Completed: 10/09/98 Last modified: 02/15/2003 C&C always appreciated! ^_^ SUMMARY: Title: Conflicts of Interest Author: Madamhydra Email: madamhydra@aol.com Status: WIP (work-in-progress) Archive: www.madamhydra.net/COI.html, fanfiction.net Type: Continuation - Alternate Reality Rating: R (for now) Spoilers: major spoilers for Final Fantasy VII ********* ********* ******** WARNINGS ******** ********* ********* Violence Obscene language Mature themes (references to abuse, torture, rape, etc.) Implied sexual content ********* ********* ******** ******** ******** ********* ********* Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Final Fantasy VII is the copyright and property of its creators and legally associated parties. Used without permission. Not for profit. Credits: Many thanks to the terrific story "Homesick" by Chris Reaves which provided me with lots of inspiration for the events in Nibelheim. ^_^ ====================================================================== CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Redux A Final Fantasy VII fanfic by Madamhydra ====================================================================== PART 6: THE JAWS OF THE BEAST ====================================================================== Text Conventions ( ) and / / and // // and { } all indicate thoughts or other types of mental dialogue from various characters [ ] are miscellaneous date notes, images, or sound effects ====================================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Where do I take this pain of mine? I run but it stays right by my side So tear me open, pour me out There's things inside that scream and shout And the pain still hates me So hold me, until it sleeps Just like the curse, just like the stray You feed it once and now it stays Now it stays So tear me open but beware There's things inside without a care And the dirt still stains me So wash me until I'm clean "Until It Sleeps" by Metallica ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6a: RECRIMINATIONS ------------------------------------------------------ As the sun gradually disappeared under the horizon, a cool evening breeze swept away the last traces of the caustic black mist from the area. Tifa shook off Yuffie's supporting arm and slowly limped her way into the clearing where the Ultima Weapon stood, a third of its length buried in the soft earth. She wrapped her hand around the hilt, then slowly sagged to her knees. The blade remained dark, as it always did when not in Cloud's hands. She whispered, "Hojo, you fucking BASTARD...." Yuffie cautiously followed Tifa, her feet raising little puffs of dust as the mist-blackened vegetation in the clearing crumbled to powder at the slightest touch. A glimmer caught her eye. She bent over and picked up Cloud's materia-laded Mystile wristlet. Instead of gloating over the fortune in materia sitting her hands, the ninja girl stared at it grimly, carefully dusted it off, and then tucked it away into a pocket. Tifa whispered, "It's all my fault...." Yuffie glanced up and said, "What?" "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been struggling... fighting him so hard... if I had only BELIEVED in him... Cloud wouldn't have been...." "Tifa, don't blame yourself for what happened! With the way Cloud freaked out back there, anyone would have assumed the same thing! And it probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway. I don't know how all those creatures managed to pop out of nowhere, but I'm willing to bet that running wouldn't have made much of a difference." Tifa didn't seem to be paying much attention to Yuffie's words. She whispered, "I wonder if that's the last thing he'll remember about me... that I was AFRAID of him...." "Don't say that. We're going to get him back, no matter what it takes. You'll see, Tifa." ------------------------- Barret kicked at one of the numerous monster corpses littering the area and muttered, "Shit!" "That's not going to help. We need to think constructively," Red said with a sigh. The beast was prowling around, carefully examining the slain monsters. "Okay, you want constructive? Then explain this. You saw what that black gas stuff did to Tifa's legs. How come it didn't do nothin' like that to Cloud?" Red sat down on his haunches, thought a moment, then said, "Because Hojo wants Cloud unharmed and undamaged." Before Barret could protest, Red quickly added, "Relatively speaking, of course. And because the gas affected Cloud so quickly, Hojo probably designed it specifically for this ambush. Remember, Cloud was Hojo's prisoner for a long time, so he probably had plenty of experimental data to work from. Hojo may be crazy, but with his scientific knowledge, coming up with a special knockout gas wouldn't be too hard. The fact that the creature's gas eats away normal human flesh is just a happy bonus for Hojo. Thank goodness Cloud managed to throw Tifa clear!" Barret rubbed a sore shoulder. "Damn. Here I was thinking that guy had gone totally loony and all the time, he was just trying to save Tifa's neck." "I'm afraid we all jumped to the same conclusion." Red shook his head sadly. "By the way, where's Cid?" "He's up on the Highwind checking it out." ------------------------- At that moment, Cid was cursing up a storm when he surveyed the damage to his precious airship. He glared at the crewmen and yelled, "Get your butts in gear! I want that fucking engine up and running ASAP!" Elena, her clothes still scorched and reeking of smoke, walked up to the pilot and said, "What the hell happened down there!? I'm taking a coffee break and the next thing I know there are hundreds of these slimy creatures swarming all over the ship!" Cid whirled toward her and snarled, "How come Rude didn't see any of these things, huh? What the hell was he doing? Pissing in his boots!?" In a laconic drawl, Rude spoke up. "I was doing my job, along with that unlucky crewman of yours -- the one who ended up taking a swan dive overboard. Wherever they came from, it wasn't by air." Despite his blase tone, the bald Turk looked exhausted. "So where the hell DID those damn things come from, huh?" Rude shrugged and said, "Maybe they teleported." "You really know how to make my day, don't you?" He glared at the Turks again. "Did you guys happen to see where that big winged son-of-a-bitch headed off to?" Seeing their blank looks, he yelled, "Don't tell me you missed the fucking thing!? It's only the size of a bleedin' cargo chopper!" Elena angrily dusted some ash off her sleeve. "Sorry, Cid. Both of us were too busy trying to keep from being chewed up, spat on, and/or toasted. We didn't see any big winged monster like you're describing. But if you tell us what the hell's going on, maybe