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The cell was cold and dark but the child sitting in the corner payed no notice, shoulder length silver hair falling in his face, hiding his tears from the scientists rushing past. A soft beeping caught his attention and the cell door slid open revealing a tall man with short brown hair.
“Professor Gast!” The boy jumped up and ran towards Professor Gast, still crying.
“Sephiroth! What happened? your crying!” Sephiroth wiped his eyes and smiled weekly at the professor.
“I…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“If your sure…well I want to show you something." He looked up at the brown-haired scientist, eyes wide.
"What?" Gast smiled kindly at him and held out his hand. "It's a beautiful night out, and most of the stars are visible. I thought you might like to see them."
"What's a star?”
"Huge balls of gas and fire, burning millions of miles away from our planet. From this planet, they look like little silver spots, sparkling in the darkness. They're breath-taking, and I know you've never seen them before."
Sephiroth held up some of his hair. "Silver?"
The smiled widened, Gast's chocolate brown eyes twinkling in amusement. "Yes, they're silver. Just like your hair. Would you like to see them?"
He hesitated. "Is it ok? Hojo won’t be mad?"
"
What Hojo doesn't know won't kill him. We're just going up to the roof, after all." Gast waited patiently, and at last the silver-haired child reached out and curled his fingers around two of Gast's.
Gast beamed at him, then led the way out of the cell and to the stairs, keeping his pace slow so Sephiroth could keep up. He was the only scientist in the Shinra labs who cared about the living result of the Jenova Project, and granted him the kindness a child like him deserved. He couldn't save him from Hojo's cruelty, but he could show him that not all people were going to hurt him. Small reminders such as this would keep the boy from growing up to be a psychopath, something Hojo was surprisingly unconcerned with.
Gast adjusted his hold on the child, continuing up the steps to the roof. Pushing open the door, he turned his gaze skyward.
"Sephiroth? Take a look," he urged softly. He wasn't sure how Sephiroth would react to the open sky; to his knowledge, Hojo had never let him outside before.
Bright green eyes blinked, closed, and then flew open in shock. Sephiroth tilted his head back, gazing at the sky above, then Gast's skin crawled as an unearthly shriek erupted from Sephiroth’s mouth. Sephiroth hid his face in his hands and continued screaming.
Gast hurried back to the indoor safety just beyond the door, kneeling on the stairs and attempting to soothe the terrified child. He had been expecting something like this, and right now Sephiroth needed reassurance. It was a frightening thing, encountering something so huge and virtually endless when one had only known enclosed spaces all their life.
It took some time, but at last Sephiroth's terrified shrieks quieted, turning into gulping sobs and soft whimpers. At last, Gast gently coaxed his hands from his face and wiped the tears away with his thumb.
"It's all right, Sephiroth. There's nothing to be scared of. The sky isn't going to hurt you."
"Too big!" he cried. "Too big!"
"I know it's big. It makes you feel so small. But you know what? The sky is also beautiful. Since it's so big, it holds things that won't fit indoors. Like the sun and the stars, or the clouds. The sky holds the unknown, and that makes it both scary and intriguing."
"Scary!"
"The sky may be scary, but it won't hurt you. Don't you believe me?" Silver hair swished wildly from side to side. "Come look, once more if it hurts you I'll take you back to your cell and you'll never have to see it again. But if it doesn't, will you come back outside with me?"
Sephiroth considered it for a moment, and nodded slightly. Gast took his cue and stepped confidently outside, remaining where he knew Sephiroth could see him. He paused for a few minutes, keeping track of the silver-haired child. Sephiroth merely watched him, tense with anxious anticipation.
Sephiroth looked like he wanted to run away, and Gast half expected him to. But to his delight, Lucrecia's son didn't back down from the challenge. He came to the doorway, and then paused, peeking fearfully at the sky.
One step.
Two steps.
Then his fingers were curling around Gast's once more, and Sephiroth was looking up at the stars with both fear and wonder. Gast knelt beside him, his smile broad. "See, Sephiroth? The sky can't hurt you. And aren't the stars beautiful?"
Sephiroth stared at the sky, Green eyes wide and fearful, yet holding a spark of amazement. Gast laughed softly and stood back up.
“Come on Sephiroth, we should get back before Hojo notices.” Sephiroth reluctantly tore his gaze away from the sky and nodded. The Professor gast lead Sephiroth into the Labs, making sure no one notices the child clutching his hand.
Sephiroth walked into the cell his eyes still held sparks of amazement, making Gast laugh as he set Sephiroth down on the small cotton bed.
“Professor? Can I see the stars again?” Sephiroth asked hopefully. Gast didn’t reply, he just smiled sadly and stepped back, noticing fresh blood on the sheets.
“Now can you tell me what happened? I can help you.” Sephiroth’s eyes went dark and he flinched away arm instinctively going to his left shoulder blade.
He jumped off the bed and spread his wings. Hiding his face behind his hair and his hands. One coal-black wing wrapped closely around his body.
Only one wing? Where was...
Oh.
Sephiroth had turned slightly, lowering the neck of the loose shirt on his left side and the bloody stump on his left shoulder was horribly visible. The smallest mound of flesh and bone cut so close to his skin that it looked more like a gouge than a stump. Gast knew how much he loved those wings; often he went to sleep cocooned in them, snuggled deep within the soft feathers.
Hojo must have taken the other wing off to study it, and had not seen fit to heal his son.
Hojo was a monster, but Sephiroth was just a little boy, and he was hurting. He had just lost one of the only things that had been his and his alone, and he could never get it back.
The silver-haired boy stared at him for a long moment. Gast called upon the Cure materia in his armlet; the wound vanishing as if it had never been there in the first place. The other wing folded into his back.
“I have to go now. I’ll be back soon, will you be alright now?” Sephiroth nodded and climbed back onto the bed, watching Gast as he left the room.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Professor Gast never came back.
