Dreams are funny things. Little bits of reality flavored with dashes of fantasy; places where the present mixes with the past. Some people believe that by studying dreams they can learn more about themselves, about their deepest secrets. Some people that dreams are the battleground for the war against our inner demons. Some people believe that dreams offer messages from the spirits, warnings and prophecies. Some people believe that they are simply electrical impulses of the brain, and there is nothing more to them. But some people don't believe in Fate, either. ~*~ Final Fantasy: Fated 18 Those Chosen by the Planet By: Chandra "Lady Chaos" Rooney [sophiaroth@hotmail.com] Started by: Samantha Rogers Hosted by www.Improfanfic.com One Sephiroth Clone was harmed in the making of this fanfic... but he's better now. ^_^ ~*~ "Gabriel (God is my strength): One of the two highest ranking angels. He is the angel of mercy, annunciation, resurrection, vengeance, death and revelation. He presides over paradise and is the ruling angel of the first heaven. This archangel is a primary messenger of God, bringing divine announcements and revelations to humankind, acting as an intermediary between heaven and earth and helping us to interpret our dreams and our visions. Gabriel grants wishes and hopes to mortals, as well as joy, mercy, understanding of mysteries, truth, justice, miracles and love. Essene prayer: 'Gabriel, Angel of Life, enter my limbs and give strength to my whole body'." ~*~ Turtle's is crowded tonight. Various members of the Wutai resistance mill about, drinking their fill and celebrating the day's earlier victory over the ShinRa troops. Word has it that ShinRa has called in the big boys, the high class SOLDIERs and the elite Turks, to have another go at taking Wutai by force tomorrow morning. But that's morning, and ages away to most of the young warriors. He sits at a table in the corner, away from all the festivities. At first, he can't shake the feeling that his being here is wrong. He feels like he was just in another place seconds ago, and he can't remember what brought him to Wutai. But he shakes these feelings off. It must come from his lifestyle; the constant travel would give anyone the feeling of always being unsettled. So he leans back in his chair, and looks around at the bar. No one pays much attention to him. In fact, no one has even given him a second look. But that's part of his skills...the ability to blend in, or at least he'd like to think it is. He'd rather not consider that people may be refusing to see him because they harbor hostile feelings towards him. But still...it would be nice to have someone acknowledge his presence. "Sent them running!" a drunken soldier slurred from a table across from him, interrupting his musing. "Oh, Abel, you were great! Those ShinRa bastards have never run faster!" The young man with the black hair, Abel, has warm brown eyes. "Really, Yugi, you're exaggerating," Abel says. "And go easy on the sake, all right? You may not be on the front lines tonight, but you still have to make it back home." (I know him,) the observer nods, (he is Abel Woodshaft, a very important member of the Wutai army.) Yugi laughs. His words slur as he replies. "One more round, Susano!" The man at the table smiles. Yes, these are all friendly people. They're simply caught up in their own lives, and are being respectful. Deep-down doubts swirl and flutter, but he ignores them. Safety and comfort lies in his superficial assessment, and he fears that looking closer would shatter that safety. So he allows it to envelop him like a mother's embrace. The feeling nags at him again. There is something that he is forgetting, something important. His gaze shifts to a man with long, silver hair, who is dressed all in black. (I know him.) He tenses. (He is Sephiroth. But what is he doing here?) Sephiroth stands, and proceeds for the door. Yugi comes back from the bar and stumbles into him; the bottle of sake spills onto the toes of Sephiroth's high black boots. "Hey," Yugi slurs, "you watch where you're going!" Sephiroth stares at him. He could kill this human without blinking an eye, but he won't. Despite all that he is, and all that he has done, he is not a psychopath. Each death has a reason and a purpose, and an insult from a drunk in a bar is not reason enough to strike back. So he will ignore it and continue on his way. "You deaf?" Yugi roars. "Or do you just have no manners, pretty boy?" Sephiroth smiles a little, a cold and tense smirk. It is an expression to tell this human fool that he does not understand the gift that God has just given him; the gift of life. Abel has been watching this exchange, with anxiety becoming more and more clear in his features. Unlike Yugi, he fears what angering this tall stranger might lead to. "Yugi," he says as he stands, "you walked into him." He walks over to Sephiroth. "Forgive my friend, sir, he's had a little too much to drink." He carefully inspects Sephiroth's black body armor, and the cold, green-blue eyes. "Have we met before, sir? You