we can come up with some better answers!" Cid slammed his boot against the nearest bulkhead. Without looking at the Turks, he said, "Hojo's got Cloud." "What!?" the Turks chorused. "We were searching the area when Cloud suddenly came up with the idea that Roissy woman was bullshitting us. He said that Zack wouldn't have taken the cell sample. He was actually making a lot of sense when...." "When....?" Cid ran his hand through his hair. "When things got... really weird." He shook his head sharply, then said, "Anyway, he suddenly freaks out and runs off into the woods. We go after him. Tifa finds him, then these creatures pop out of nowhere and start attacking! Cloud managed to get Tifa clear just before this crazy-looking snake-tree monster gassed him. While we're fighting off all these other monsters, this tentacled dragon-thingie swooped in, grabbed Cloud, and flew off. And I don't think you need three guesses to figure out who's fucking responsible for all this!" Elena scowled furiously. "Hojo again. But what does that nutcase want with Cloud?" "Hell if I know. But that maniac went through shitloads of trouble to make sure Cloud wasn't 'damaged'. Is this starting to sound familiar?" Rude muttered, "Just like Reno...." The trio exchanged uneasy glances. ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6b: CONFIGURATIONS OF HELL ------------------------------------------------------ By the time the creatures who had abducted him had landed and dragged him into a large cavernous building, Cloud began to feel a sickening ache deep in his bones. At the moment it was tolerable, but he suspected that the pain would soon get much, much worse. The monsters came to a halt and dangled him in mid-air just like a chunk of meat for inspection. His eyes refused to focus, but Cloud still managed to recognize his hideously transformed captor. "Hojo!" "Indeed." The scientist tilted his bug-like head and said, "I had previously considered you as nothing more than a failure. But perhaps it would be more accurate to categorize you as being defective. After all, you've managed to serve your purpose nicely, if rather erratically." Cloud's dizziness and disoriented senses didn't prevent him from retorting angrily, "I haven't got a clue what you're blabbing about." Hojo ignored him and continued to mutter thoughtfully to himself. "Yes, you should be glad that you're going to have the opportunity to make up for your earlier transgressions." He started pacing back and forth, waving his tentacles in melodramatic emphasis. "Transgressions? What...?" "I'm referring to your foolish attempt to destroy Sephiroth, of course." "Attempt...! We DID destroy Sephiroth!" Hojo whirled around and shouted, "NO! All your pathetic heroics were but a minor setback. And now YOU will be instrumental in his return and his emergence into true glory!" "No way in HELL am I helping you OR Sephiroth!" Cloud snarled back. Hojo prodded his prisoner with a tentacle. "Oh, but you will. What makes you think you have a choice? Don't lie to yourself, puppet. You really do want to see Sephiroth again, don't you? Perhaps even more than I do." "Shut up, damn you!" But no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Hojo's words resonated somewhere deep inside Cloud. He shuddered visibly. Observing Cloud's reaction, Hojo uttered a malicious chuckle. "Oh, come now. Let's be honest here, for the sake of science...." "Honest!? HONEST!? How can YOU of all people fucking well talk about HONESTY!?" The scientist stretched out a tentacle and grabbed Cloud's throat. "Your delusions of independence are starting to annoy me, but I imagine that Sephiroth's return will soon take care of that!" Cloud fought the urge to cringe. "Why the hell do you want to resurrect Sephiroth!? What can you possibly expect to get out of all this? Do you think he's going to be grateful for bringing him back? He hates you, Hojo! He despises your guts!" Hojo gleefully rubbed a few of his tentacles together and shrugged. "That's irrelevant. Besides, who expects gratitude from a god? I don't care as long as I can see Sephiroth reach his true potential! The ultimate manifestation of my great experiment!" "I'd like to hear you say that as Sephiroth shreds you to pieces!" The scientist laughed nastily. "You still don't understand, do you? Once your true master returns, your feeble likes and dislikes will become totally meaningless." Cloud somehow managed to turn even paler as the full, horrific implications of Hojo's statements sank in. But as he teetered on the thin edge of panic, a cold steely calm settled over his mind and took over. Shoving the fear aside, Cloud said with unexpectedly cool sarcasm, "So what have you decided to call this particular grandiose attempt to resurrect Sephiroth? Let me guess -- Project 'B2'?" Since his bulging, multi-faceted eyes no longer had eyelids, Hojo could not blink. However, the scientist's body language managed to convey his surprise perfectly well. "Wha...?" Cloud's lips curled up into a sardonic grin. "Then again, you never were too imaginative with project names, Hojo." The scientist stared warily at Cloud. Despite being poisoned and restrained by several hulking monsters, Cloud no longer looked nervous or frightened. Hojo instead encountered a cool, intense stare of concentration that uncomfortably reminded the scientist of a predator watching for the slightest sign of weakness in its prey. Edging away uneasily from his victim -- who was no longer acting like a victim should -- Hojo muttered, "The gas should keep you out of trouble while I make a few more preparations. Do try to restrain yourself." As the creatures dragged him away, Cloud gave Hojo a contemptuous look. "Yes, 'doctor'. I'm all too familiar with the drill." Standing alone in the lab, Hojo rubbed his chin and pondered. The politely sarcastic tone of voice... the cool, watchful stare... the quiet, tightly controlled anger.... Hojo had seen them all before, but not in Cloud Strife. The facial expression and body language belonged to someone else altogether. "That's... very interesting." Hojo suddenly twitched, then nodded absently. "Yes, yes. I know. First things first." But there was no one else on the lab to hear him. ------------------------- Reno was having a bad day... a REALLY bad day. Here he was, locked in a transparent cylindrical cell that was barely wide enough to sit down in. He was buck naked, cold, and the grating that made up the cell's floor was literally a pain in the ass. (Wonderful, I'm developing a terrific case of waffle-butt.) Being hungry and thirsty would have completed his misery nicely, but that was not to be. When he had been thrown in the cell, the monsters had tossed in a bottle of water and a few basic ration