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Butterfly Effect: Chapter 26
Authors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: That'd be telling!
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: It figured this would happen during one of the busiest times of the year for the Science Department, when new SOLDIERs were getting their first injections.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 26
Orientation was something of a trial for Cloud. He stood in perfect formation with his fellow new SOLDIERs for well over two hours, listening to Heidegger blather on about how they were “the pride of ShinRa” and how “the future of SOLDIER lies in your hands.” Finally he managed to escape to Zack’s side. Much to his surprise and pleasure, his final roommate was none other than his old squadmate Matthew Roberts. The Kalm native settled right in just fine.
Cloud left the next day’s Mako seminar feeling slightly queasy. He supposed it was a good thing to make sure the SOLDIERs knew all the nasty side effects of Mako and signs of mutation or poor adaptation, but some of them truly were stomach-turning. The young man couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive about the entire thing now, but no way was he going to give up… though he wouldn’t be getting his treatments for a little over three weeks. It really sucked to be an S sometimes.
In the meantime, Zack continued to train and drill him, making sure he could remember everything the seminar had presented about Mako. Cloud chafed under the constant repetition of the same facts over and over again, but understood the need for it. Knowing or not knowing that information might just save his life, or the life of one of his fellows.
“We won’t be doing anything most of tomorrow, Cloud,” Zack announced as they finished for the day. “Seph wants me at the board meeting. Why don’t you take the day off and have some fun?”
Cloud’s shoulders tensed as he picked up on the hidden meaning in his friend’s words. Tomorrow they would bust out Red XIII. “All right… if you insist.”
“I do,” Zack replied firmly. “All work and no play makes a dull SOLDIER, you know.” He grinned suddenly. “Just ask Seph.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud checked his appearance once more. Scott and Paul had left yesterday on a mission, and Matt was off training with his mentor. All well and good, since now none of them could see Cloud’s current appearance. It was rather startling, and the new SOLDIER kept feeling like he was looking at a stranger.
Cloud’s new look had been Zack’s primary contribution to the plan. The SOLDIER First had dyed Cloud’s blond hair to an ordinary, nondescript brown, pinning the long spikes down. The effect was a little odd, but not as bad as it could be, Cloud decided. He looked like a nondescript young man with a bit of a raggedy hair cut. When he’d questioned his mentor, Zack had just laughed and reminded Cloud that SOLDIERs did get sent on recon missions every once in a while, and how would he not get caught if he didn’t do something with his hair?
The next part of his disguise was his uniform, or rather what was lacking. Regulars and SOLDIER cadets wore the same uniform with different insignia pins, and new SOLDIERs kept that uniform until after their first Mako treatments. A rapid gain in size and muscle mass was a normal side effect, so it would’ve been wasteful to have to issue incoming SOLDIERs new uniforms twice in the space of a few weeks. New SOLDIERs had their own insignia pins, but wearing the regular insignia his mentor had filched for him, Cloud looked more like an ordinary private than Zachary Sinclair’s well-known protégé. Good thing, too. We’re less likely to get caught that way.
Checking that the way was clear, Cloud left his room and walked purposefully through the halls, as if on an errand. It only took a few minutes to reach the place where Vincent hid in wait, and together they disabled the alarm on a rare-used emergency exit opening on a dark, quiet alley, starting into the ShinRa Tower and up seemingly endless flights of stairs. Waiting for Vincent, who was searching for a mechanism in the wall of the uppermost part of the stairwell, Cloud couldn’t help remembering their conversation during the planning stages. “I’m surprised the stairs go that high,” he had observed. “Seems like a security risk.”
“They don’t, at least not those accessible to the public. They’re put there for safely concerns in case people ever need to leave and the elevators aren’t working, but are hidden to prevent infiltration,” Vincent had explained. Now Cloud was seeing that in action. The wall slid open and the pair snuck into a dark passage. The stairs were narrower here, though thankfully not dusty; they wouldn’t have wanted to leave tell-tale signs of their passage. Of course, knowing ShinRa, it wouldn’t be surprising if people sometimes used these to sneak around the place…
Vincent gave his student a look as the pair stopped at a wall near the back of the secondary level of the labs, an area most commonly used for storing of specimens and equipment. Red XIII was supposed to be around here somewhere. As they slipped through another barely-visible door into the storeroom, Cloud looked around for the catlike creature; he tapped Vincent on the shoulder and pointed, and the former Turk nodded. The pair quickly crossed the room, trying to stay out of view of the security cameras — Vincent had set up a video loop earlier, but it was better to be safe than sorry — and stood before the transparent container holding their target.
Red XIII opened his one eye, watching them warily as Vincent started fiddling with the pad. Unwilling to speak, Cloud raised a finger to his lips and carefully mouthed. “We’re going to get you out.” For some reason, Cloud felt as if he could almost sense the great catlike creature’s suspicion, but he kept that to himself for now. A moment later Vincent succeeded in cracking the code, and the pod opened. The pair helped the former prisoner out and pulled him into the shadows.
Just in time, as the door abruptly slid open.
All three slunk back further into the dim corners of the ill-lit room, tensing as a man wearing a lab coat entered. Vincent’s hand was on his gun, ready to kill if necessary; Cloud’s heart sank. If his mentor fired, there would be no way they could escape without at least one of them being discovered, and the younger man knew without a doubt that Vincent would sacrifice his life for Cloud’s. This is all my fault. Gaea, what was I thinking? I shouldn’t have asked him to do this. This was insane. Stupidest plan ever conceived. We’re in so much trouble—
“Is everything all right in there?” A voice inquired from the adjoining room.
Vincent slowly, quietly cocked his gun, and Cloud held his breath, trying to control his racing heart. He’d never been so terrified in his life. This is it. We’re done for. There’s no possible way we can get out of this; at least one of us is gonna end up dead or worse, oh Gaea I never should’ve—
“…Everything’s fine,” the scientist called back through the open door. “It just took a minute for my eyes to adjust. You know how bad the lighting is in here.” He lowered his voice. “I hope you managed to get away safely. You didn’t deserve what they did to you.” And with that the unnamed man left, closing the door behind him.
Cloud nearly sagged in startled relief, casting a curious glance at Vincent, who was clearly not inclined to waste time examining their luck too closely. They quickly ushered Red XIII back to the stairs, starting down. Cloud was quickly aware they weren’t moving as fast as they had when they had come up and glanced back at the former prisoner. He was moving as quickly as he could, but with a definite limp. The new SOLDIER caught Vincent’s eye and made a brief gesture. Recognizing the Turk hand signal for ‘wounded party member,’ Vincent momentarily halted as Cloud pulled a bottle out of his pocket. Their feline companion regarded the potion warily for a moment, but he did accept it, thankfully. The potion should take care of the minor wounds on Red XIII’s leg, help some of his older injuries, and give him a bit more energy… hopefully enough to get him out of the building.
The trio resumed their silent, rapid retreat. Sooner than Cloud expected, they arrived at the junction for the public stairs, where Vincent paused, checking for traffic. While few people used these stairs instead of the elevator, there was still a chance that someone would see them. This was one of the most dangerous parts of their mission.
