Final Fantasy and its characters are owned by Square Inc., and I do not claim them as my own. However, this story, and all original characters do belong to me.

I sat in the corner of the room, shrouded in darkness�the window only cast light in certain places, and I avoided it. Looking at my tattered trench coat and shirt made me sink into a morbid state of mind� I could almost see my underclothes through some of the gashes. I needed new clothing, more food and water, and my supplies� My life now revolved around Sephiroth's schedule, and I did everything when he wanted me to.

I wanted to leave, badly. Maybe then I would get the chance to gather some equipment and come back to try assassinating my target. I knew in the back of my mind there was a dormant well that I could use to create magic� But I didn't know how to tap into this power, and if I tried, I had no idea what damage it might do. So, all I could do was lounge in the room and wait for the next tempest that Sephiroth would bring along into my life.

My body was weak. I knew that Sephiroth had kept me in such a condition on purpose; he didn't want me to remain as powerful as he, so he did all he could to keep my body frail. An embarrassment. My strength wasn't at all what it had used to be. In any case, whether I had enough physical power or not, I needed to retaliate against my captor. I had to show him that I wouldn't be abused any longer.

My mind carried on this same train of thought until about an hour later, when the man himself entered the room. He saw me in the corner, placed my food and water on the same old, rickety table, and approached me. I glared, Mako eyes glowing evilly in the darkness. I would gather power. I would NOT tolerate him anymore.

"Kurai... my puppet. Get up." He held a hand out, offering it to me. I indeed stood, but ignored the gesture of aide. I wouldn't support him at all in his dominance. I then slapped the back of his hand away from me. Looking at his face, I noticed something had pushed him into his twisted state of mind, and I soon found a hand clasped about my throat. "Insubordinate� fool�"

This time, I was able to fight. I lashed out with a hand as well and caught his throat in it, then applied all the pressure I could. He released me, but swept a foot into my legs with force. Caught off balance, I fell down, but refused to let go of his throat; it was the only power I had over him. I kept my grip, though it had loosened, and pulled him with me; he ended up landing on top of me when I fell, something I was sure he had done on purpose. I took my hand away from his throat so I could use it to climb up. However, that didn't seem like it would be happening. Sephiroth caught both of my hands and slammed them against the floor. I was sure he had nearly broken half of my fingers based on the crushing power of the motion, something I hadn't expected.

"I told you I would punish you." The psychotic grin of his I so feared came across his face. I waited to act, but I certainly would act. "And I know why Hojo wants you� but you belong to me now." I cringed, feeling him slide the tip of his tongue mockingly over my top lip.

That was it. I was done with this. I couldn't deal with the mental torment he was instilling in me, and my brain was already feeble. Thinking quickly, I head butted him hard in the forehead. It dazed him for a moment, but that was long enough for me. I used the instant to tear my hands from his, and throw him off of me, rather, push him aside and scramble to my feet. But, he was up as quickly as I was, and fully capable of attacking me now.

Turning, he walked to the table where he had set the foot and drink. He picked up a book that had been resting by it. I must've not seen him bring books in, but they were there now, I noticed.

"See this?!" he shouted, waving it at me. "I know now! You are more like Mother than I ever could be! So you will try to take my place once I am gone and become me�! Tell me I'm wrong."

Arms at my sides, I stood ready for anything. "Perhaps." My eyes narrowed. "All I know is that I am to kill you. And I will."

"You will, will you?!" Rage echoed in his voice. "You are NOT Mother! And you will NOT be me!" With these words, he hurled the book at me, full-force. I made a move to block with my arms, and it hit my right forearm, certainly bruising on impact. Before I knew it, he was throwing book after book at me. Some hit me, some didn't. As the fiasco went on, I ran right at him through the fluttering papers.

"Get� OUT!" I cried at him, thrusting my hands forward. When they made contact with his chest, a cloud of gray began to whoosh from my fingertips. It was magic... I couldn't believe I had used it. My will was strong then; maybe that was what brought it on.

"D-Demi�" The mist of gray seeped into him even though he tried his own magic to block it. Black particles formed around my gray, but nothing happened�he had failed to hold it back. Right after the hit, my adversary nearly collapsed to the ground. He found support against the wall then stumbled out of the room, sure to lock the door as always. "Tomorrow, Kurai... tomorrow will be the best yet!" he shouted before he hobbled down the hall.

I sighed and let myself drop to the floor amidst papers that had flown out of the books. I saw formulas, numbers, symbols, notation, reports, and more. Everything was about Jenova, and experiments related to her. So that was it� I was a female clone so that I could have Mother's powers� I had inherited them through genetic engineering that Sephiroth's body had rejected. I was closer to Mother than he was, more perfect. These things, and many others I saw on the note sheets around me, were amazing.

I spent that night reading through the mess of papers and learning about Mother and myself.