Oedipal Oratory
by Archone

It looked vaguely female. But hardly human. It’s body was smooth rubbery skin, vibrant colors of

the full spectrum lending what would have been a beautiful aspect, if not for it’s menacing

posture, an aura of negative emotions radiating forth-malice, greed, and hatred, suffused with

a raging frustration, of a goal long denied.

As the creature sat on a rock, it’s tentacles waving softly as it’s featureless face gazed into

the darkness, a human male approached. His body was tall, lean, and powerfully muscled, his

face handsome, almost beautiful in repose, save for the gleam of madness and mako conditioning

in his eyes. In his hand rested a sword with a five foot blade, so heavy and unwieldy that no

ordinary man could have wielded it effectively in battle, while behind him he dragged the

carcass of a needle kiss, a large avian predator. He smiled as his eyes came to rest upon the

creature. "I’ve caught us dinner, Mother," he said in a quiet, happy voice.

He plucked the bird efficiently, removing all the feathers, then gutted it and washed out the

insides from a canteen of water. Finally, he speared the bird on his sword, and hung it over

a campfire that had been burning merrily for some time, and was now quite hot. He grabbed a

few additional pieces of fallen timber from the pile collected, and fed them to the flames.

Finally, he sat back down, and gazed happily at Jenova.

"We’ll reach Corel soon, Mother," Sephiroth said, as he waited for the bird to roast. "Then

I’ll show you the Gold Saucer. They have a Battle Square there, games, theatres, and so much

more!" He took a swig from his canteen, then continued. "We can resupply there, and maybe

have a little fun." He smiled at Jenova. Despite having no mouth or other facial features,

Jenova gave the impression of smiling back.

Sephiroth removed the bird from the fire and began carving off chunks his favorite pieces for

himself, as he continued. "The traitors aren’t far behind us, Mother," he noted. "There’s

someone I heard about in the prison in the Corel desert. I’ll bet, with a little help from us,

he could be very helpful at slowing them down." He smirked. "All we have to do is get him into

the Gold Saucer, and he’ll take care of everything-and everyone, for that matter."

Sephiroth placed his choice cuts on the rock, then handed the carcass to Jenova, who snagged it

up in its tentacles and wrapped around it. Its body seemed to almost flow around the carcass,

as it fed like an amoeba. Sephiroth daintily tore into his own portions, washing it down with

more water.

After they’d finished, Sephiroth stared into the fire for a time. "You know, Mother," he

finally said, "I used to spend hours staring into campfires, when I was on campaign. Everyone

else would joke and brag and tell stories. I just stared into the fire. It’s so wonderful,

fire. It’s strong, it can destroy anything it touches. It’s beautiful, and comforting. It used

to be the only thing I had, before I found you." Jenova cocked its head as though gazing at

him quizzically.

"Now I have you, though. Now I’ll make them pay for what they did to you, and see you get

everything you want and deserve." He thought about the members of Avalanche, Cloud, Tifa,

Aeris-he abruptly pulled away from his pondering of the Cetra girl. Just thinking about

Aeris and her pure nature forced a self evaluation that he did not care for. "We’ll have to

kill that girl sooner instead of later." Jenova nodded agreement. "Maybe you could force

Cloud to do it for us?"

When the fire finally died down, Sephiroth sighed and stood. "We’d best get some rest, Mother.

We have a long day’s journey before we reach Corel." Jenova stared at him a moment, then spread

it’s tentacles in invitation. Sephiroth smiled happily, and climbed into it’s lap, his eyes

shining with a curious mixture of the Mako energy, the insanity, and a child’s joy of maternal

love. He closed his eyes and was asleep in short order.

Jenova gazed down at Sephiroth curiously for a long while. It possessed many servants, both the

pawns in SOLDIER, duped into taking a portion of its cells, and thus, opening themselves up for

its control, as well as the fools in Shinra, whose lust for power and wealth played directly

into its hands. But Sephiroth was special.

It’s tentacles hovered over his peaceful, sleeping face. He looked lonely, and vulnerable. He

was vulnerable. The tentacles drew closer, possessed of power sufficient to rip him to shreds.

But it could do no such thing. Something inside it prevented it from doing so. Jenova suddenly

had an insight. Could this be what Sephiroth meant by "love?" An emotion strong enough to stop

it from destruction, from its primary purpose?

Love was powerful, indeed.

Jenova’s face contorted into an approximation of a gloating sneer. It was BORN to power. To

wield it, to control it. Jenova would use its feelings for Sephiroth, and his love for it, to

bind them further. Already, he suspected it’s true nature, yet did not care. He loved it too

much to forsake it for anything. Even the truth.

And it loved him, it thought to itself happily, with the wonder of discovering an emotion never

before experienced, a feeling beyond previous comprehension. He bore its cells, that in itself

qualified him as its progeny. Yet there was more to being a parent than mere genetics, and it

found itself fondly contemplating sampling those experiences. Of course, once they reached

Corel, it would once again meld inside it’s child, concealed within his form, as he showed it

around the human theme park of Gold Saucer.

The tentacles, with all their awesome might, softly caressed Sephiroth’s cheek, before adjusting

his cloak around him from where it had fallen open. Then the tentacles softly enfolded him,

cradling it’s child, holding it safe and warm. As Sephiroth wriggled in his sleep, snuggling

up against Jenova in the way that he’d never had a chance to do as a child, Jenova contemplated

the future.

Soon. Very soon. It would reach the crater, in the far north. There, it would tap the very

source of life itself, and there, with Sephiroth, it would gain dominion over the entire planet.

It would rule the world, together with it’s child...