Vincent took off ahead, Cloud and Red XIII cautiously following. Thankfully, they made it down the stairs without incident; the scant few times the sounds of someone else in the stairwell made them all freeze and shrink into dim corners, they were thankfully separated by at least a couple flights. Cloud took over the lead as they left the building, moving down the alley until they reached a ShinRa-owned shipping facility. Bending down, he whispered to their escapee. “We have to get you off the Plate.” He nodded at an empty wooden crate, full of narrow chinks between the boards, right next to where they’d entered. “I know it’s kind of small, but it’ll just be for a little while, until they get you down to a warehouse in Sector 4. We’ll get you out from there. We’ve got a friend down below who will help take care of you.” He paused, looking uncertainly at the dancing flame at the end of the former captive’s tail. “Is there any way you could, uh… do something about that?”
The catlike creature seemed less than pleased as he looked distrustfully at the box, but eventually let out a resigned sigh and crept inside, carefully tucking his tail between his paws to hide its light. Wonder why it doesn’t burn him… Shaking his head, Cloud slid the lid on and nailed it shut as quietly as possible, thankful for the surrounding racket of others doing the same thing. For once, he was actually thankful he’d served as a private; helping out at or guarding places like this was often a duty assigned to low-ranked troopers, so Cloud was familiar with the facilities. It was relatively easy to sneak the box onto the outgoing truck; he fit right in with the privates doing the exact same thing. Smiling to himself as a few of them complained (quietly, so their supervisor couldn’t hear) of the drudgery, fending off an apparently lonely, chatty new private with a shrug and a somewhat nervous smile (“Just feeling a little under the weather, is all; it’s kinda warm in here”), Cloud felt a twinge of regret. This kind of thing’ll be impossible to do once I get enhanced. The way SOLDIERs stuck out so much was a large part of why Sephiroth and Zack had to help from the shadows instead of in person.
Finally managing to slip away, Cloud returned silently to Vincent’s side. For now they only had to hope Red XIII got down there safely. In theory, every single box had to be counted and recounted at multiple stages of shipment, but everyone knew that this was rarely done except with important cargo. As most of this was basic supplies and dry goods going to a storage warehouse in Sector 4, that wasn’t likely to happen.
“He’s gone,” the blond reported quietly, letting out a sigh of relief. The first, and most dangerous, part of their mission was over.
Vincent nodded. “Then we’d best head down below ourselves.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Breaking and entering to multiple facilities in one day. Mom would have a fit. Cloud couldn’t help smiling as he slipped on a pair of gloves and tinkered with the warehouse locking mechanism, Vincent watching over his shoulder in case there was a problem. And Vincent uses this as a training exercise. Why am I not surprised?
The lock, much less complicated than those in the ShinRa building, abruptly clicked and the door slid open. It took a good ten minutes to locate the correct box, but once they did Red XIII was out in a matter of moments, breathing deeply of the fresher air. Cloud lifted a finger to his lips, reminding their companion that he still needed to be quiet, and glanced uncertainly at the box. They really should get rid of it, since one empty crate among this shipment would certainly be suspicious, but Cloud wasn’t sure how…
Vincent shot his apprentice an amused glance, picked up the crate, and carried it outside. Placing it far enough from the building to be safely out of ‘ShinRa territory,’ the former Turk withdrew into the shadows. Red XIII and Cloud watched as a ragged bunch of people swarmed over the crate, breaking it into pieces and carting it off. Cloud shook his head. Scavengers… of course. Here under the Plate, real wood’s almost impossible to find, and those without homes and the convenience of Mako power need something for an energy source.
The trio took off again, Vincent once more in the lead. They were moving far more slowly now, though; Red XIII was definitely running out of energy, and seemed worse for the wear after his stint in the crate. Cloud briefly wished they had thought of some other way to get him below the Plate, but the important thing was he was almost free.
It wasn’t long before they saw the church. Vincent waited in the shadows; he would not be accompanying them to Aeris’s house. Cloud and Red XIII started over to the church; as if on cue, Aeris emerged. The flower girl didn’t even glance at her friend or his strange companion as she took off down the street, heading for home. Cloud and Red XIII followed her carefully, watching for anyone following them, keeping to the shadows as best they could to avoid detection.
Finally they came to Aeris’s house, and Cloud couldn’t help feeling as if they had stepped into another world, with the glowing sunlight and fragrant garden. Stopping far enough into the garden that they might be afforded a little more concealment from anyone who passed by, Aeris turned to look at her followers. “Well, Cloud. That’s a different look for you.”
Cloud flushed, self-consciously running a hand over his hair. “Yeah, I guess. Actually, I was hoping I could maybe borrow your bathroom and wash it out…”
“Of course.” Aeris smiled. “Mom’s not here at the moment, though she knows we’ll be having… a guest.”
Cloud shook his head, Aeris’s words reminding him he hadn’t introduced them yet. “Where are my manners? Aeris, this is Red XIII— wait, that can’t be your real name. It seems incredibly rude to refer to you by what Hojo—”
“Red XIII is fine for now. Or just Red,” the feline creature finally spoke. Aeris and Cloud smiled at his voice, warm and deep.
“Okay then, this is Red, former prisoner of the ShinRa Science Department. Red, this Aeris. She sells flowers down here below the Plate.” Cloud grinned. “She doesn’t like Hojo anymore than we do, so she said she’d help us out.”
“I see,” Red murmured, curling his tail around his paws as he studied the young woman.
“Speaking of help…” Cloud gave him a sharp glance. “Do you know who that scientist was?”
“Scientist?” Aeris echoed.
“Someone walked in on us at one point — I was sure we were goners then, but for some reason he didn’t report that Red was out,” Cloud explained.
“Doctor Matheson is one of the lowest-ranked scientists in the department,” the former prisoner explained. “Not because he isn’t intelligent; if anything, the opposite is true. Rather, he’s considered overly scrupulous by his peers because of his absolute refusal to accept the mistreating of living, intelligent species for the sake of science. If it were not for the fact that he possesses rather specialized knowledge on some of the more obscure properties of Mako, I suspect Hojo would have long since replaced him.”
“There are still moral people in ShinRa? Wow, who’d’ve thought?” The catlike creature gave Cloud a long look, and the young man flushed. “Um, in the Science Department, I meant.” He moved to run his hands through his hair and promptly got stuck by a hair pin. “Ack. I think I’ll go get this out now, Aeris, if you don’t mind…”
The flower girl laughed brightly. “Go ahead, Cloud. Bathroom’s second floor, last door on your left. Maybe you should try a wig next time, hmm?”
“No way! This was annoying enough.” Cloud retreated into the house. This better come out with one wash like Zack promised…
Aeris covered her mouth to hide her smile as she watched her friend leave, then turned back to her guest. “I don’t know where you’d prefer to sleep, Mr. Red. Do you want to stay outdoors, or…?”
“I would much rather stay outside, if possible,” Red replied. “And please, no ‘mister.’ I’m actually still just a cub.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Aeris looked him over curiously. He was long and lean, and didn’t look that young — weren’t cubs supposed to be small? — but then again, she had little experience in telling the age of feline creatures. Her hands twitched, and she tried to ignore the urge to bury them in Red’s soft-looking coat. “The garden might be the best place, then.”