bars. But instead of providing any reassurance, the food only made him more nervous. The Turk could think of only one explanation for keeping him alive and healthy. Reno tensed as he heard the scuffling and scraping of approaching creatures. (Damn it! If that's Hojo again.... ) There was no question that the crackpot definitely had plans for him. Growing up in a family of obsessive scientists, Reno had no problems recognizing the fanatical gleam in Hojo's eyes -- the gleam that spelled out 'potential experimental subject' in big letters. However, despite several anxious occasions, something had always come up to distract Hojo's attention. (Luck, don't fail me now!) It seemed that Reno was destined to escape unscathed yet again as Hojo's creatures dragged a familiar, blond-haired young man into the lab and tossed him into the cell next to Reno's. This was the first time the Turk had seen Cloud since their last fateful meeting in the underground tunnels of the Shinra Building, but he had no trouble recognizing his old enemy. Cloud lay on the cold floor with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle and his legs pulled up, motionless except for the occasional shudder running through his body. "You look like hell." And there was no question that Cloud undoubtedly felt like hell, because he was displaying every sign of someone in quiet agony. The other man opened glowing blue eyes and stared vaguely in Reno's direction. An odd little smile appeared on Cloud's lips as he murmured, "I... know you." "I sure as hell hope you know me, considering all the times we tried beat the crap out of each other!" Reno snapped. Cloud uttered a pain-choked chuckle. "Really? Can't be. Conduct unbecoming... a SOLDIER... General says...." His eyes glazed, fingers clenched on the floor grating, and he hissed sharply as another spasm of pain tore through his body. In the same eerily conversational tone, Cloud added, "I remember... seeing you in the hallways... that red hair.... Tseng's new Turk...." "What the....?" Reno stared in confusion. It's been over ten years since he joined the Turks. There was no way that Cloud could have possibly have seen him that long ago. (And what's this crap about this 'General'?) The subtle emphasis on the name had been unmistakable. (There's only one guy that I remember people talking about that way and that's Sephiroth! No way Cloud could be referring to him... could he?) "Hey, Cloud?" The other man stared blankly at the Turk, then muttered, "Cloud... I'm... Cloud...?" It sounded unnervingly more like a question than a statement to Reno. (Man, the kid is definitely NOT playing with a full deck today!) "Yeah, unless you've suddenly decided to change your name or something," said Reno in a heavily sarcastic voice. "So what the hell happened to you?" "Hojo... used some chemical weapon. Poison gas...." Cloud hissed softly. "Shit, it hurts!" As he feared, the ache in his body had intensified to a deep-seated burning. Cloud felt like he was being flayed alive both inside and out, inch by excruciating inch. Every movement, even the most careful breaths, hurt unbelievably. When the latest spasm of pain eased slightly, Cloud managed to lift his head slightly and whispered, "Reno?" "Yeah?" The Turk's tone had softened considerably after watching Cloud's suffering. "Elena and Rude. We found them... at Nibelheim. Alive and okay." Reno leaned against the cell wall and let out a slow, audible sigh of relief. He muttered, "Thanks," then grinned sourly. "I bet Elena was whining about getting stuck in that fucking pit." Cloud smiled faintly and murmured, "Something like that...." He suddenly shuddered and closed his eyes. He slowly opened them a moment later and muttered, "Damn... this could get really ugly...." "What do you mean?" Reno said uneasily. "I think... I think I'm starting to see things." "Oh shit." Curiosity got the better of the Turk and he asked, "Like what?" "You really... do NOT... want to know...." Cloud said with a weak grin. He abruptly gasped, then clutched at his head and whimpered, "Stop it... leave me alone... why are you doing this... what do you want... no more...." Reno could only helplessly watch as Cloud began to thrash about, slamming his head against the floor grate and clawing wildly at his hair and face. "No no no, oh god, make it stop! Please, make this stop! I'll do anything you want! Just make it STOP!!!" As he watched, Reno became seriously worried that Cloud would something truly desperate, such as gouge out his own eyes in a some crazed attempt to escape whatever nightmares were torturing him. When Cloud totally lost it and started to scream incoherently, Reno found himself unable to watch. He turned his back and covered his ears, with the fervent hope that Cloud would mercifully pass out soon. Reno usually didn't let pain bother him, especially other people's pain. As a Turk, he had made plenty of other people suffer. And while he mostly dealt in physical types of pain, he had hurt people in other ways, too. It was all part of the job description. But what Cloud was going through was something else entirely. A person's ability to dish out damage had no relationship to his ability to handle pain, but Reno knew from harsh first-hand experience that Cloud was tough. He could take a ton of physical punishment and keep on going when any normal person would have been dead or unconscious many times over. No, whatever drug or poison Hojo had used on Cloud was causing a hell of a lot more than mere physical pain. Reno generally considered talk of 'tortured souls' to be overly melodramatic crap, but there was no question in his mind that this was exactly what he was seeing. A soul in torment. ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6c: LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER ------------------------------------------------------ Cid found Yuffie sitting at her usual spot down in the Highwind's hold. However, instead of clutching at her stomach and looking green, the girl was twirling something around her finger... something covered with Materia. After a moment, the pilot recognized the object. (It's Cloud's Mystile.) Aloud, Cid said quietly, "So what are you planning to do with that?" Yuffie flipped the Mystile up into the air, caught it, and said, "I'm going to return it to Cloud, of course." There was a look of fierce determination on her young face. And in that moment, Cid saw beyond the familiar image of a scruffy, still awkward teenager girl and saw a hint of what promised to be a young woman of uncommon beauty and stubborn resolve in a few years. Cid had no way of knowing, but Lord Godo would have easily recognized both the physical appearance and the strength of will. Yuffie had inherited both from her mother Kinutora, the woman whose name meant 'the silk she-tiger' in the ancient Wutai language -- the same Kinutora, whose sudden, mysterious death had broken Lord Godo's heart and destroyed his will to fight even before his physical defeat at the hands of Sephiroth and Shinra. ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6d: RHAPSODY IN GREEN: A LITTLE SLICE OF HELL ------------------------------------------------------ To Reno's vast relief, Cloud had finally stopped screaming. But considering the way Cloud was now curled up in a fetal ball and whimpering, one really couldn't call it much of an improvement. >----->----->-----> "WAKE UP." The struggle for air and the mocking, horribly familiar voice dragged Cloud irresistibly out of his peaceful slumber. He blearily opened his eyes, then froze in shock and terror at the black-caped man effortlessly dangling off the detention cell floor by the throat. (SEPHIROTH! How can he be here in the Shinra Building!? Now!? He's dead! DEAD!!!) He wanted to yell, shout, scream... but he couldn't move or utter a single sound. Over Sephiroth's shoulder, he saw Tifa curled up on the bunk, fast asleep and totally oblivious to the malevolent entity now standing in the small detention cell. Couldn't she sense Sephiroth's presence? (Tifa! Wake up! Don't just lie there! Wake up!) A sinister little smile appeared on Sephiroth's lips as he lightly ran his fingers along his victim's cheekbone. He purred, "What do we have here? A little SOLDIER boy? Or a fool playing dress-up? You don't remember a thing, do you? How remarkably convenient. After all, who would want to be a worthless failure like you, hm?" The utter scorn and contempt in Sephiroth's gaze made him flinch, but he didn't know why the words stung so much. (What is he talking about? Dress-up? Failure? I'm not a failure! I'm a SOLDIER! SOLDIERs are not failures!) "Nibelheim burned and you did nothing. Pretty little Tifa lay bleeding all over the reactor floor and you did nothing. That's right. You didn't save Tifa or anyone else's life. Someone else did that. Someone else checked for survivors. Someone else kept little Tifa from bleeding to death. As for you, what did you do?" (I... I....) "You blubbered like an idiot, whining about your poor dead mother and your precious hometown. Why did you even bother? It's not as if either of them ever gave a damn about you, did they?" He gave Sephiroth a shocked stare. It was just about the only thing he could do, with the near total paralysis that left him helpless in Sephiroth's grip. "You're wondering how I know about that. I know everything about you, Cloud. I know every little lie you've told yourself, every fragile delusion you believe in, and every essential truth you've tried to forget." (How...? How can he...?) "Yes, Cloud. I can read your pathetic mind, for what it's worth. I know what really happened in the Mt. Nibel reactor. I know how it was someone else, not you, tried to stop me. Did manage stop me, at least temporarily. Then again, I would expect nothing less from a person like him." (No! You're lying! No one else was there! I did those things! I stopped you! IT WAS ME!) But despite his frantically angry mental protests, he felt an inescapable sense of fear and dread. Sephiroth cocked his head, then lightly tapped his victim's forehead in a cruelly playful gesture. "Isn't it amazing what a little self-delusion will do? All the shame, all the helplessness... gone." He wanted to scream his denials and drown out Sephiroth's lies, but he was mute -- a silent, captive audience to the monster's venomous words. (TIFA! HELP ME!) But she went on sleeping like she didn't have a care in the world.... "She can't hear you, Cloud. And even if she could, what do you expect her to do about it? Why should such a lovely young woman sacrifice her precious beauty sleep to help a nobody like you?" Sephiroth smiled cruelly. "To put it bluntly, she doesn't care a damn about you, Cloud." (No no... That's not true... she's... she likes me! She's been nice to me!) Sephiroth laughed coldly. "Likes you? No one likes a cowardly liar like you. The only reason she's treating you nicely is because she thinks you're useful to Avalanche. Think back to your painful childhood, Cloud. Don't you remember? The only times Tifa ever paid attention to you was when she wanted something from you. It was that way in Nibelheim and it's that way now." (How can you... know... all this?) "I can see all your memories, both the true and the false." (False? My memories... false?) "Still lying to yourself, hm? Deny it all you want, but in your frantic quest for self-esteem, you've stolen the things that you could not earn for yourself. Whatever you needed to support your precious delusion of being a SOLDIER, you took from him -- his clothes, his rank, his identity, even his memories. Everything except his name and his physical appearance." (No! They're mine. They're all mine! I'm a SOLDIER!) "All so you could live a lie. All so you could pretend that you were a dashing SOLDIER, instead of being a worthless nobody." Sephiroth leaned closer and whispered viciously, "Well, you can dress like a SOLDIER." He tapped the familiar insignia on Cloud's belt. "You may even be able to trick yourself into fighting like a SOLDIER. But you'll never be anything more than a pathetic, flawed copy of the original!" (I... I don't want to listen to this anymore!) But he had no choice. He couldn't move or speak. He couldn't even look away. All he could do was hang there, completely paralyzed, as Sephiroth poured his verbal poison into his ears -- words that ate away at his very core of his being, leaving nothing but a great hungry void.... He desperately wanted to denounce Sephiroth's words as total lies. But he couldn't. No matter how painful or shameful the revelation, no matter how much he resisted, he couldn't stop himself from believing everything Sephiroth said. And to his horror, he suddenly realized what had happened. Sephiroth was no longer just reading his thoughts. The monster had somehow taken control of his mind and was now MAKING him believe anything Sephiroth wanted, whether it was true or not. As soon as the idea crossed his mind, Sephiroth purred, "Now you understand. You have no choice but to accept the truth -- whatever truth I choose to give you. For example, if I tell you the sun is blue and the sea is orange, you would believe it, simply because I said so." He could sense his thoughts trying to warp and twist to conform to Sephiroth's words and wanted to scream. (No! Stop it! Stop it! Leave my head alone! Leave ME alone!) "Why should I? You're nothing more than a fake, a pathetic excuse for a human being." Sephiroth suddenly gave him a soul-chilling smile and