look very familiar." Sephiroth looks at Abel, the same inspecting look on his face. He pauses once his gaze reaches those warm brown eyes. "I do not believe so," he replies. The man at the table watches this and frowns. (This is wrong,) he thinks, (they should know each other.) He knows this as certainly as he knew their names and who they are. The origin of the information itself baffles him still; he cannot recall how he knows the two strangers. "Are you certain, sir?" Abel asks. He shakes his head. "I swear I know who you are...it's just slipped my mind." Sephiroth says nothing. He turns and continues towards the door. "Hey, wait!" Abel calls. Sephiroth pauses. "At least let us make amends for Yugi's rudeness," Abel smiles. "We're not all rude pigs like he is." He gestures to an empty chair at his table. "We wouldn't want you to leave Wutai thinking we were." Sephiroth debates sitting. He is curious as to why these humans have made some attempt to include him, but he knows that staying to find out will delay his search. The man at the table stands. He walks over to the tall SOLDIER. "It's important that you sit and talk to him," he tells Sephiroth. "I don't know why just yet...but you must." Sephiroth doesn't acknowledge hearing him, but he accepts the offered seat nonetheless. "You are most...kind," he says awkwardly, unsure of how to react to this strange offer. Abel waves the comment off. "It's not a problem," he assures Sephiroth. "My mother raised me to be polite." He extends his hand. "I'm Abel Woodshaft." Sephiroth looks at the hand. Such pleasantries are strangely pleasing. This Abel fellow is going out of his way to be polite and courteous; an attitude few choose to apply to dealing with ShinRa SOLDIERs. "That's right," the man says. "He's making an effort...you can at least do the same." Sephiroth takes the hand and shakes it. "I am called Sephiroth." His handshake is firm, unnaturally so. Abel raises an eyebrow, but says nothing of the coldness of Sephiroth's skin. "Now there's a name you don't hear very often. Does it have some sort of meaning?" "It refers to the branches of the Tree of Life," Sephiroth replies, after being prompted by the man. Abel whistles. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Sephiroth." He frowns again. "You know...that name *is* familiar, but I just *can't* place it. Ever had that happen?" Sephiroth shakes his head. Abel shrugs. "Well, the loud fellow who nearly drowned you in sake is Yugi. These other two are Ataru and Shinji." The other two people at the table eye Sephiroth suspiciously. He does not acknowledge them. Abel is the reason why he sat down, the one that he is curious about. "Where are you from?" Abel asks, still trying to be friendly. "Midgar," Sephiroth replies. Silence settles over the table. "So...uh." Abel scratches his head. "What do they think of our little country in Midgar?" "They don't think in Midgar," Sephiroth replies. Abel gives Sephiroth an odd look, but the other three men laugh, thinking it a joke. "Is there something wrong, Sephiroth?" Abel asks. "You look like you've got something on your mind." A cold glare is his only reply. "I know it's not really my business...but you know...if you wanted to talk to someone, you won't find nicer guys than us." "It is not something that you discuss with 'nice guys'," Sephiroth replies, standing. "I am leaving now." He gets up from the table and walks away. "You have to follow him," the man tells Abel. "It's important to talk to him. Stop him from doing something he doesn't want to do." Abel pushes his own chair back, nodding. "I'll be right back," he tells his friends. "Let him go, Abel," Shinji protests. "He's not worth chasing after." "People that like only get you in trouble," Ataru adds. Abel shakes his head. "I have to." He goes out the door of Turtle's, and the man follows him. "Where did he go?" Abel asks, looking around. "I don't see him." "You can't let that stop you," the man replies. "You need to find him." Abel looks over at the man, who is dressed in a pair of black courdary pants and a vest of the same color. His hair is the same black color as Abel's, but he wears it in a different style. His eyes are the strange green-blue color of Sephiroth's. Abel frowns. "Who are you, anyway?" he asks the man. The man falters. He frowns. "What do you mean, 'who am I'? I'm Gabriel." Gabriel shakes his head. "But you must find Sephiroth." "Why should I listen to you?" Abel asks, suspicious. "You could be trying to trick me." "I just want to help you," Gabriel replies. "I want to try to make things right. It's what we're here to do." Abel gives him a funny look. "All right." He places a hand over his eyes and scans the paths of Wutai. "There, I think I see him headed towards the mountains. He shouldn't be doing that...the ShinRa troops are camped out there." Abel runs off down the connecting paths and begins to follow Sephiroth. Smoke stings his nostrils. He strains his eyes and sees that a fire has been lit. He increases his pace, coming out into a clearing strewn with bodies. Abel