“It looks lovely.” Red observed, looking around. “Do you grow these yourself?”
“Mostly. My mother helped some.” Both of them. Again she restrained herself from reaching out.
Red looked up at her, a sparkle in his eye, and Aeris had the funniest feeling he was grinning. “I don’t mind. It’s been a long time since anyone has touched me not for science’s sake, but simply because they wanted to.”
Blushing, Aeris ran her hand along his back. “Your fur is very soft,” she noted, then hesitantly scratched his ears; much to her delight, he started to purr. Moving a little further into the garden, they sat down, Red dropping his head into Aeris’ lap as she began to pet him again.
“You know,” the catlike creature said after a few minutes, “You remind me of my grandfather, for some reason.”
Aeris paused. “Really?”
Red nodded. “Yes. He’s a very wise man and knows many things about the Planet. He loves Gaea more than anything else, I think.”
“I wish I could meet him,” Aeris said wistfully. The stayed that way in silence for a bit longer until Aeris saw Cloud’s hair over the flowers. “We’re over here, Cloud!”
“There you are. I thought you vanished,” Cloud replied cheerfully, his hair once again blond and standing all but straight up.
Red lifted his head. “That’s a different look.”
“Completely natural,” Cloud responded, smiling a little, “but yeah, it does make me stand out. A friend did it the way it was so I wouldn’t be quite so noticeable.” Cloud carefully didn’t look at Aeris’s face as he spoke; he had a feeling she’d know who the friend in question was. Instead, he fished his SOLDIER insignia out of his pocket and pinned it back on.
“Oh, you made it, Cloud!” Aeris looked very pleased. “I’m happy for you.”
“Yup.” Cloud lightly touched the insignia, still not quite used to having it. “We’re lucky I haven’t had to get enhancements yet, or else we would have had a much harder time sneaking around. SOLDIERs aren’t exactly easy to hide, you know.”
“Aeris!” came a voice across the garden.
The young woman stiffened. “That’s my mom. I better go in.” Cloud gave Aeris a sympathetic look, knowing this wasn’t going to be easy for her. “I’ll be back in a bit, Red. Cloud, I hate to say this, but—”
“I need to leave, I know.” Cloud gave his friend the best smile he could muster. “I’ll see you again. If nothing else, after we get Hojo.” Aeris nodded and left. “Red, I have a favor to ask…”
“Yes?”
“You might have guessed, but Aeris isn’t exactly…” He pursed his lips in thought. “I don’t really know how to put it, but I do know that Hojo is after her. He has been for a long time.” He paused. “The Turks have been bothering her some, from what I’ve heard. If you could—”
“I will watch over her as best I can,” Red finished.
“Thanks.” Cloud looked relieved. “I know you’ll do a good job.”
“I think you may be overestimating my capabilities somewhat,” the feline muttered.
“I don’t think so. I saw your file.” Cloud grinned. “That’s how we found out about you, actually.”
Red gave Cloud a long look, ignoring the attempted change of topic. “You care for her, don’t you? A great deal.”
“Not just me, but another one of those who helped us out.” Cloud sighed. “Just do your best to keep her safe. We really are working on getting Hojo out, but it’s taking longer than we’d like.” The young man glanced over at the house, frowning. “Anyway, I’d better go. I’ll see you soon, Red.”
The other nodded. “Good luck.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aeris stood up straight as her mother’s disapproving gaze settled upon her. Elmyra might not like it, but she was grown up now, and it was time she started acting like it.
“I honestly didn’t think you were this… well, this foolish, Aeris.” Elmyra frowned at her adopted daughter. “I was really hoping you weren’t serious when you told me this plan of yours. What if they find out that animal’s here? You’re putting yourself into even more danger, and without reason—”
“Red’s not an animal, Mom; he’s a person, and nobody deserves what he was going through,” Aeris interrupted, unwilling to bow to her mother’s wishes this time. She had been content to let Elmyra make decisions for her before, knowing that the woman really did mean well, but this time she was putting her foot down. Aeris was tired of hiding, tired of letting go of what she wanted because it was “for the best.” That was what how she’d lost Zack, and she wasn’t going to let anything like that happen ever again.
Elmyra was shaking her head. “Even so—”
“Mom.” Aeris’ voice stopped her short. “Forcing him out on his own just means he’s even more likely to get caught or killed. If necessary, Red and I will find someplace else to live. I know this is your house and you make the rules in it, but I won’t throw him out.”
“Aeris…”
“He is a person, Mom, even if he doesn’t look like one. I won’t let Hojo hurt him anymore, or anyone else. I have to do this.” Aeris’ face was resolute.
“But why?”
“Because I keep wondering what would I do if it was me locked up in the labs again!” the young woman cried. “I can’t turn him away. I won’t. This may be the only way I can get back at Hojo for what he did to me… and to Mother.” Elmyra flinched. “Please, Mom. Please, help me undo what that man has done. Help me heal him, show him that not all humans are bad.”
The older woman sighed. “That’s a big task, Aeris.”
“I know.” Aeris embraced her, laying her head on her shoulder. “But I have to try.”
Elmyra just held her daughter for a long moment, gently running a hand over her back. “All right, then. Let’s do it together.” She wasn’t happy at all that her daughter insisted on doing something that could get both— no, all three of them killed, but… She sighed. The least she could do was stand by her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Professor Hojo settled down in front of his computer screen, eyes narrowed in frustration. Most days being the department head didn’t bother him — despite the extra administrative duties, it did give him much more free reign in his research — but sometimes the idiocy of his underlings was absolutely infuriating. If only I had competent assistants I didn’t have to watch every moment of the day. His search for the Promised Land was progressing terribly, for instance. Even with the President’s often useless support, there were simply too many other things clamoring for his attention.
Like this latest nuisance…
It figured this would happen during one of the busiest times of the year for the Science Department, when new SOLDIERs were getting their first injections. Hojo called up his personal file for Red XIII, the specimen that had vanished all but without a trace sometime in the past two days, and stared at it sourly. To be honest, the creature’s escape (or theft) was not as upsetting as the breach in security it demonstrated. His own research concerning the feline had been more or less completed some time ago, other studies calling for his attention. The underlings were annoyed, of course, but that was only to be expected.
As for who had caused the incident in the first place… well, he had his suspicions. Matheson was checking on the storage rooms the shift before Red XIII was reported missing, and he has far too much sympathy with his subjects. He had been observed actually talking to the beast multiple times, as if making small talk with it would actually encourage it to respond (something none of them had been able to accomplish, despite the fact that it seemed intelligent enough to understand speech). Still, it was unlikely the scientist had done it himself, at least unaided. Security had discovered a loop program in the camera feed for the room after the theft had finally been uncovered. To the best of their estimates it had been in place for almost seventy-two hours. On top of that, their technicians had been unable to find any traces as to how it got there in the first place. Matheson is a passable scientist and a gullible fool, but he is not a master hacker. Besides, he has his uses. The only hackers Hojo was aware of that had sufficient skill to pull off such a thing were among the Turks, and their current leader gave him reluctant support; if Veld ever found out what the scientist had done to his former partner, though…
All bets were off then.