said, "A fake, in more ways than one. Because you're not really a human being, are you?" (Wha... WHAT!? Of course I'm human...!) he objected feebly. He somehow managed to close his eyes, but he had no way to close his ears and no way to stop listening to Sephiroth's insidious voice. "The truth is...." (No, don't say it. Don't say IT!!!) "The truth is, you're just a puppet. And you exist solely to serve me." (NO!!! I'm Cloud Strife! I was born in Nibelheim! I am a SOLDIER!) he wailed desperately inside his head. But his protests were useless, because deep inside, he knew he was lying to himself. Because Sephiroth had spoken, it was the truth. HIS truth. And if Sephiroth said that he was a puppet, then.... "I will not allow you to deny the reality of your existence -- you are a mere puppet of flesh, with no name and no mind of its own. Everything about you has been stolen from others, just as a crow snatches up whatever baubles catch its eye." A single hot tear oozed out from between his closed eyelids, followed by another. Sephiroth chuckled quietly. "The truth hurts, doesn't it? But enough for now. We will have ample opportunity to discuss this topic further. "NOW LOOK AT ME, PUPPET." He heard and he obeyed, opening his eyes instantly to met Sephiroth's icy green gaze. Those terrible eyes filled his entire field of vision, blotting out everything else in the world. The cold green fire poured into the great emptiness inside him, then bored its way into every corner of his being like the tendrils of some cruel parasitic vine, digging into his very flesh and bones.... ....the flesh and bones of a puppet. When Sephiroth released the grip on his throat, he stood attentively, awaiting his master's orders. "Cloud, you pretended to be a SOLDIER." (Yes, Sir.) "Then for now, I will allow you to be that SOLDIER." (Thank you, Sir.) "I will expect you to perform accordingly." (I won't disappoint you, Sir.) "And I have a special mission for you." (At your command, Sir.) He was ready and eager to obey, just like a well trained dog awaiting its master's commands. But deep inside, in one of the very few places unnoticed and untouched by Sephiroth's power, a part of Cloud Strife was screaming. <-----<-----<-----< Reno glanced at the neighboring cell as Cloud abruptly went still. For an instant, he thought that Cloud had either stopped breathing or just plain died. Given the extent of Cloud's suffering, death could be considered a mercy. But as Reno moved closer to Cloud's cell to get a better look, he nearly got the fright of his life when Cloud exploded off the floor and lunged at him, howling in a berserk rage. The Turk recoiled and hastily retreated as far as he could go as Cloud slammed into the wall of his own cell, then began to pound, flail, and claw mindlessly at the obstruction. At that moment, Reno was very glad that there was not just one, but two very solid barriers between him and the frothing maniac Cloud had suddenly become. "STOP IT! STOP IT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I'M NOT YOUR FUCKIN' PUPPET, DAMN YOU! I'M NOBODY'S PUPPET, SO SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UUUPPPP!!!" "Shit!" The Turk flinched as a particularly hard blow caused a small, but visible crack in Cloud's cell. Without warning, Cloud's rage seemed to find another target as he ranted, "How can you just lie there and let him do this to me!? You're on HIS side, aren't you, you damn slut!? TIFA, YOU FUCKIN' BITCH!!!" In his line of work, Reno frequently dealt with very angry people. He'd been yelled at, cursed, and threatened more times than he could count. Reno never let other people's feelings bother him. But the searing, soul-deep hatred radiating from Cloud made the Turk's skin crawl. There was something almost inhuman in its sheer intensity and it left him badly unnerved. To be honest, Reno found it flat out scary. (Oh man. This is SO not good.) As he listened to the nonstop stream of sexual obscenities and threats spewing from Cloud's mouth, Reno had the nasty suspicion that Hojo's poison wasn't the sole cause for this vicious outburst. True, the poison was probably the trigger, but the mere existence of this little rant session implied that there was something seriously screwy about Cloud's feelings about Tifa Lockheart. Without warning, Cloud suddenly stiffened in mid-rant and froze, his glowing blue eyes wide open and totally empty. Reno cautiously edged closer to the immobile young man, then waved his hand in front of Cloud's face. The Turk couldn't suppress a shiver when he got no reaction whatsoever. He'd encountered vacant stares before, but this one was the absolute worst. (It's like there's nothing there. No thoughts, no emotions. Zip. Zilch. Nobody's home.) And yet, in that same terrible emptiness, Reno somehow sensed a desperate cry for help. Cloud remained frozen for a moment, barely breathing, then abruptly sagged to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Reno stared down at the unconscious Cloud as tears slowly seeped from the young man's now closed eyes, then the Turk uttered a soft sigh of relief. Just observing Cloud for the last few hours had left Reno exhausted, both physically and emotionally. After spending over a decade doing Shinra's dirty work, few things really bothered him, but Cloud's tortured ramblings had somehow gotten to Reno, and on more than one level. (Cloud, you poor, sick bastard.) ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6e: RHAPSODY IN GREEN: A LITTLE PEACE OF HEAVEN ------------------------------------------------------ While most of Cloud's conscious and unconscious mind was overwhelmed by the terrible memories triggered by Hojo's poison, one small part of him somehow managed to find a refuge in happier, more pleasant recollections.... >----->----->-----> Strolling down the street of Sector 5, he heard the unmistakable sounds of a scuffle taking place in the dirty alleyway nearby. Before he could decide whether to ignore or investigate the commotion, a grungy young punk went flying out the mouth of the alley and landed at his feet. Staggering back to his feet, the punk glared at him and took a drunken swing at him out of pure frustration. He didn't bother drawing any of his weapons. Instead, a single, efficient punch knocked his scruffy attacker out cold. Unconscious, the punk looked like just another heap of garbage among the many other heaps littering the slum street. Curiosity aroused, he strolled into the alley to investigate. He found a young woman fending off five drunken street punks using a discarded piece of pipe as her makeshift staff. She was a girl, really -- petite and pretty, with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail and bright green eyes. She looked