"An epic tale embark I now to write, of you whose deeds give voice to silent muse."- Eurek, Final Fantasy XII

Hello, this is my first story. I know the first couple chapters may not be the most interesting, but please stick with me through to the end. I promise, it gets better. FANART ON MY PROFILE

I need to make a couple things perfectly clear before you move on. This is not a romance story, and it never will be. This story is about trying to save Sephiroth, nothing more.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Rin.

Within the office of Dr. Hojo, papers rustled as he checked over the documents.

Specimen 4 responding well to treatment. Requesting permission to proceed to Step 3 of experiment.

Hojo scribbled his name and put the paper in the 'Done' pile. He went on to the next file, grumbling about how much paperwork ShinRa gave him. Opening the file, he grabbed the first sheet.

On July 6, Specimen 9 reached 7 years of age. Experiment R was executed flawlessly. Requesting permission to proceed to Experiment R² and transport Specimen 9 to Headquarters.

He let out another long, weary sigh. After signing his name, he put the paper aside and read the other papers containing more information, including the status of the specimen and experiment details. He made notes about preparing it a cell and wrote down the names of the assistants he would need, and placed the reminder with the others. They were beginning to pile up…

Getting up, Hojo decided that was enough paperwork for today. Yelling at his assistants to finish it, he headed back to his quarters. A brilliant, no, genius scientist needs his sleep, right?

'Hmmmm, Experiment R² will be interesting. I just hope Sephiroth is up for the job! I've never seen him around children before...and he's never even had an assistant before, let alone an apprentice!'

Laughing evilly to himself as he walked, all the passing people knew he had something sinister up his sleeve….

"Check status! Releasing tank!"

"Status confirmed! Proceed."

I heard voices for the first time in a month. Sounds like they're finally going to let me out. Woo…. I had been in there because I had gotten severely injured from one of their 'test specimens'. I pretty much got mauled. So they stick me in a mako tank for a while, and bingo, all better.

I fell out of the tank, landing in a pathetic heap on the floor. Two assistants helped me up into a sitting position, and checked my eyes, heart rate, and breathing, before dragging me to my cell. To my relief, it was the same one as before.

They dropped me on the bed, and the nice assistant said she'd come back with clothes in a little while. That puzzled me. Usually the only clothes they give us experiments are a white shirt and pants, and that was only if we were important. Luckily, I was.

I laid down on the bed. It was just cot with grey sheets. A hole here and there. The cell was like all the others. Rock walls, rock ceiling, and rock floors. Nice, huh?

You're probably wondering who I am, right? Let's see…a name? The scientists only call me Specimen 9, or Experiment R, but a few assistants named me Rin. I think was my name before they took me…but I can't remember. My parents were both Turks, but they died on a mission in Wutai when I was two. At least that's what they told me. I believe I am seven years old, but my literary skills and thought processes are much more mature for my age. I think it has something to do with the mako… I have purple eyes for some reason, I think my mother did. My hair is a very, very dark violet, it almost looks black. It's rather short, cut at a little past my shoulders. I have lots of scars from injections and from training.

Fighting was really the only fun thing they let me do here. It was always against monsters though, created either on purpose or by accident. I myself started out as a regular baby, but got mako injections on a regular basis. They put me through numerous tests, to see how quickly I was progressing compared to a normal child. Walking, talking, reading, writing, math… All that stuff.

One of the assistants came back. Like she said, she had a set of clothes with her. But these were… nice.

"Here they are! You will be departing for Midgar in a couple of days, so I chose some nice clothes for you! I hope you like them." she chirped, and set them down next to me. I only stared at her.

Keeping a calm exterior, I picked up the clothes. The assistant smiled and then left, shutting the cell door quietly. She left me black boots, a pair pants made out of a durable material that were slightly too big for me, a dark blue t-shirt, and a sturdy looking vest with many pockets. Again, black. There was also a pair of undergarments, and a belt.

I put all of this on, except the boots and vest, and laid back down on the cot. I was trying to get used to the unusual feeling of the fabric against me. Sighing, I resigned to staring at the ceiling till I fell asleep.

An assistant soon woke me up to escort me to the labs. She was different from the one who brought me my clothes. She didn't look at me, and only said to follow her. I put on the boots and vest and got up. She led me to a room with a table and a few chairs. She sat me down, and left. I looked about the room: White walls, white ceiling, and tiled floor. I wonder why most of the rooms are like that. Do they have no room for creativity?

A man entered. I recognized him as the deputy head scientist, Dr. Kerris. He preformed all of the monthly examinations, supervised the area where I fight monsters, and did all major mako injections. He was like a down-scaled version of Hojo. Everyone here knows Hojo, even the experiments like me. He makes sure of it.

He came over to the table, and sat down across from me.

"Hello," he said in an annoying voice, "Nice clothes. Melissa must have taken pity on you." I didn't reply, and he didn't expect me to. "I will just need you fill out this form for Professor Hojo, he will look at it when you arrive in Midgar. Then we will have to perform one last physical today. You will depart tomorrow." And with that, he left a piece of paper on the table, along with a pen, and left.

I looked at the paper:

1. What is your name?

2. What is your estimated age?

3. How long have you been an experiment?

4. Have you been trained in combat?

Let's see….

1. Rin

2. Seven

3. Five years?

4. Yes

Well, that was easy. I flipped it over, and cursed silently. There were a number of difficult looking questions, pertaining to mathematics, literature, science, and geology. I could find no reason for these, other than Hojo wanting to test my intelligence. I answered them all, as they looked harder than they were. They were only worded badly, making it confusing if you do not pay attention. I was taught all I know in sessions after my fighting lessons, and tested on it. They said it was to see how long I could retain knowledge. I can remember everything I learned, even now.

After I finished, I sat there for about a half an hour. Then the same assistant that escorted me here came in, and led me back to the room where all the mako tanks were. As I walked in, I looked inside the tanks, and saw other children, like me. I've never met any of them, though. They don't want us to form attachments. The only one I knew well was my normal counterpart, the girl they compare me to for the experiment. I feel sorry for her, because for all the times that I've come close to dying, she's come closer and way more often. She also takes longer to heal than I do.

Aside from the mako tanks, there were examining tables, computers, and some other machines. A normal physical consists of taking blood samples to test mako levels, as well as to check for any kind viruses or bacteria that cause disease. This is to check if the mako can or will cause illnesses or diseases. But so far, no experiment has shown anything for concern, other than extreme mako poisoning.

After blood, you get CAT scans, and an X-Ray to check how the mako and other substances affect your body. They ask you if you've been feeling any pain, and how well wounds heal. Then they do a series of tests to check your senses, which includes sight, hearing, and smell. Finally, they look into your eyes, and record how much more, or how much less, they shine.

They do all this, and have someone escort me back to my cell. The tests have worn me out so much that I fall right asleep, not even bothering to remove my boots.