In any case, beyond the troubling breach of security, the loss was negligible. If he had ever recovered the Cetra it might have been a different matter, since he’d had hopes of examining a cross in their DNA, but progress in that endeavor had been all but nonexistent.
He scowled. Incompetent Turks. One would think they’d be able to retrieve a single female with some efficiency. Undoubtedly some emotional impediment prevents Tseng from doing his job effectively. Hojo knew well enough that there was some bond between the younger Wutaian, who headed the operation despite the scientist’s protests, and the Ancient, though he wasn’t precisely certain as to what it was. On top of that, his request for a unit of SOLDIERs to kidnap the girl outright had been overturned by the President since it would ‘damage the company’s reputation’ among those living under the Plate, causing ‘unnecessary alarm.’ The last thing they wanted to worry about, the board had agreed, were terrorists and revolts incited by the very public detaining of a woman who was widely recognized as completely uncriminal. Curse ShinRa, and curse that stupid girl for establishing herself so well in the public eye! Short of a catastrophe down below to distract them, her neighbors wouldn’t let their precious ‘flower girl’ go easily.
It was even more of a shame he hadn’t been able to retrieve the mother’s body, though he had confirmed that Gast’s wife had died. He had precious few Cetra cells in his sample collection, and they refused to reproduce.
What little literature we’ve recovered on them suggests they had some connection to the Lifestream. Perhaps I should run a new series of tests exposing them to Mako… A SOLDIER or three might have made excellent specimens for such experiments; a pity the press had such a close watch on the program these days. During the Wutai war, it had been much easier to simply acquire a few SOLDIERs and write them off as MIA or mutations.
Hojo closed Red XIII’s file and called up Sephiroth’s. His beautiful, perfect Sephiroth… truly an angel of destruction, his prize masterpiece. Gast may have supplied the materials, but I have shaped them into something greater than he ever could have created. The scientist frowned slightly as he recalled the outcome of the Nibelheim mission; it still bothered him. He had arranged things so he could expose Sephiroth to the JENOVA core and observe his reactions, but there had been no evidence that his creation had even encountered it. And unfortunately, it was highly unlikely he could simply arrange another meeting; it had been difficult enough to pass off the falsified reports and gain an inquiry into the situation last time. Even if he could repeat that, Sephiroth would likely simply sent a different unit of SOLDIERs.
Pursing his lips in thought, Hojo called up another file, far newer than Sephiroth’s. Until a short time ago, the SOLDIER First Class known as Zachary Sinclair had been hardly more than a nuisance. Nonetheless, when he’d had his routine physical after the Nibelheim mission, something extraordinary had been revealed. His JENOVA cells had somehow changed from the dormant, almost dead state in ordinary SOLDIERs to the active, reproducing, adapting ones only observable in the JENOVA core and Sephiroth — and that made him an interesting creature indeed.
How to inject a specimen with unaltered JENOVA cells without inducing complete mutation was a secret Gast had taken to his grave. Until he discovered it, Hojo would never be able to create a SOLDIER anywhere near Sephiroth’s level. Even his own experiments, injecting both parents with JENOVA cells before fertilization, had failed. The mothers had died, of course; JENOVA cells rarely lasted well in weaker female constitutions. Hojo had very nearly been ready to give up on it… and yet this mediocre SOLDIER had somehow achieved that state. They had been forced to increase his Mako treatments as he began to metabolize the material at a faster rate, but other than that the change had been entirely self-supporting.
And if ever there has been a sign of this specimen’s inferior mind, it has to be his complete lack of awareness concerning the increase of his capabilities. His informants had noted it while watching the specimen’s sparring matches with Sephiroth, indicating in their reports that the General seemed to be using more of his true ability than he had previously.
The only possible explanation Hojo could come up with was that somehow, the subject had encountered the JENOVA core. However, if that were so, why hadn’t Sephiroth also encountered it? The SOLDIER stuck to his superior officer like a barnacle most days, apparently attempting to exert a more humanizing influence on Sephiroth. So far, however, Hojo’s pet project had not succumbed to it, as far as his informants could tell. At the moment, the subject’s scientific potential outweighed the possible negative affect of his fixation on Sephiroth. Should that change… well, Hojo would simply have to work to remove him from the picture.
Unfortunately, even that might not completely solve the problem, Hojo reminded himself as he opened his newest file. Barely three weeks old, it concerned one of the newest SOLDIERs: Cloud Strife. Eighteen years old, blond hair, blue eyes. Hometown Nibelheim, of all places. Possessor of the largest Mako scores jump in the history of the SOLDIER exams.
Hojo studied his picture thoughtfully. He distantly remembered testing this one the first time he had tried out for SOLDIER; that distinctive hair make him a face one was unlikely to forget. Both his reactions to the Mako and JENOVA injections had been normal, perhaps slightly below average, but passable. This time, however, his Mako results had skyrocketed, and even his JENOVA results had increased slightly. And Hojo didn’t know why.
It was entirely possible those results could have been a fluke, but Hojo would discover for certain by observing the specimen’s reactions to the base injections he would be receiving next week. A shame he couldn’t just borrow him for some further tests; the Cetra cells might react interestingly…
Unfortunately, the subject’s disappearance would likely cause all sorts of trouble. His SOLDIER mentor was quite attached to him (likely for reasons Hojo didn’t deign to think about), and even Sephiroth had shown some interest. Hojo had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, this young specimen might someday become a worthy subordinate to Sephiroth if correctly molded. On the other hand, he may well have been hiding the fact that his goals were… of a more carnal nature.
Hojo clenched his fist, his lip curling in disgust. For anyone to defile Sephiroth in such a way would be completely unforgivable. He had long kept close tabs on the General’s aide, concerned that his fixation on Sephiroth might become a more physical one, but to the best of Hojo’s (admittedly limited) knowledge, the SOLDIER had not sought his superior out for such purposes. The specimen seemed content to restrict his sexual encounters to females and, on rare occasions, SOLDIERs of a more appropriate rank… though Hojo wasn’t going to relax his vigilance for a moment. One never knew when things might change.
Whoever sought to corrupt his precious son would die.
“Excuse me, Professor — the next batch of new SOLDIERs is here.”
Hojo looked up to see one of his flunkies standing at the door. At least this one was useful in his limited fashion, quite content to spend his time filling out labels, cleaning lab equipment, or filing. Most of the others were overburdened with either ambition or scruples; though the latter was a far smaller group, both were difficult to deal with. “Gather the usual group. I will be there momentarily.”
Perhaps it would be easier if he allowed the other scientists to know the exact combinations of the JENOVA strains, Mako, and other chemicals that went into the SOLDIER treatments, but the threat sharing that information represented far outweighed the slight free time it might have ganted. As long as Hojo was the only one who knew that formula, he was invaluable. Once another gained it he could be replaced by whomever managed to convince the President that the head of the Science Department was ‘losing his touch.’
It is SOLDIER that keeps this company running, and it is I who keep SOLDIER functioning. As long as this is so, I am irreplaceable. It was a pleasantly heady feeling, he had to admit. Gathering up the appropriate pre-made bottles, he left the lab, locking down his computer. Now it was time for him to do his duty; after, perhaps, he could return to his true work.
