with Sephiroth." Aeris sounded more amused than worried.

A moment later, they found out why.

"I WANT MY MOMMY!" the silver-haired toddler was bawling his eyes out as Cloud brought he up out of the mako pool. "MOMMY!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone there traded startled glances.

"Sephiroth?" Tifa blinked.

"Tell C'oud he gotta go my mommy!" toddler started beating on Cloud's legs. "You go back an' get her!"

"I can't." Tifa told Sephiroth. "Your mommy's been gone too long."

Sephiroth sank to the floor and began sobbing.

Vincent stepped forward and took the crying child in his arms. "Shhhh..." he said. "I miss her, too, son."

Sephiroth's eyes, no longer mako infused, lit up with so much joy at the prospect of being held in the arms of his loving father that the lit up more brightly than they'd ever in his past.

"Kittycat!" Sephiroth climbed up the giant moogle with the speed of a two year old who's spotted a bag of his favorite cookies and glomped the crowned cat atop it so unexpectedly that the poor cat dropped his megaphone.

Back at his location, Reeve was literally rolling on the floor in hysterics.

-Chapter 2-

All at once Sephiroth lost his balance and fell, with a cry, from the top of the giant moogle. He landed with a thud and started to cry, holding his skinned knee, which was bleeding a bit.

"Cloud" Yuffie exclaimed running forward to comfort the trembling, sobbing child. "Why didn't you catch him? You were right there! You could've caught him. Did you want him to get hurt?"

Cloud nodded. 'Yes. I wanted you all to see that he *could* be hurt. It's better you find that out now than during a fight."

"He's powerless, isn't he?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "Just a regular little boy. His mom wanted him to have a normal life and normal lives don' t include superpowers or Jenova injecions."

Sephiroth turned away from Cloud and sulked.

"I'm sorry." Cloud apologied. "Forgive me? Pretty please" he gave Sephiroth an endearing look.

"Cloud bad." Sephiroth observed.

"Yes, he was." Yuffie agreed. "Very naughty."

"Cloud gonna get spanking?" Sephiroth asked.

Everyone started laughing.

-Chapter 3-

Yuffie giggled. "You think Cloud should get a spanking?"

"Uh huh." Sephiroth nodded. He rubbed a tear away with his arm and looked up at everyone with wide, innocent eyes.

"Sephiroth, I was wrong, I'm sorry." Cloud bowed, contritely.

"Really?" Sephiroth asked, hopefully.

"Yup." Cloud nodded.

"Yay!" Sephiroth gave Cloud as big a hug as a toddler could give.

"So, where to now?" Yuffie asked.

"I need some help with this." Vincent admitted. "I just realized I don't know the first thing about being a parent."

"We'll go see Barret and Marlene." Tifa decided. "Barret's been a dad for a few years, he might be able to help you out"

"If only Lucrecia hadn't died." Vincent lamented.

"MOMMY!!!!" Sephiroth wailed and bawled.

"Sorry." Vincent hugged Sephiroth. "I didn't mean to upset you." He stood up and started to walk away when the Highwind was suddenly tipped and Vincent was sent tumbling down into the mako lake below.

Vincent's eyes went wide when he saw the kitchen around him, Lucrecia was washing dishes.

"Hey, Golden-Arm!" she called, her voice smiling. "Help out, eh? You can dry these dishes."

Vincent joined her. "I can't believe you're here. How...?"

"We're in the Lifestream. I brought you here because its time we had a little talk."

"I promise I'll be a good father to Sephiroth. I.."

"Hush." Lucrecia interrupted him. "You're in love again."

"I would never betray your memory that...."

"Its not a betrayal, Vincent. I'm glad you've found someone. She loves you, too, Vincent. And Sephiroth needs a mother. Please, Vincent, promise me you'll marry that girl Yuffie. You and she both deserve to be happy."

Vincent felt tears coming. He tried to hold them back as he always had, but this time, they would not be denied.

"Yes, my love." Lucrecia told him. "You, like your son, are once again completely human. My final act of love to you has been to free you of Shinra's curse."

Vincent sobbed with gratitude as he felt the beast that was Chaos fade and vanish forever from him, making his heart and soul feel so much lighter. Vincent noticed that his shoulder also felt somehow lighter. He looked at his arm and saw just that. An arm. No claw. No Shinra attachment.

"You'll have to adjust to having a normal life with your son, Vincent." Lucrecia gave him one last kiss before returning him to the bridge of the Highwind. "But I know you can do it."

To give him an extra hint, Lucrecia deposited Vincent down in front of Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffied called to the others. "He's back! He..." she fell silent as a human hand, where a claw hand once been, grasped her own hand.

"Yuffie," Vincent asked. "Will you marry me?"

"'Bout time you asked!" Yuffie hugged him.

"I assume that's a yes."

"You bet it is."

-Chapter 4-

Barrett had tucked little Marlene into bed and was watching the local news. He turned it off, bored of all the stuff about Shinra, and was starting to go check on his daughter when there was a knock on the door.

He went to the door with great caution. "Who's there?" he asked. If it was Shinra, he'd shoot first and ask questions later. No way were they gonna get their hands on him or Marlene.

"Barrett, it's us." Tifa's voice came through the door.

"Tifa!" Barrett laughed, opening the door. He gave Tifa a one-armed hug, then saw the rest of the Highwind crew standing nearby.

"Aeris?!" Barrett asked. "I though..." he then noticed the little boy sleeping in Yuffie's arms. "Don't tell me... What idiot brought him back?"

Everyone looked at Cloud.

"He's just a little boy, Barrett." Tifa assured him.