gasps and clutches his stomach, nausea overtaking him. These are the bodies of the Wutai army, of his friends and fellow soldiers. "No!" he yells, clutching his head. "No! This isn't possible! All my friends -- dead? Where was I? Why didn't anyone call for me?" Gabriel appears again. "Your body was taken to a secret research facility after you were wounded by Tseng. You died momentarily from the wounds, but they revived you with CPR. Do you remember, Abel?" The young man's eyes snap up. "That's impossible; if I was dead how could I be here?" Gabriel says, "Here isn't a physical place, Abel. Here is just a place I've created in my mind." "Your mind?" "I wanted to talk to you first, because I still feel closest to you most of the time." Gabriel shakes his head. "I don't have any idea how I'm going to tell you this..." "Tell me what?" Abel demands. "To shut up and die already!" Gabriel snaps suddenly. "Um...okay, wait, no that's not a good way of putting it..." He taps his chin. "Uh...help me out here..." "You just told me to die!" Abel snaps back. "Argh! I was fine until Jenova went and stuck her tentacles where they didn't belong," Gabriel sighs. "Look, Abel, when Mother--Diana--first died, you took comfort in the belief that she might return in another life. Just somehow I knew that it was possible...that it *happened*, whereas everyone else just saw it as a way to ease the fear of dying." He snaps his fingers. "Maybe that's what I need to tell you. Don't be afraid to die, Abel, because it doesn't mean that you'll cease to exist. You just return to your self...to your wholeself, the one that exists beyond all your lives. The one that remembers all of those lives and the lessons learned from them." Abel backs away. "I think you're crazy. Look, I don't need someone to tell me about life after death right now--" He grabs Abel by the shoulders. "Yes, you do!" Green-blue eyes meet brown ones. "Abel, you're dead! You're dead, and no matter how hard you try, it's not fair to try and be alive. It's not fair to me!" Abel blinks. "Fair to you...?" Gabriel echoes the blinks. "That's it," he says softly, and a look of realization dawns on his face. "That's it, isn't it?" "What's it?" Abel asks, worried. "That's who I am." Gabriel nods. "I asked it once, and I answered that I was Abel and Sephiroth...but I didn't see the *real* meaning behind those words. When Jenova touched my mind, she reseparated my memories of being Sephiroth...and that awoke the desire to return to that life..." He lets Abel go and steps back. "But I couldn't be Sephiroth because that wasn't who I was anymore...so my memories of Abel's life fought to pull me back into what they thought was the present..." He shakes his head. "And the result was both of those lives fighting for control for *this* life. Of course, I'd need all my collective memories and life experiences to be best able to stop Jenova, but once the two lives had separated they didn't want to go back to being just memories. And that's what's been the cause of all this headache." Abel stares at him, and slowly begins to back away. "I think you need to get some help..." Gabriel snickers. "You would. Matters of the soul have always been beyond the comprehension of your average man." He taps his chin again. "It's beginning to make sense to me. This is what SHE meant when SHE said I'd have to change who I was. But it's still up to me to decide who the person that I become is." Abel had been completely forgotten by now. "So...Sephiroth and Abel exist in my mind because I haven't decided. Which, more importantly, means they exist because *I* allow it." He sits down, pondering this revelation, attempting to decipher which path it prompts him to take. "I thought it was the only way to be both because it was too difficult to think of it any other way, and I didn't want to be one or the other." He stands and fingers the chain sickle that has appeared at his side. "Of course, now that I know, I'm not going to be happy just listening to the two of you bicker back and forth." He looks at Abel. "You probably don't understand, kid, but this really is the best way. Sometimes, before we can create, we have to destroy." Abel gulps. "I don't like that look in your eyes, Gabriel..." Gabriel lifts the chain sickle, testing the weight. "Come on, Abel, let's not make it any harder than it has to be, all right?" It's the dead Wutai soldier's turn to have things made clear to him. Abel backs away slowly. "You're going to kill me." "Don't be silly," Gabriel says, smiling, "you're already dead...I'm just going to remind you of that. Now hold still...it shouldn't hurt--" "You're crazy!" Gabriel swings the chain sickle, but Abel dodges. "Hey, you're not supposed to move," Gabriel tells him, "it ruins it. Come on, Abel, stop being such a wuss!" Another swing connects with the ground. "It's nothing personal, really. Besides, Sephiroth would go along with it." "No he wouldn't," Abel protests. Gabriel pauses, the chain sickle dangling. "How would you know?" he asks. Abel stops, then blinks as he notices