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Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: That'd be telling!
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: It figured this would happen during one of the busiest times of the year for the Science Department, when new SOLDIERs were getting their first injections.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 26
Orientation was something of a trial for Cloud. He stood in perfect formation with his fellow new SOLDIERs for well over two hours, listening to Heidegger blather on about how they were “the pride of ShinRa” and how “the future of SOLDIER lies in your hands.” Finally he managed to escape to Zack’s side. Much to his surprise and pleasure, his final roommate was none other than his old squadmate Matthew Roberts. The Kalm native settled right in just fine.
Cloud left the next day’s Mako seminar feeling slightly queasy. He supposed it was a good thing to make sure the SOLDIERs knew all the nasty side effects of Mako and signs of mutation or poor adaptation, but some of them truly were stomach-turning. The young man couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive about the entire thing now, but no way was he going to give up… though he wouldn’t be getting his treatments for a little over three weeks. It really sucked to be an S sometimes.
In the meantime, Zack continued to train and drill him, making sure he could remember everything the seminar had presented about Mako. Cloud chafed under the constant repetition of the same facts over and over again, but understood the need for it. Knowing or not knowing that information might just save his life, or the life of one of his fellows.
“We won’t be doing anything most of tomorrow, Cloud,” Zack announced as they finished for the day. “Seph wants me at the board meeting. Why don’t you take the day off and have some fun?”
Cloud’s shoulders tensed as he picked up on the hidden meaning in his friend’s words. Tomorrow they would bust out Red XIII. “All right… if you insist.”
“I do,” Zack replied firmly. “All work and no play makes a dull SOLDIER, you know.” He grinned suddenly. “Just ask Seph.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud checked his appearance once more. Scott and Paul had left yesterday on a mission, and Matt was off training with his mentor. All well and good, since now none of them could see Cloud’s current appearance. It was rather startling, and the new SOLDIER kept feeling like he was looking at a stranger.
Cloud’s new look had been Zack’s primary contribution to the plan. The SOLDIER First had dyed Cloud’s blond hair to an ordinary, nondescript brown, pinning the long spikes down. The effect was a little odd, but not as bad as it could be, Cloud decided. He looked like a nondescript young man with a bit of a raggedy hair cut. When he’d questioned his mentor, Zack had just laughed and reminded Cloud that SOLDIERs did get sent on recon missions every once in a while, and how would he not get caught if he didn’t do something with his hair?
The next part of his disguise was his uniform, or rather what was lacking. Regulars and SOLDIER cadets wore the same uniform with different insignia pins, and new SOLDIERs kept that uniform until after their first Mako treatments. A rapid gain in size and muscle mass was a normal side effect, so it would’ve been wasteful to have to issue incoming SOLDIERs new uniforms twice in the space of a few weeks. New SOLDIERs had their own insignia pins, but wearing the regular insignia his mentor had filched for him, Cloud looked more like an ordinary private than Zachary Sinclair’s well-known protégé. Good thing, too. We’re less likely to get caught that way.
Checking that the way was clear, Cloud left his room and walked purposefully through the halls, as if on an errand. It only took a few minutes to reach the place where Vincent hid in wait, and together they disabled the alarm on a rare-used emergency exit opening on a dark, quiet alley, starting into the ShinRa Tower and up seemingly endless flights of stairs. Waiting for Vincent, who was searching for a mechanism in the wall of the uppermost part of the stairwell, Cloud couldn’t help remembering their conversation during the planning stages. “I’m surprised the stairs go that high,” he had observed. “Seems like a security risk.”
“They don’t, at least not those accessible to the public. They’re put there for safely concerns in case people ever need to leave and the elevators aren’t working, but are hidden to prevent infiltration,” Vincent had explained. Now Cloud was seeing that in action. The wall slid open and the pair snuck into a dark passage. The stairs were narrower here, though thankfully not dusty; they wouldn’t have wanted to leave tell-tale signs of their passage. Of course, knowing ShinRa, it wouldn’t be surprising if people sometimes used these to sneak around the place…
Vincent gave his student a look as the pair stopped at a wall near the back of the secondary level of the labs, an area most commonly used for storing of specimens and equipment. Red XIII was supposed to be around here somewhere. As they slipped through another barely-visible door into the storeroom, Cloud looked around for the catlike creature; he tapped Vincent on the shoulder and pointed, and the former Turk nodded. The pair quickly crossed the room, trying to stay out of view of the security cameras — Vincent had set up a video loop earlier, but it was better to be safe than sorry — and stood before the transparent container holding their target.
Red XIII opened his one eye, watching them warily as Vincent started fiddling with the pad. Unwilling to speak, Cloud raised a finger to his lips and carefully mouthed. “We’re going to get you out.” For some reason, Cloud felt as if he could almost sense the great catlike creature’s suspicion, but he kept that to himself for now. A moment later Vincent succeeded in cracking the code, and the pod opened. The pair helped the former prisoner out and pulled him into the shadows.
Just in time, as the door abruptly slid open.
All three slunk back further into the dim corners of the ill-lit room, tensing as a man wearing a lab coat entered. Vincent’s hand was on his gun, ready to kill if necessary; Cloud’s heart sank. If his mentor fired, there would be no way they could escape without at least one of them being discovered, and the younger man knew without a doubt that Vincent would sacrifice his life for Cloud’s. This is all my fault. Gaea, what was I thinking? I shouldn’t have asked him to do this. This was insane. Stupidest plan ever conceived. We’re in so much trouble—
“Is everything all right in there?” A voice inquired from the adjoining room.
Vincent slowly, quietly cocked his gun, and Cloud held his breath, trying to control his racing heart. He’d never been so terrified in his life. This is it. We’re done for. There’s no possible way we can get out of this; at least one of us is gonna end up dead or worse, oh Gaea I never should’ve—
“…Everything’s fine,” the scientist called back through the open door. “It just took a minute for my eyes to adjust. You know how bad the lighting is in here.” He lowered his voice. “I hope you managed to get away safely. You didn’t deserve what they did to you.” And with that the unnamed man left, closing the door behind him.
Cloud nearly sagged in startled relief, casting a curious glance at Vincent, who was clearly not inclined to waste time examining their luck too closely. They quickly ushered Red XIII back to the stairs, starting down. Cloud was quickly aware they weren’t moving as fast as they had when they had come up and glanced back at the former prisoner. He was moving as quickly as he could, but with a definite limp. The new SOLDIER caught Vincent’s eye and made a brief gesture. Recognizing the Turk hand signal for ‘wounded party member,’ Vincent momentarily halted as Cloud pulled a bottle out of his pocket. Their feline companion regarded the potion warily for a moment, but he did accept it, thankfully. The potion should take care of the minor wounds on Red XIII’s leg, help some of his older injuries, and give him a bit more energy… hopefully enough to get him out of the building.
The trio resumed their silent, rapid retreat. Sooner than Cloud expected, they arrived at the junction for the public stairs, where Vincent paused, checking for traffic. While few people used these stairs instead of the elevator, there was still a chance that someone would see them. This was one of the most dangerous parts of their mission.