rather dainty in her long pink dress and festive red vest, but the girl certainly didn't act helpless. (Not bad for an amateur,) he noted absently as he casually sidestepped an attacker who went sprawling past him. However, he immediately spotted the fatal flaw in the girl's technique. (She's not following through like she should. Holding back with these guys is just asking for trouble.) That became painfully clear when one of the men she'd flattened earlier jumped back to his feet and jerked the long pipe out of her hands. "Let's see how you like it, you little bitch!" gloated the attacker as he raised the pipe over his head. Backed up against the alley wall, the girl had nowhere to go. All she could do was raise her arm in a futile attempt to fend off the blow. He silently stepped out of the shadows, reached out a hand, and stopped the punk's attack in mid-swing. "What the fuck...!?" the man yelped in angry surprise. He pulled the pipe from the street punk's grasp and used it to knock him out cold, all in one fluid, easy motion. He made a swift turn and a quick twirl of the pipe-cum-staff to put the rest of the attacking gang out of commission. Giving the girl a pleasant grin, he tossed the pipe back to her. "Your form's pretty good, but knocking your enemies down is only half the battle -- you need to make them STAY down." She blinked, allowed the pipe to drop to the ground, and said quietly, "I didn't want to hurt them." "That's generous of you, but unfortunately, not very practical, especially in this sort of neighborhood." The girl simply sighed as she brushed off her clothes, then bent down to pick up a basket. For a second, he thought that the basket simply contained some frilly yellow fabric, but then he caught the delicate scent of fresh flowers. He grinned and said, "Now that's an unusual item to see around here." She smiled a bit wistfully and said, "You mean the flowers? Yes, I know. That's how I make my living. I sell them." The girl's expression brightened. "Would you like one? On the house?" "Sure. I love freebies, especially from attractive young ladies," he said cheerfully. She laughed as she handed him a particularly flamboyant yellow-orange bloom. "Thanks again for helping me. My name's Aeris." He took the flower and stared down at her, admiring her brilliant green eyes. She was only a teenager, but her gaze had a quiet maturity that belied her age. However, it was the hints of loneliness and sadness that really caught his attention. He smiled back at her and replied, "Call me Zack." * * * * * He walked into the office humming softly to himself. His best friend and commanding officer appeared in the doorway and asked, "So who's the lucky woman?" He grinned playfully in return. "What makes you think that?" "When you walk around with a bemused grin on your face, twirling a flower in your fingers, I'd say that there's a good probability that a woman's somehow involved." "Got it in one. She's a bit on the young side, though." "Cradle-robbing?" He snorted and said, "Hell, no. Besides, it was a purely accidental meeting." "Really? And does this young woman have a name?" He smiled a bit sheepishly at his friend. "Actually, she asked me not to tell anyone her name." Sephiroth raised an elegant pale eyebrow. He responded to the unspoken question. "She wouldn't say why, but I suspect that she trying to hide from a certain person or persons in Shinra. Considering her age, I doubt she's directly involved, but it could be that her family's had some past trouble with either the company or with one of the Shinra higher-ups. God knows that some of those guys love harassing the people down below." "So she's frightened?" "Frightened? No, not really. I think... 'cautious' is a better word for her." "Does she know you work for Shinra?" "I didn't say anything, but she eventually figured it out on her own." "And that didn't bother her?" Sephiroth said, then smiled faintly. "What am I saying? With your charming personality, you doubtless had her eating out of your hand by that time." "Who, me?" he protested, making a half-hearted attempt to look innocent. Sephiroth merely snorted. He gave up the innocent act and grinned. "Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but she decided that I was pretty much harmless." Sephiroth's lips twitched as if fighting back the urge to laugh, then said, "Well, if you can't tell me her name, what can you tell me about her?" "She's a bit on the short side, long brown hair, very pretty. And as for her eyes...." He laughed ruefully. "Well, I guess I just have a weakness for green eyes." Sephiroth blinked his own luminous ice green eyes, then shook his head in amused exasperation. "And she's one hell of a gardener." He held up the flower in his hand. The general stepped away from the doorway and took the flower. After smelling the bloom and admiring the silky yellow petals, he said, "Where did this come from?" "She grew it down below, in an old abandoned church." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at that. "Then she certainly does have a gift for plants. I can't imagine trying to raise something this beautiful in the slums." "Yeah. I know what you mean." His friend gave him a long, thoughtful look, then said in a neutral voice, "This one's not like the others. You feel something for her." "Hey! I just met her!" "I can tell, Zack. She's different." He sighed. "I don't know quite how to describe it. Looks aside, she has this quiet sort of inner strength which just fascinates me." (Maybe, in a weird way, she reminds me of you, Seph. You two appear very different on the surface. She's like a quiet lake, serene and peaceful, while you're like a wall of ice, cold and hard. But underneath those very different surfaces, I can tell that both of you feel lonely, isolated... no matter how much you two try to hide it.) He abruptly shook his head. "Whatever. But I'm really curious to know why she feels the need to be so secretive." "I suppose that you'll just have be patient until she gathers the courage to tell you...." Sephiroth's face suddenly went expressionless and remote. From his friend's reaction, he knew that they were about to have an very unwanted visitor. He discretely tossed the flower out of sight behind some books before turning around and putting on his best professional demeanor. Sephiroth said in a sharp, icy voice, "What do you want, Hojo?" The doctor give the general his typical slimy grin. "Oh, I'm here to request a contingent of SOLDIERs for a mission. I want them to go out to the Mythril mines to the east and capture some important specimens for me." With a faintly contemptuous curl of his lips, Sephiroth snapped, "Surely you have personnel trained for that sort of thing." "Yes, of course I do." Hojo