the chain sickle swinging towards him. "Aw, sh--" The chain sickle connects with his flesh, but there is no blood. People need to physically exist to bleed, after all. Gabriel pauses, then lifts the chain sickle again. "So, Sephiroth, are you going to give me the trouble Abel did, or are we just a little more aware of how futile it would be?" Sephiroth steps from the shadows, eyes focused on Gabriel. "We fought the first time, perhaps more fiercely than Abel, but we are more than aware now that there's no reason to fight. Not after so long. To begin anew one must first end, after all." He pauses. "But, there is something that I have always wanted to ask--" "No, I never blamed you," Gabriel answers, "and neither did she." Sephiroth nods. "Ah. Abel's death by his own weapon--" "It seemed appropriate," Gabriel replies. "Symbolic." The chain sickle vanishes, and is replaced by Masamune. "I assume you can appreciate that?" Sephiroth nods. Gabriel shifts his weight, raising Masamune and then driving it through Sephiroth. The sword and the manifestation disappear. Now it appears that he is alone, but he knows that to be incorrect. He is simply complete. ~*~ Gabriel comes to, still hanging upside down. Groggy from the blood flowing to his head, he struggles to swing himself up to catch the rope binding his leg. It's frayed from the strain of supporting him above the floor, and is easy to snap. Of course his descent isn't nearly as easy. He attempts to shift his legs underneath him, but ends up falling on his side. "Nice one, Gabriel," he mutters, and gets to his feet. Voices can be heard outside his room, but it is silent inside his head. After taking a moment to steady himself, and to allow the blood flow to return to where it should be, he walks towards the door. "You did what?" Tifa exclaims. "Yuffie! Why would you tie Gabriel up?" "His real name is Abel Woodshaft," Yuffie snaps, "and he's one of Wutai's heroes. He's coming back to Wutai with me because it's where he belongs!" Gabriel walks out of the room just as Yuffie finishes making this claim. He neither confirms nor denies it, choosing instead to grab her ankles and hold her upside down. "Put me down!" Yuffie screams, and then, noticing the pant legs of the one who holds her suspended above the ground, adds, "Hey, Abel, how'd you get loose? I tied those ropes pretty tight..." "I'd suggest shackles," Gabriel replies. "But first things first--my name is *Gabriel*. I don't hold any serious objections to being called by other ones...but if you want to get a response, you'll use 'Gabriel'." He gives Yuffie a little shake; a few materia clatter to the floor. "Ah, so that's where those went..." He shakes his head. "Second, are you listening, Yuffie? This one's important." He gives her another shake, another materia falls to the ground. "I'm the first to admit that I have no issues with wearing black leather, but I do not go in for the kinky bondage stuff. You ever tie me up and suspend me from the ceiling again, and I will use that Ultima materia right there," he gestures with his foot, "to knock you on your pretty little ass, Miss Kisagari. Do we have an understanding?" "I thought you were a nice guy," Yuffie grumbles. "Kid, it's not my job to be nice. Right now, it's to see to it that we have an understanding." He pauses. "So do we have an understanding, Yuffie?" "Yes, Ab-" Shake shake shake. "Ah, you jerk! My shirt's gonna flip up if you keep this up!" She wraps her arms around her chest. "We have an understanding, *Gabriel*." He turns her right side up again, and holds her steady as she wobbles on shaky knees. "By the way, how did you get me hanging from the rope?" "Cloud helped..." Yuffie gurgles. "I told him it was important...ooh, my head..." Gabriel chuckles a little. "Yeah, doesn't feel so great, does it, kid? Sorry about the roughing up bit." He looks around. "So where is Cloud?" Aeris steps forward. "I think he went to Nibelheim alone. Gabriel...he was acting so strange! He practically attacked me, and then he passed out. When I got back to the place I'd left him, he wasn't there." "Jenova." Gabriel nods. "I knew she was here." He shakes his head. "I felt Sephiroth here...acting like he wanted to play. Then Jenova hits me like a sledgehammer and I'm knocked out until I came to. I didn't think they could enter the Cosmo Canyon." "The attack from ShinRa probably diverted the spirits' attention," Tifa replies. "Which is why Aeris left Cloud." "ShinRa was here?" Gabriel's eyebrow raises. "I thought they didn't know about this place." "I'm afraid that's my fault." Reeve steps forward. "They traced sensors that had been placed in my body. So this probably isn't the best first impression, but..." Reeve extends his hand, "I don't think we've met. I'm Reeve." "We have...in a sense," Gabriel shakes his hand. "I'm Gabriel. I wouldn't worry about first impressions, Reeve; I feel there's more to someone than what we first see. Besides, anyone who made Cait Sith can't be all bad." "ShinRa captured Nanaki and Inno," Aeris tells Gabriel. "We...well, we thought