Vincent took off ahead, Cloud and Red XIII cautiously following. Thankfully, they made it down the stairs without incident; the scant few times the sounds of someone else in the stairwell made them all freeze and shrink into dim corners, they were thankfully separated by at least a couple flights. Cloud took over the lead as they left the building, moving down the alley until they reached a ShinRa-owned shipping facility. Bending down, he whispered to their escapee. “We have to get you off the Plate.” He nodded at an empty wooden crate, full of narrow chinks between the boards, right next to where they’d entered. “I know it’s kind of small, but it’ll just be for a little while, until they get you down to a warehouse in Sector 4. We’ll get you out from there. We’ve got a friend down below who will help take care of you.” He paused, looking uncertainly at the dancing flame at the end of the former captive’s tail. “Is there any way you could, uh… do something about that?”
The catlike creature seemed less than pleased as he looked distrustfully at the box, but eventually let out a resigned sigh and crept inside, carefully tucking his tail between his paws to hide its light. Wonder why it doesn’t burn him… Shaking his head, Cloud slid the lid on and nailed it shut as quietly as possible, thankful for the surrounding racket of others doing the same thing. For once, he was actually thankful he’d served as a private; helping out at or guarding places like this was often a duty assigned to low-ranked troopers, so Cloud was familiar with the facilities. It was relatively easy to sneak the box onto the outgoing truck; he fit right in with the privates doing the exact same thing. Smiling to himself as a few of them complained (quietly, so their supervisor couldn’t hear) of the drudgery, fending off an apparently lonely, chatty new private with a shrug and a somewhat nervous smile (“Just feeling a little under the weather, is all; it’s kinda warm in here”), Cloud felt a twinge of regret. This kind of thing’ll be impossible to do once I get enhanced. The way SOLDIERs stuck out so much was a large part of why Sephiroth and Zack had to help from the shadows instead of in person.
Finally managing to slip away, Cloud returned silently to Vincent’s side. For now they only had to hope Red XIII got down there safely. In theory, every single box had to be counted and recounted at multiple stages of shipment, but everyone knew that this was rarely done except with important cargo. As most of this was basic supplies and dry goods going to a storage warehouse in Sector 4, that wasn’t likely to happen.
“He’s gone,” the blond reported quietly, letting out a sigh of relief. The first, and most dangerous, part of their mission was over.
Vincent nodded. “Then we’d best head down below ourselves.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Breaking and entering to multiple facilities in one day. Mom would have a fit. Cloud couldn’t help smiling as he slipped on a pair of gloves and tinkered with the warehouse locking mechanism, Vincent watching over his shoulder in case there was a problem. And Vincent uses this as a training exercise. Why am I not surprised?
The lock, much less complicated than those in the ShinRa building, abruptly clicked and the door slid open. It took a good ten minutes to locate the correct box, but once they did Red XIII was out in a matter of moments, breathing deeply of the fresher air. Cloud lifted a finger to his lips, reminding their companion that he still needed to be quiet, and glanced uncertainly at the box. They really should get rid of it, since one empty crate among this shipment would certainly be suspicious, but Cloud wasn’t sure how…
Vincent shot his apprentice an amused glance, picked up the crate, and carried it outside. Placing it far enough from the building to be safely out of ‘ShinRa territory,’ the former Turk withdrew into the shadows. Red XIII and Cloud watched as a ragged bunch of people swarmed over the crate, breaking it into pieces and carting it off. Cloud shook his head. Scavengers… of course. Here under the Plate, real wood’s almost impossible to find, and those without homes and the convenience of Mako power need something for an energy source.
The trio took off again, Vincent once more in the lead. They were moving far more slowly now, though; Red XIII was definitely running out of energy, and seemed worse for the wear after his stint in the crate. Cloud briefly wished they had thought of some other way to get him below the Plate, but the important thing was he was almost free.
It wasn’t long before they saw the church. Vincent waited in the shadows; he would not be accompanying them to Aeris’s house. Cloud and Red XIII started over to the church; as if on cue, Aeris emerged. The flower girl didn’t even glance at her friend or his strange companion as she took off down the street, heading for home. Cloud and Red XIII followed her carefully, watching for anyone following them, keeping to the shadows as best they could to avoid detection.
Finally they came to Aeris’s house, and Cloud couldn’t help feeling as if they had stepped into another world, with the glowing sunlight and fragrant garden. Stopping far enough into the garden that they might be afforded a little more concealment from anyone who passed by, Aeris turned to look at her followers. “Well, Cloud. That’s a different look for you.”
Cloud flushed, self-consciously running a hand over his hair. “Yeah, I guess. Actually, I was hoping I could maybe borrow your bathroom and wash it out…”
“Of course.” Aeris smiled. “Mom’s not here at the moment, though she knows we’ll be having… a guest.”
Cloud shook his head, Aeris’s words reminding him he hadn’t introduced them yet. “Where are my manners? Aeris, this is Red XIII— wait, that can’t be your real name. It seems incredibly rude to refer to you by what Hojo—”
“Red XIII is fine for now. Or just Red,” the feline creature finally spoke. Aeris and Cloud smiled at his voice, warm and deep.
“Okay then, this is Red, former prisoner of the ShinRa Science Department. Red, this Aeris. She sells flowers down here below the Plate.” Cloud grinned. “She doesn’t like Hojo anymore than we do, so she said she’d help us out.”
“I see,” Red murmured, curling his tail around his paws as he studied the young woman.
“Speaking of help…” Cloud gave him a sharp glance. “Do you know who that scientist was?”
“Scientist?” Aeris echoed.
“Someone walked in on us at one point — I was sure we were goners then, but for some reason he didn’t report that Red was out,” Cloud explained.
“Doctor Matheson is one of the lowest-ranked scientists in the department,” the former prisoner explained. “Not because he isn’t intelligent; if anything, the opposite is true. Rather, he’s considered overly scrupulous by his peers because of his absolute refusal to accept the mistreating of living, intelligent species for the sake of science. If it were not for the fact that he possesses rather specialized knowledge on some of the more obscure properties of Mako, I suspect Hojo would have long since replaced him.”
“There are still moral people in ShinRa? Wow, who’d’ve thought?” The catlike creature gave Cloud a long look, and the young man flushed. “Um, in the Science Department, I meant.” He moved to run his hands through his hair and promptly got stuck by a hair pin. “Ack. I think I’ll go get this out now, Aeris, if you don’t mind…”
The flower girl laughed brightly. “Go ahead, Cloud. Bathroom’s second floor, last door on your left. Maybe you should try a wig next time, hmm?”
“No way! This was annoying enough.” Cloud retreated into the house. This better come out with one wash like Zack promised…
Aeris covered her mouth to hide her smile as she watched her friend leave, then turned back to her guest. “I don’t know where you’d prefer to sleep, Mr. Red. Do you want to stay outdoors, or…?”
“I would much rather stay outside, if possible,” Red replied. “And please, no ‘mister.’ I’m actually still just a cub.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Aeris looked him over curiously. He was long and lean, and didn’t look that young — weren’t cubs supposed to be small? — but then again, she had little experience in telling the age of feline creatures. Her hands twitched, and she tried to ignore the urge to bury them in Red’s soft-looking coat. “The garden might be the best place, then.”
