Author:  Dragonia27
FF7 Characters:  Sephiroth
OC's:  Included
Genre: General Fiction
Setting: After DoC, here in our world
Status:  Multi-chapter, Complete
Summary: Curious, Oberon drops in and bears the brunt of Kass's split personality for his troubles.
Rating:  T for God/OC conflict
Pairing:  None romantic
Disclaimer:  I don't own anything from FF7. Square Enix does.  The ideas are mine though.

---

The wind caressed the trees on Avalon, sending their sweet fragrance into the air.  Gods and goddesses mingled here and there around the island, talking about recent events.  Sitting alone on the mountainside, Oberon felt like he was missing something.  He looked out to the stars, hoping for the answer.  His queen was out there somewhere, amusing herself.  Normally he didn't care but because of the arrival of the foreign god, he felt like he should be protecting her.  He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.  There was definitely something he was missing.

He rose and began walking down the trail.  Something...just out of reach...When he looked up again he found himself his scrying pool surrounded by greenery.  White and yellow flowers lined it and made it look welcoming.  He grimaced.  These flowers weren't here before.  Not by his pool.  Still, this was Avalon and it altered itself to accommodate the magical flow in the world.  Perhaps this foreign god was doing something to his world.  Again the Lord of the Fae narrowed his eyes, trying to see what it was he was so desperately missing.

For a lack of anything better to do, he went over and knelt by the pool, gently dipping his fingers in it.  Cool familiarity rose up and caressed his hand as a few nymphs darted here and there, trying to get his attention.  He looked into the pool and said, "Be gone.  I have business to attend to."  The nymphs darted quickly away, anxious to obey their lord.  Keeping his fingers in the pool, he extended a sliver of power to find the foreign god.  If he was anywhere in the world Oberon could find him.

The pool went dark for a while, nothing happened.  Then a soft, gentle sound brushed his ears.  It was someone singing.

  

Home Is Behind
The World Ahead
And There Are Many Paths To Tread
Through Shadow
To The Edge Of Night
Until The Stars Are All Alight

Mist And Shadow
Cloud And Shade
All Shall Fade
All Shall...Fade

The female could sing well enough, for a human.  At the very least she wasn't tone deaf and didn't hurt his ears by singing.  Then he felt the tingle of magic stirring around someone and focused his attention on it, willing the pool to show him what was happening.

First, the foreign god came into focus and he did not look well.  Sweat covered his brow and he lay in the fetal position with his hands over his ears.  Perhaps our magic, our world, is killing him, Oberon thought cautiously.  He didn't want to get his hopes up.  Returning his attention to the foreign god, he saw that the man's power was fluctuating, some of it very destructively.  Something was eating at him and Oberon instinctively recoiled from it.  Candles flickered around the foreign god, casting shadows and illuminating the room in a warm, old fashioned sort of way.  There wasn't the harsh glare from the electric lights that irritated Oberon's eyes.

Second, he noticed a woman sitting by the foreign god's side, softly running her fingers through his hair.  Her dark crimson hair was tied back enough to keep it out of her eyes but she had let the rest of it hang down in a glorious red river.  She was human, of that he was certain.  The corner of his mouth twitched.  Seeing her like that reminded him of his queen during her more gentle times.  The foreign god...Sephiroth?  Yes, Sephiroth.  Sephiroth spasmed and cried out, his hands going to his midsection.  His face contorted in pain and the woman was on her feet, placing her hands on his and then gently sliding her fingers under his hands to get closer to the skin.

Curious, Oberon walked through the pool into the room.  He contained his power as much as he could, trying to appear as minor as possible.  He made himself look mostly human.  There was nothing he would do to change his ears.  Not for anyone.  His skin lightened until it nearly matched her own pale peach hue and his hair darkened, becoming the color of chocolate.  I seriously doubt this human has any idea who I am.  She didn't even look up at his entry.  Her entire attention was focused on Sephiroth.  She began singing again, very softly even to the Lord of the Fae's ears.

The door opened and another woman came in.  "Hey, Kass, your husband is on your cell phone and wants to talk to you."  She held up the small electronic device and Oberon could feel the slight shift in energy in the room.  It wouldn't be noticeable for a human.  Then again, Oberon thought as he watched Kassandra's body twitch, I could be wrong.  He raised an eyebrow at the scene.  Feeling someone watching him, he turned to see the foreign god staring right at him.  In person, that gaze was unnerving.  There was no mercy in it, none whatsoever.

"Tell him I--" Kassandra stopped talking as Sephiroth began to force himself into a sitting position.  She put her hands firmly on his arm and began applying pressure, trying to get him to lay back down.  "You need to lay down."  Her tone was firm, strong and caring.

"No," Sephiroth said around clenched teeth.  His left hand still clung to his midsection while his right hand and arm were pushing him into a sitting position.  A black substance began to swirl around his fingers.

Her gaze fell on his hands and she clamped her fingers around his, wincing as she did so.  Sephiroth's gaze flew to her and he tried to pull his hand away.  The swirling black substance vanished.  Oberon could hear her soul scream from the contact and yet she still didn't let go.  What is the fool of a human doing?  Does she want to get herself killed?  Oberon raised an eyebrow in wonder.