that we should split up into two teams again. One can go after Cloud, and the other can try to find a way back to Midgar to rescue Nanaki and Inno." "Are the teams made?" Gabriel asks. "Pretty much," Tifa replies. "Barret and I will go with Jesse, Biggs and Cait Sith to Nibelhiem. It's my hometown...and I think Cloud needs to have someone from his past to talk to him right now. You...won't be coming, Gabriel. He doesn't need to be made any more confused. And I don't trust you." "I'd rather go after Inno anyway," Gabriel replies. "So...I guess Aeris and Reeve are coming with me?" "We'll stay in touch with the other team through Cait Sith," Reeve explains. "I can't guarantee that my codes will work, but we can try to use them to disarm the security system at ShinRa headquarters. I haven't figured out how we can get back to Midgar quickly, though." "I'm coming too," Yuffie announces suddenly, jabbing a finger into Gabriel's chest. "I'm not letting you out of my sight! When this is all over you're coming back to Wutai. I don't care what you call yourself; I know who you are, Abel, and I won't rest until you're back where you belong!" 2:42 pm, dec 11/99 8:58 pm, dec 12/99 3:22 pm, dec 15/99 12:55 pm, dec 16/99 ~*~ Author's explanation (as mere "notes" probably won't cut it this time): Um, final exams take precedent over Impro. As important as it is to write a good part...passing my courses is just a teeny little bit *more* important. That's why this only focuses on one character and doesn't really push the plot ahead any further. The information about the ArchAngel Gabriel came from Sarah's ArchAngel page, an excellent online reference source for all kinds of angels. It's located at www.sarahsarchangels.com if you'd like to check it out. I'd like to thank a few people right now. B.W.A.: For all the grammar/spelling and prereading help. Plus, the proof that if we ever combine parody powers we could destroy the world... Rift: For introducing Gabriel (waaaaaay back in #2) and Abel Woodshaft. And for his helpful prereading comments for this part. (I hope I spelled 'Susano' right...) Jonatan Streith: For his proofreading/prereading help once again. Forgive me for the overly complex "soul" and "reincarnation" themes. I know this is Impro, but please *don't* have the "dream" dismissed as some sort of hallucination brought on by the blood rushing to Gabe's head while he hung upside down. I wrote it for a reason. So here is the working inner monologue. At the end of the last loop, Sephiroth was probably killed by Cloud in the traditional cut scene ending of FFVII. But I read a very good essay (that I've lost the URL for) that gave a strong argument that Holy purified Sephiroth before he returned to the Lifestream. That purified soul would have all of Sephiroth's memories, but would have been cleansed of Jenova. Now I'm going on personal belief...according to the loop theory, that soul would be reborn as Sephiroth, and go on to make the same mistakes...with small variations. This happens because the soul forgets what it has learned in previous lifetimes at a conscious level, and has no memory of the time spent in the Lifestream. Aeris and the Planet knew that for Sephiroth to change his Fate, he would have to be in a situation where he could recall what had happened before and was free of Jenova. So we have soul "A". Soul "A" is born as Sephiroth and continues that way in the loop until the last cycle, when soul "A" is instead born as Abel. Abel has no memories of any previous lives, because those memories reside in the Lifestream. Abel receives a critical wound from Tseng and his heart stops for a few moments. When he dies for that brief moment, he reconnects with the Lifestream and regains those memories...and then is brought back to life when his heart is restarted...with all memories of his own life and his previous ones intact. Which is why he first hears Sephiroth when he reawakens. Now completely intact, the soul had all the knowledge needed to complete its task. The only difference you'll notice in Gabriel's physical appearance is that the color of his eyes changed. Now, I assume that this wouldn't have normally occurred, as the SOLDIERs' eyes didn't change color that drastically after the Mako treatments. So why did Gabriel's eyes change color? Because the eyes are the windows to the soul. So, I'm just reconfirming what Rift wrote... Gabriel is Abel Woodshaft and Sephiroth...in both the genetic and the spiritual sense. And most of all...this explains why our current Sephiroth-half of Jenova is such a wimp! It's no longer Soul "A" but another one that we can call soul "B" (for the sake of being silly). Soul "B" is just an amateur at this whole become-a-God business, whereas it was old-hand stuff to soul "A". ^^; Whew--be glad I actually bothered to write a part. For a while I was just going to submit the above paragraphs . ;p Seasons' Greetings and best wishes for 2000, Lady Chaos "I'm the first to admit that I have no issues with wearing black leather, but I do not go in for the kinky bondage stuff."