“It looks lovely.” Red observed, looking around. “Do you grow these yourself?”
“Mostly. My mother helped some.” Both of them. Again she restrained herself from reaching out.
Red looked up at her, a sparkle in his eye, and Aeris had the funniest feeling he was grinning. “I don’t mind. It’s been a long time since anyone has touched me not for science’s sake, but simply because they wanted to.”
Blushing, Aeris ran her hand along his back. “Your fur is very soft,” she noted, then hesitantly scratched his ears; much to her delight, he started to purr. Moving a little further into the garden, they sat down, Red dropping his head into Aeris’ lap as she began to pet him again.
“You know,” the catlike creature said after a few minutes, “You remind me of my grandfather, for some reason.”
Aeris paused. “Really?”
Red nodded. “Yes. He’s a very wise man and knows many things about the Planet. He loves Gaea more than anything else, I think.”
“I wish I could meet him,” Aeris said wistfully. The stayed that way in silence for a bit longer until Aeris saw Cloud’s hair over the flowers. “We’re over here, Cloud!”
“There you are. I thought you vanished,” Cloud replied cheerfully, his hair once again blond and standing all but straight up.
Red lifted his head. “That’s a different look.”
“Completely natural,” Cloud responded, smiling a little, “but yeah, it does make me stand out. A friend did it the way it was so I wouldn’t be quite so noticeable.” Cloud carefully didn’t look at Aeris’s face as he spoke; he had a feeling she’d know who the friend in question was. Instead, he fished his SOLDIER insignia out of his pocket and pinned it back on.
“Oh, you made it, Cloud!” Aeris looked very pleased. “I’m happy for you.”
“Yup.” Cloud lightly touched the insignia, still not quite used to having it. “We’re lucky I haven’t had to get enhancements yet, or else we would have had a much harder time sneaking around. SOLDIERs aren’t exactly easy to hide, you know.”
“Aeris!” came a voice across the garden.
The young woman stiffened. “That’s my mom. I better go in.” Cloud gave Aeris a sympathetic look, knowing this wasn’t going to be easy for her. “I’ll be back in a bit, Red. Cloud, I hate to say this, but—”
“I need to leave, I know.” Cloud gave his friend the best smile he could muster. “I’ll see you again. If nothing else, after we get Hojo.” Aeris nodded and left. “Red, I have a favor to ask…”
“Yes?”
“You might have guessed, but Aeris isn’t exactly…” He pursed his lips in thought. “I don’t really know how to put it, but I do know that Hojo is after her. He has been for a long time.” He paused. “The Turks have been bothering her some, from what I’ve heard. If you could—”
“I will watch over her as best I can,” Red finished.
“Thanks.” Cloud looked relieved. “I know you’ll do a good job.”
“I think you may be overestimating my capabilities somewhat,” the feline muttered.
“I don’t think so. I saw your file.” Cloud grinned. “That’s how we found out about you, actually.”
Red gave Cloud a long look, ignoring the attempted change of topic. “You care for her, don’t you? A great deal.”
“Not just me, but another one of those who helped us out.” Cloud sighed. “Just do your best to keep her safe. We really are working on getting Hojo out, but it’s taking longer than we’d like.” The young man glanced over at the house, frowning. “Anyway, I’d better go. I’ll see you soon, Red.”
The other nodded. “Good luck.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aeris stood up straight as her mother’s disapproving gaze settled upon her. Elmyra might not like it, but she was grown up now, and it was time she started acting like it.
“I honestly didn’t think you were this… well, this foolish, Aeris.” Elmyra frowned at her adopted daughter. “I was really hoping you weren’t serious when you told me this plan of yours. What if they find out that animal’s here? You’re putting yourself into even more danger, and without reason—”
“Red’s not an animal, Mom; he’s a person, and nobody deserves what he was going through,” Aeris interrupted, unwilling to bow to her mother’s wishes this time. She had been content to let Elmyra make decisions for her before, knowing that the woman really did mean well, but this time she was putting her foot down. Aeris was tired of hiding, tired of letting go of what she wanted because it was “for the best.” That was what how she’d lost Zack, and she wasn’t going to let anything like that happen ever again.
Elmyra was shaking her head. “Even so—”
“Mom.” Aeris’ voice stopped her short. “Forcing him out on his own just means he’s even more likely to get caught or killed. If necessary, Red and I will find someplace else to live. I know this is your house and you make the rules in it, but I won’t throw him out.”
“Aeris…”
“He is a person, Mom, even if he doesn’t look like one. I won’t let Hojo hurt him anymore, or anyone else. I have to do this.” Aeris’ face was resolute.
“But why?”
“Because I keep wondering what would I do if it was me locked up in the labs again!” the young woman cried. “I can’t turn him away. I won’t. This may be the only way I can get back at Hojo for what he did to me… and to Mother.” Elmyra flinched. “Please, Mom. Please, help me undo what that man has done. Help me heal him, show him that not all humans are bad.”
The older woman sighed. “That’s a big task, Aeris.”
“I know.” Aeris embraced her, laying her head on her shoulder. “But I have to try.”
Elmyra just held her daughter for a long moment, gently running a hand over her back. “All right, then. Let’s do it together.” She wasn’t happy at all that her daughter insisted on doing something that could get both— no, all three of them killed, but… She sighed. The least she could do was stand by her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Professor Hojo settled down in front of his computer screen, eyes narrowed in frustration. Most days being the department head didn’t bother him — despite the extra administrative duties, it did give him much more free reign in his research — but sometimes the idiocy of his underlings was absolutely infuriating. If only I had competent assistants I didn’t have to watch every moment of the day. His search for the Promised Land was progressing terribly, for instance. Even with the President’s often useless support, there were simply too many other things clamoring for his attention.
Like this latest nuisance…
It figured this would happen during one of the busiest times of the year for the Science Department, when new SOLDIERs were getting their first injections. Hojo called up his personal file for Red XIII, the specimen that had vanished all but without a trace sometime in the past two days, and stared at it sourly. To be honest, the creature’s escape (or theft) was not as upsetting as the breach in security it demonstrated. His own research concerning the feline had been more or less completed some time ago, other studies calling for his attention. The underlings were annoyed, of course, but that was only to be expected.
As for who had caused the incident in the first place… well, he had his suspicions. Matheson was checking on the storage rooms the shift before Red XIII was reported missing, and he has far too much sympathy with his subjects. He had been observed actually talking to the beast multiple times, as if making small talk with it would actually encourage it to respond (something none of them had been able to accomplish, despite the fact that it seemed intelligent enough to understand speech). Still, it was unlikely the scientist had done it himself, at least unaided. Security had discovered a loop program in the camera feed for the room after the theft had finally been uncovered. To the best of their estimates it had been in place for almost seventy-two hours. On top of that, their technicians had been unable to find any traces as to how it got there in the first place. Matheson is a passable scientist and a gullible fool, but he is not a master hacker. Besides, he has his uses. The only hackers Hojo was aware of that had sufficient skill to pull off such a thing were among the Turks, and their current leader gave him reluctant support; if Veld ever found out what the scientist had done to his former partner, though…
All bets were off then.