"No powers?" Barrett asked, skeptically. "No mako or Jenova stuff?"

"None. Just a regular little boy who happens to be Sephiroth."

"Why don't you put him upstairs in the one of the spare rooms." Barrett suggested. "You're all welcome to stay."

"Thanks." Yuffie took Sephiroth upstairs and put him to bed. "Good night, Seph'."

"G'night, Mommy Yuffie." Sephiroth yawned as he dozed off.

The group made small talk for an hour or so before heading up to bed. Yuffie discovered that Sephiroth was not in his bed. A quick search found him in Marlene's bedroom, standing by the bed with a comically stern look on his face.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Yuffie asked as Barrett came to check on his little girl.

"'tectin' the little girl." Sephiroth replied, innocently. "I keep her safe so you can sleep." he told Barrett.

Barrett smiled. "And you're doing a good job, too." he praised, patting Sephiroth on the head.

The boy beamed with pride . "Hear that, Mommy Yuffie, Uncle Barrett says I doing a good job!"

"Yes, you are, dear." Yuffie agreed. "But if you want to protect Marlene and keep her safe, you need to sleep so you can be alert."

"OKay, Mommy Yuffie. I go to bed now." He held his arms out for Yuffie to pick him up.

Yuffie scooped up the boy and carried him back to his room. She tucked him into bed and kissed him. "Good night, Sephiroth."

"Good night, Mommy Yuffie." he replied as she turned the lights out.

-Chapter 5-

"Sephiroth, you wanna go to the park with Uncle Barrett and Marlene?" Yuffie asked.

"Uh huh!" Sephiroth nodded and hugged her. "How come you not goin', Mommy Yuffie?"

"Well, your daddy and I have to plan our wedding."

Barrett came into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. He was setting it down when little Sephiroth glomped him. "Wha...?"

"Mommy Yuffie said that you're gonna take Marlene an' me to the park."

"I can't." Barrett shook his head. "I'm... I'm too busy. I have a lot of things I need to do."

"Oh." Sephiroth looked disappointed.

Cloud, who'd heard and seen it all from the kitchen doorway, put on a big goofy smile and hugged Sephiroth.

"Hey, tell ya what?" he grinned. "Why don't I take you and Marlene to the Gold Saucer?"

Sephiroth's eyes brightened. "Really!?! YAY!!!!"

"Thanks, Cloud." Yuffie smiled.

*****

Barrett was having a drink twenty minutes later, when Yuffie walked in. "I thought you told Sephiroth you were busy."

"What was I supposed to tell him. 'I don't want to take you to the park because you were bad in a life you don't remember. Because you still look like that jerk and I can barely stand the sight of you?" he glowered. "Yuffie, I hate that little brat. He was no good in his last life and he'll be just as bad in this one, too."

Barrett felt a tug on his pant leg and saw little Sephiroth standing there with tears in his eyes. The child handed him a flower and turned away.

"I'm not bad now." he said, innocently. "I'm sorry if I was before." he turned, wiped his eyes with his sleeves and ran away.

"Nice going." Yuffie told Barrett as she followed Sephiroth.

-Chapter 6-

Barrett felt like a complete heel. "Aw damn. Curse it all." he grumbled. "I didn't know he was there."

"Well, don't just stand there," Tifa scolded, "help find Sephiroth!"

Barrett sank down onto the step. "Its not that simple." he said. "I know he's just a kid, but. I just can't get past..."

"We all have our demons to deal with." Tifa told her.

"Yeah, all of us except the son of a bitch who deserves them." Barrett grumbled. "If I'd been with your group, I'd have told Cloud to leave him where he was."

Little Sephiroth kept running until he collided with the leg of a man who was walking through the woods, heading for Barrett's house.

"Huh?!" the red-haired man looked down at the little boy. "Sephiroth?!" his eyes went wide.

Sephiroth nodded. He felt a twinge of recognition, but it was very brief. He looke the man over with a child's scrutiny. "Who are you?"

"My name is Reno." the red-head replied. "I'm... I was one of the Turks."

"Whatcha doin' now?"

"Well, it's hard to explain." Reno smiled. "I'll tell you when you're all grown up." He wasn't about to tell a child, even Sephiroth, that he was currently working as a stripper. Nor was he going to tell him the exact reason he was here. That he'd learned that Cloud was in the area. Cloud had earned the ex-Turk's respect, being the only man other than Sephiroth to ever beat him in an honest battle. And that respect had turned to love. As much as Reno wanted it to be otherwise, he couldn't stop thinking of the fair-haired rebel.

"Okay." Sephiroth replied, innocently.

"Is Cloud around?" Reno asked.

Sephiroth nodded. He reached out and grabbed Reno's left pinky, then began to lead him back to Barrett's house.

"I *knew* it!" Barrett grumbled when he saw little Sephiroth leading Reno back. "I knew the little bastard couldn't be trusted!"

Tifa kicked him in the shin and went over to Sephiroth and Reno.

"What...?" she asked.

"I came to see Cloud." Reno explained.

"Over here." Cloud said, returning from searching. He looked down at Sephiroth. " Thank you for bringing him home."

"He brought me." Reno smiled. "I was looking for you. Cloud, can I talk with you for a while?"

"C'oud is gonna take me to the Gold Saucer." Sephiroth told Reno.

"Why don't you come with us?" Cloud suggested.

"What is this, Take The Enemy To Lunch Day?" Barrett exploded. "Why don't you just sleep with him while you're at it?" he demanded, pointing at Reno.

The look in Reno's eyes made it quite clear to anyone old enough to understand that he thought this last suggestion to be an excellent idea.

END PART 6