paused briefly, then said with a careless shrug, "Well, at least I did. The last three parties I sent out never returned." "My men are fighters, not scientists or dog catchers." "Are you saying they can't do their job?" Hojo asked mockingly. Sephiroth retorted in an even voice, "Hardly. Capturing creatures for your pet research projects is NOT their job." The general stared at Hojo from under hooded eyes before adding, "But, in the interests of interdepartmental cooperation, and since I am under orders from President Shinra to indulge your 'reasonable' requests, I'll assign a squad of my men to act strictly as escort. Their sole mission will be to protect Shinra property and employees. The live capture of any creatures will be entirely YOUR responsibility. If anything attempts to attack my men or items under their guard, they will kill it without hesitation. Is that understood?" Hojo sniffed, then shrugged. "Very well. My assistant will forward the pertinent details." With a slightly malicious smile, Sephiroth added, "Before I forget, in accordance to a recent memo from the Board of Directors, the operating costs of this mission will be coming out of the Scientific Research department's budget. If there are any objections, I suggest you complain to Heidegger or President Shinra." Hojo scowled, but said nothing. "Zack, assign Squad C and brief them once you get the details." With those words, the general disappeared into his office. He nodded obediently, then turned back to Hojo only to find the scientist staring at him a bit too intensely for comfort. * * * * * He walked in one morning to see Sephiroth frowning thoughtfully at a computer screen. "What's wrong?" "I've been reviewing the personnel records for the Nibelheim mission team. There's someone who could a troublemaker." He leaned over Sephiroth's shoulder and peered at the list of names on the screen. "Which one?" "Cloud Strife," Sephiroth replied, pointing out the name. "So what's wrong with him?" Sephiroth gave him a sour little smile. "You're better off asking me what's not wrong with him." "That bad, huh?" He glanced at the information on the screen. "Strife... I thought the name sounded vaguely familiar. Now I remember him. A blond teenager, a bit on the short side. Applied for the SOLDIER program, but got dumped after the preliminary screening tests. He took it really hard." "Life's full of disappointments. If he can't cope with them, he has no business even trying to be a SOLDIER," snapped Sephiroth. He could clearly remember the first and only time he'd encountered Cloud. Cloud had been stinking drunk in the bar and on the verge of single-handedly attacking a group of Second Class SOLDIERs who had been teasing him. Knowing that particular squad like he did, he had hastily intervened, dragging the teenager out of the bar before the youngster could end up as a bloody smear on the floor. He had shoved Cloud into a taxi and that was the last he'd heard of the teenager. Sephiroth looked faintly disgusted. "Just look at all these disciplinary actions in his file, as well as those miserable performance evaluations. Why on earth is this person still in Shinra? And how did he manage to get accepted in the first place? The psychological assessments call him, 'emotionally insecure, hostile to authority, resentful of discipline, unable to accept consequences of own actions, suspicious to the point of paranoia....'" His lips twitched slightly. "I thought we were supposed to be paranoid." Sephiroth glared at him. "Not that type of paranoid." He said cheerfully, "But it also says that he shows occasional flashes of potential and talent. He certainly needs to lose some of that attitude of his, but...." "We're a military organization, not some personal development seminar," Sephiroth snapped, his green eyes flashing with annoyance. "I know, I know," he murmured soothingly. "I dislike wasting my time dealing with troublemakers," Sephiroth snapped irritably. With a sly wink, he countered, "But you won't be the one dealing with him, Seph. I will." Sephiroth gave him a faintly startled look, then said, "True. But why do you want to keep him on the mission team?" "Well, he did grow up in Nibelheim and probably knows the area pretty well. He could be useful as a backup in case we have problems with the local guide." "You have a point. If you want to keep him, fine. Just keep him out of my hair." "Your wish is my command, oh esteemed commander." "Oh, shut up, Zack," Sephiroth retorted, suppressing a smile. * * * * * Green eyes and smiles. That's what he would always remember about this moment in this place of light and crystal. He would never forget Aeris' beautiful green eyes and her warm smile as she knelt there in the very center of this City of the Ancients, praying for guidance and hope. She was so glad to see him. He wanted to touch her, to assure himself that she was safe and unharmed. He never got the chance as darkness fell from the sky. A darkness that also possessed green eyes and a smile.... Ice green eyes that glittered with a familiar madness, and a cruel little smile that promised unspeakable horrors to come.... And better than anyone else, he knew all too well of Sephiroth's ability to deliver on his promises. ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6f: REEVE'S INTERLUDE - BITING THE HAND ------------------------------------------------------ Fed up with the lack of results and desperate to do SOMETHING, Reeve took over the job of sifting endless piles of data for any leads to Scarlet's secret weapons plant as he waited for Cid and the others to return to Midgar. An hour or so later, Max tapped Reeve on the shoulder. "What?" he asked his assistant irritably. "Uh, I managed to locate one of the people on that list you gave me." For a second, Reeve couldn't figure out what Max was talking about and demanded, "Which list are you talking about?" "Something to do with trooper on patrol outside Midgar?" "Oh, that's right." Around dinnertime, he'd given his assistant a list of the troopers mentioned in the very last report on Zack and Cloud, and who might provide important information about Zack's death. "You found only one? Where is the rest of the men?" "They're all dead, Mr. Reeve." "Dead? How?" "Well, it appears that immediately after the incident of interest, the entire squad got transferred back to Midgar for a security detail. They were stationed on the 67th through 69th floors of this building. Sephiroth wiped most of them out on the night he assassinated President Shinra." Reeve frowned. (Well, that's a weird sort of poetic justice in that. They killed Zack and Sephiroth ended up killing them.) ------------------------- The Shinra trooper shuffled his feet and sweated nervously as he