In any case, beyond the troubling breach of security, the loss was negligible. If he had ever recovered the Cetra it might have been a different matter, since he’d had hopes of examining a cross in their DNA, but progress in that endeavor had been all but nonexistent.
He scowled. Incompetent Turks. One would think they’d be able to retrieve a single female with some efficiency. Undoubtedly some emotional impediment prevents Tseng from doing his job effectively. Hojo knew well enough that there was some bond between the younger Wutaian, who headed the operation despite the scientist’s protests, and the Ancient, though he wasn’t precisely certain as to what it was. On top of that, his request for a unit of SOLDIERs to kidnap the girl outright had been overturned by the President since it would ‘damage the company’s reputation’ among those living under the Plate, causing ‘unnecessary alarm.’ The last thing they wanted to worry about, the board had agreed, were terrorists and revolts incited by the very public detaining of a woman who was widely recognized as completely uncriminal. Curse ShinRa, and curse that stupid girl for establishing herself so well in the public eye! Short of a catastrophe down below to distract them, her neighbors wouldn’t let their precious ‘flower girl’ go easily.
It was even more of a shame he hadn’t been able to retrieve the mother’s body, though he had confirmed that Gast’s wife had died. He had precious few Cetra cells in his sample collection, and they refused to reproduce.
What little literature we’ve recovered on them suggests they had some connection to the Lifestream. Perhaps I should run a new series of tests exposing them to Mako… A SOLDIER or three might have made excellent specimens for such experiments; a pity the press had such a close watch on the program these days. During the Wutai war, it had been much easier to simply acquire a few SOLDIERs and write them off as MIA or mutations.
Hojo closed Red XIII’s file and called up Sephiroth’s. His beautiful, perfect Sephiroth… truly an angel of destruction, his prize masterpiece. Gast may have supplied the materials, but I have shaped them into something greater than he ever could have created. The scientist frowned slightly as he recalled the outcome of the Nibelheim mission; it still bothered him. He had arranged things so he could expose Sephiroth to the JENOVA core and observe his reactions, but there had been no evidence that his creation had even encountered it. And unfortunately, it was highly unlikely he could simply arrange another meeting; it had been difficult enough to pass off the falsified reports and gain an inquiry into the situation last time. Even if he could repeat that, Sephiroth would likely simply sent a different unit of SOLDIERs.
Pursing his lips in thought, Hojo called up another file, far newer than Sephiroth’s. Until a short time ago, the SOLDIER First Class known as Zachary Sinclair had been hardly more than a nuisance. Nonetheless, when he’d had his routine physical after the Nibelheim mission, something extraordinary had been revealed. His JENOVA cells had somehow changed from the dormant, almost dead state in ordinary SOLDIERs to the active, reproducing, adapting ones only observable in the JENOVA core and Sephiroth — and that made him an interesting creature indeed.
How to inject a specimen with unaltered JENOVA cells without inducing complete mutation was a secret Gast had taken to his grave. Until he discovered it, Hojo would never be able to create a SOLDIER anywhere near Sephiroth’s level. Even his own experiments, injecting both parents with JENOVA cells before fertilization, had failed. The mothers had died, of course; JENOVA cells rarely lasted well in weaker female constitutions. Hojo had very nearly been ready to give up on it… and yet this mediocre SOLDIER had somehow achieved that state. They had been forced to increase his Mako treatments as he began to metabolize the material at a faster rate, but other than that the change had been entirely self-supporting.
And if ever there has been a sign of this specimen’s inferior mind, it has to be his complete lack of awareness concerning the increase of his capabilities. His informants had noted it while watching the specimen’s sparring matches with Sephiroth, indicating in their reports that the General seemed to be using more of his true ability than he had previously.
The only possible explanation Hojo could come up with was that somehow, the subject had encountered the JENOVA core. However, if that were so, why hadn’t Sephiroth also encountered it? The SOLDIER stuck to his superior officer like a barnacle most days, apparently attempting to exert a more humanizing influence on Sephiroth. So far, however, Hojo’s pet project had not succumbed to it, as far as his informants could tell. At the moment, the subject’s scientific potential outweighed the possible negative affect of his fixation on Sephiroth. Should that change… well, Hojo would simply have to work to remove him from the picture.
Unfortunately, even that might not completely solve the problem, Hojo reminded himself as he opened his newest file. Barely three weeks old, it concerned one of the newest SOLDIERs: Cloud Strife. Eighteen years old, blond hair, blue eyes. Hometown Nibelheim, of all places. Possessor of the largest Mako scores jump in the history of the SOLDIER exams.
Hojo studied his picture thoughtfully. He distantly remembered testing this one the first time he had tried out for SOLDIER; that distinctive hair make him a face one was unlikely to forget. Both his reactions to the Mako and JENOVA injections had been normal, perhaps slightly below average, but passable. This time, however, his Mako results had skyrocketed, and even his JENOVA results had increased slightly. And Hojo didn’t know why.
It was entirely possible those results could have been a fluke, but Hojo would discover for certain by observing the specimen’s reactions to the base injections he would be receiving next week. A shame he couldn’t just borrow him for some further tests; the Cetra cells might react interestingly…
Unfortunately, the subject’s disappearance would likely cause all sorts of trouble. His SOLDIER mentor was quite attached to him (likely for reasons Hojo didn’t deign to think about), and even Sephiroth had shown some interest. Hojo had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, this young specimen might someday become a worthy subordinate to Sephiroth if correctly molded. On the other hand, he may well have been hiding the fact that his goals were… of a more carnal nature.
Hojo clenched his fist, his lip curling in disgust. For anyone to defile Sephiroth in such a way would be completely unforgivable. He had long kept close tabs on the General’s aide, concerned that his fixation on Sephiroth might become a more physical one, but to the best of Hojo’s (admittedly limited) knowledge, the SOLDIER had not sought his superior out for such purposes. The specimen seemed content to restrict his sexual encounters to females and, on rare occasions, SOLDIERs of a more appropriate rank… though Hojo wasn’t going to relax his vigilance for a moment. One never knew when things might change.
Whoever sought to corrupt his precious son would die.
“Excuse me, Professor — the next batch of new SOLDIERs is here.”
Hojo looked up to see one of his flunkies standing at the door. At least this one was useful in his limited fashion, quite content to spend his time filling out labels, cleaning lab equipment, or filing. Most of the others were overburdened with either ambition or scruples; though the latter was a far smaller group, both were difficult to deal with. “Gather the usual group. I will be there momentarily.”
Perhaps it would be easier if he allowed the other scientists to know the exact combinations of the JENOVA strains, Mako, and other chemicals that went into the SOLDIER treatments, but the threat sharing that information represented far outweighed the slight free time it might have ganted. As long as Hojo was the only one who knew that formula, he was invaluable. Once another gained it he could be replaced by whomever managed to convince the President that the head of the Science Department was ‘losing his touch.’
It is SOLDIER that keeps this company running, and it is I who keep SOLDIER functioning. As long as this is so, I am irreplaceable. It was a pleasantly heady feeling, he had to admit. Gathering up the appropriate pre-made bottles, he left the lab, locking down his computer. Now it was time for him to do his duty; after, perhaps, he could return to his true work.
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