"You...don't...understand," Sephiroth said firmly.  "Right...there..."

She climbed over Sephiroth nimbly, not touching his wounded area in the slightest, and put herself in front of him.  "Yes, I do," Kassandra said as she took his head in her hands.  "I know.  I can feel it here."  She touched a spot on her skull and drew a line along the middle of her head.  "I know someone is there.  If you want to help me, the best thing you can do is lie down and not hurt yourself anymore.  No materia here, remember?  You have used a lot of magic lately, Sephiroth.  You need the rest."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, trying to summon the energy to argue.  "Mother..."

Oberon cocked his head ever so slightly to the left.  Mother?  Now that is very interesting indeed.  He glanced to the door where the other girl remained.  Impishly, he used his magic to push through the phone communication and to the man on the other side.  Oberon found a man devoted to his wife, although unsure of all the commotion and other goings on while she was away.  He wanted to believe all she told him but he had the distinct feeling she was leaving something out.  While his wife was due back tomorrow, he wanted to be reassured she wasn't having an affair behind his back with some "pretty boy."  Glancing back to Kassandra, Oberon made an impulsive decision.

Gently and softly, he used his magic to reassure the man that all was well.  Yes, his wife loved him and would not leave him.  Still, this was her time away and she would return tomorrow.  There was no need for him to worry because she was a capable woman.  Oberon withdrew his power, satisfied with himself.  I've done that for her, he thought calmly.  I wonder if she knows how to express gratitude.  He returned his attention to the pair in the room.

"Lay down," she said softly, gently and slowly using her weight to push Sephiroth down on the bed.

"I said...I would..." Sephiroth winced as pain flared up.  His breathing became rapid and his hand clenched his side.

Kassandra gently uncurled his fingers and pressed his palm onto the wound, applying pressure with her hand on top of his.    "You'll be all right," she assured him in a mellow voice.  "I'm a healer here, Sephiroth.  I can help you if you let me."

Managing to glare at Oberon, Sephiroth nodded once.  He took a deep breath and Oberon felt calm flood out of the woman.  It washed over Sephiroth, sedating him and causing his whole body to relax.  She turned her head slightly to look over her right shoulder, directly at Oberon.  "I don't know who you are or why you're here but I need you to wait in the other room, if you please."  Her tone brooked no nonsense.

Amused, Oberon stepped into the other room and used magic to peer into the one he'd just come from.  She watched where he had been for a moment more and then, satisfied he was gone, returned her attention to the foreign god.  Gently, she peeled back his shirt and began examining his torso.  She frowned and Oberon adjusted his perspective.  He was looking down on the pair now and he saw the man's bare torso.

Small scars criss-crossed here and there but nothing all that serious.  As he watched, though, a dark diagonal slash mark appeared on his right side.  It was a huge mark, taking up most of the man's side from spine out to the edge of his torso.  A wound like that would have killed a living man but this one seems to bear it well enough.   Oberon raised his eyebrow in appreciation.  He is going to be difficult to deal with.

Kassandra began singing again, the same song, as she moved her hands along the wound.  It quit darkening and stopped spreading.  She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.  Oberon felt the tug of magic as she reached into it, using it to probe his wound without opening him up.  As she did so, something dark and vile snaked out to meet her.  Oberon shielded her immediately, a reaction to the dark slime within the foreign god.  Her mouth twitched into a smile and she whispered, "Jenova, if I'm not mistaken."

Jenova.  I'll have to remember that.  Oberon shuddered at the pure desire to destroy in the blackness.  It tried lashing out at him, though weakly, he finally noticed.  And it was getting weaker.  As he watched, the blackness returned to what it had originally been doing, tearing a hole in Sephiroth.  Even in the worst of fights with my queen, I've never seen anything like this.  It was eating him away, slowly, breaking down each cell as it went.

Disgusted, Oberon reached out to the world and found the healers.  There was no knowing if this filth was contagious.  He grabbed each one without mercy, dragging them to him without any warning.  They appeared by his side, stumbling into each other and, in some cases, colliding with one another.  Apollo was the first to recover, "My Lord," he began and then stopped, voice trailing into nothing.  He turned his head to the room with Kassandra and blanched.  "Kass," he whispered.  He returned his gaze to Oberon, "What do you want us to do?"

"Contain that filth.  Destroy it if possible."  Oberon's lip curled into a snarl.  Yes, he could do it.  But what was the point in having gods who specialized in this if they didn't use it every now and then?

The others nodded, grounding themselves.  As one, they reached out, using Kassandra like a funnel for their power.  She bit her lip to keep from crying out as energy seared her nerves for the second time in less than 48 hours.  Through her, they found the Jenova cells.

Apollo shook his head.  "They're all through his body, my Lord."  He cast a cautious glance at Oberon, "If we take them away, we take away part of his being, leaving him incomplete and possibly worse off than he is now."

"And if you contain them?"

Apollo paused, thoughtful.  "We could build a ward that would contain them but he would still be able to do magic."  He looked at the other healers.  Is this what we want to do?  Leave him with the power to defeat us?

A red haired female, Brigid, nodded.  We cannot knowingly destroy him when he is in this state.  Simply because he has the power to defeat us, does not mean he will.

Oberon watched the interaction between the two.  "Contain the filth then, if that is all you can do for now."

They nodded and returned their attention to containing Jenova.  Kassandra, for her part, was beginning to falter, her mind having a hard time coping with everything rushing through her.  "Apollo, help me," she prayed softly.

"You got it, kid," Apollo diverted some of his energy, using it to sustain her.  He smiled as she quit wavering.

Blinking, she refocused her attention on Sephiroth.  "I'm going to be damned if I let you win," she muttered.  She drove forward, pushing the Jenova cells away from the wound.

Deftly the gods and goddesses of healing contained the inky Jenova cells, creating little bubbles around them that would prevent them from attacking Sephiroth again.  It would last for quite a while, easily as long as he was alive.

Oberon waited until his children were done and had safely removed themselves from the human.  As they began to leave, he reached out and touched Apollo's shoulder.  "Tell me about her," he commanded.

Apollo glanced to the room and then nodded.  "Kass was born with the ability to talk with us.  Unfortunately for her, her parents had no tolerance for things like that.  Long story short, she pushed us away until Hades was given the ability to claim her."

"You mean she neared death?"

"I mean I resuscitated her," Apollo said softly.  "Because she brushed with death he felt comfortable claiming her, I guess."  He shrugged.  "I don't know the details.  If you want those, you'll have to ask Hades or her.  Other than that, Ares claimed her too.  Don't know why, she not a warrior or anything like that.  She's a healer.  Pure and simple."

Interesting.  Oberon turned his attention to the room.  Kassandra was soothing the skin around the wound and, when she was finished with that, she replaced the shirt.  She soothed Sephiroth's hair and got off the bed.  As she left the room, she blew out all but one of the candles.  Finally she emerged into the main room, walking stiffly.

Apollo left quickly, not wanting to remain.  Oberon watched her and waited.  If she was Gods-Touched, she'd know he was there.  With a groan she sat down and drank something slowly.  Half a cup later she brought her gaze up in his general direction.  Part of her soul rippled though he couldn't know why.  "I know you're there.  You may as well come out."  Her voice was tired and slightly worn from her efforts.

Oberon finally let her see him.  He had an otherworldly radiance about it but other than that, he kept his plain appearance.  "Sorry if I intruded but I was curious," he answered honestly.

She took another drink.  "I don't care what you were, you shouldn't have done that."

Her reprimand made the corners of his mouth quirk.  "He's new and--"

"And if you have any hope of living for the rest of eternity you should stay away from him," she finished bluntly.  She drained the rest of her cup and set it on the table.  "You weren't thinking about anything or anyone else, only your own curiosity."

"I don't understand," Oberon said slowly.  He glanced at the room where the foreign god slept peacefully.

Kassandra snorted and her prominently green eyes flared.  "Of course you wouldn't.  You gods and goddesses are so caught up in plotting and planning against each other that you don't take the time to notice the little everyday things.  You miss the small details and that will get you killed."

Oberon arched his eyebrow.  She certainly is opinionated.  Though...entertaining at the same time.  He lowered his eyes, affecting chastisement.  "I'm sorry.  I'm young and--"

"Obviously."  She sighed and groaned, running her hands over her face.  Something in her rippled again and she took a deep breath.  "I'm sorry.  It's late, I'm tired," she said through her hands.  Then she pulled her hands down, sitting up straighter.  Her eyes were mostly brown now.  "I apologize for my rudeness.  Young or not, you are still a god and I shouldn't be so disrespectful."  She bowed her head, "Please accept my apologies.  Would you like somewhere to sit or something to eat?  Maybe I can satisfy your curiosity as way of apology."

Oberon crossed the room, leaning down to whisper in her ear.  "What if I told you I wanted to take you to bed for an apology instead?"

Tartarus
Hades' Palace

Shadows drifted near and far, some going through the walls.  The Furies cleaned their wings overhead and soon, ever so soon, his queen would return.  Chill was beginning each morning and Hades could nearly feel her touch again.  He smiled slightly to himself.  This was the time of year he was waiting for.

As he went up the stairs into his private rooms, an unsettling tug began in the base of Hades' stomach.  It was a tug that he'd gotten only a few times before, one of warning and usually it concerned one of his Touched.  Closing his eyes he focused on the feeling and then reached out to find its cause.  Far above ground, in a city with glass towers...Hades got a sinking feeling.  I was by those towers last night.  Kassandra.  Opening his eyes, he sighed.  I should get there in time.  It's probably some of the other gods hovering too near again.

With a quick glance over his room to make sure things were going well, he quickly grabbed his invisibility helmet.  Just as he began putting it on his head he heard a snap-crack and his world shifted, almost as though Kronos or one of the other Titans were fighting to freedom again.  But nothing in his room was damaged so It must just be me.  Hades shook his head and realized the sinking feeling was gone.

That worried him even more than it being there.