stood in front of the new president's desk. He had plenty of reason. Reeve was in a decidedly irritable mood and it showed. "I have some questions to ask you. Do a good job of answering them and you'll be out of here in no time. Screw around me and I know a certain General Claxmore who won't be so nice about the same questions." "Y-y-yes sir...." Reeve was not impressed with the trooper standing before him. The man had a sloppy, sullen manner that grated on his nerves. "About a year ago, you and your troop were sent on a mission to track down some fugitives. Am I correct?" "Yeah." Then in a self-pitying whine, the trooper added, "We were supposed to hunt down some lab escapees, but they didn't tell us that we were hunting for SOLDIERs!" (Oh, and you consider it perfectly fine to hunt down some poor ordinary civilian?) thought an angry Reeve. "We got some reports that the guys we were looking for were in the mountains just south of Midgar, so off we go. Jeez, me and my squad were searching the area, minding our own business, then this... this dark-haired guy drops from the trees like the wrath of God, waving this absolutely humongous sword! The next thing I know, he takes out half my buddies and the squad commander in a couple of swipes. Boom! Like that!" the trooper said, gesturing broadly for emphasis. (A dark-haired guy. That had to be Zack.) "So how did you manage to survive the attack?" asked Reeve. "Uh... well, me and one of my friends decided that a strategic retreat...." "Meaning you ran for your lives," Reeve said drily. "Um... I guess you could put it that way." "If that's true, then why on earth did the two of you end up chasing these escapees?" A bead of sweat ran down the man's face. Reeve gave him a cool, intimidating stare and waited. "Actually, we weren't chasing them. We... um, sort of ran across them by accident. Near the edge of a cliff. It was weird. I mean, I know that dark-haired guy didn't get a damn scratch when he hacked the other guys to bits, but when we saw him on the cliff a few minutes later, he was hurt really bad. There was blood pouring -- and I mean POURING -- down his back. He and this blond guy were so busy fighting over a knife that they didn't even notice us. The dark guy finally managed to knock the blond guy down, then he saw us...." "So you panicked and shot him." "Well, yeah! I mean, whatcha expect us to do? This guy's just killed ten of my buddies! Of course we shot him!" Reeve stared at them. In a neutral voice, he said, "So why didn't you shoot the other man as well?" "Oh, you mean the blond guy?" (That has to be Cloud....) "Yes, him." said Reeve. "Well, we would have, but while we were busy with the dark guy, blondie stumbled off into the brush. And... well, we sort of used up all our ammo at that point." Seeing Reeve's disgusted look, the trooper hastily said, "Listen. If this blond guy was strong enough to give the dark SOLDIER guy trouble, would YOU want to go wandering around in the woods looking for a crazed lunatic with nothing more than a pocket knife?" (I guess he has a point there.) Reeve eyed at the trooper for a moment, then said, "Then what happened?" "Well, none of us wanted to stick around. So we took off." "Didn't you bother to check to see if the man you'd just shot was still alive?" "C'mon! No way he could've survived, not after getting pumped full of holes like he was. And if he wasn't dead, he would have died soon enough." The trooper shrugged callously. "Why weren't the bodies recovered? I mean, if they were escapees, surely the scientists would have wanted them back, dead or alive." "Well, yeah, but...." "The truth, and the complete truth," Reeve said sternly. The trooper fidgeted, then blurted out, "Me and my buds didn't want to get sent back out into those woods with that loony blond guy still wandering around, so we all fudged the report a bit. Said that both guys fell off the cliff and the bodies couldn't be recovered." "I see." The trooper shifted uneasily. "Is... is there anything else, sir?" "Just one more thing." "Yeah?" "When the... dark guy and the blond guy were fighting over the knife, who was the aggressor?" "The aggressor?" The trooper puzzled over the question a bit, then said, "Oh, you mean, who was doing most of the attacking?" "Yes." "Funny. Now that you mention it, it was the blondie." "Are you sure?" "Oh, yeah. I mean, you could just tell from their faces. The blond guy was really freaked out, while the dark guy was a lot more calmer. He seemed more interested on getting the knife away from the blond guy than in beating him, if you know what I mean." "I see. That will be all. Wait out in the reception area. I may need to speak to you again." "Yes sir." As the relieved trooper fled his office, Reeve leaned back into his chair and pondered the new information he'd just received. (Yes. It all begins to fit. I'd been wondering how a group of regular Shinra troopers managed to take down someone as skilled as Zack. But this version makes a lot more sense. Zack nearly wipes out the squad that's following him and Cloud. For whatever reasons -- delirium, whatever -- Cloud attacks Zack and severely injures him. Zack manages to knock Cloud out, but by then it's too late. The troopers shoot Zack while Cloud wanders off into the bush. After the troopers run off, Cloud returns to find Zack... and then....) And then, another event had occurred -- something truly horrific. Reeve didn't need to be a crime scene expert to read the story told by the shattered and smashed bones on the cliff. Someone with immense physical strength and a sharp weapon had deliberately hacked Zack's body apart. And Reeve had a nasty feeling that Zack could have very well been alive at the time. The question of 'who' was ridiculously easy to answer. (Cloud, of course. On the cliff edge. With Zack's own two-handed broadsword.) Not the Cloud Strife he knew. It was extremely difficult to imagine the man he knew doing something so savagely deranged. (Not our Cloud, perhaps, but what about the Cloud Strife described in the personnel files? I mean, a bitter, hostile young man who failed to became a SOLDIER.... With his history, I can easily picture THAT person attacking even a friend in a blind fit of rage. And if you add the trauma of being Hojo's prisoner and experimental subject for nearly five years....) That could explain so much, including Cloud's continued inability to remember exactly what happened to Zack and the panic attack at the cliff. Reeve contemplated his opinions and debated possible solutions. Finally, he called his assistant Max. "Where's the most isolated outpost we have?" "Uh... I believe there's a facility located on a desert island to the south, sir. Nothing but sand and walking cactus plants." "Fine. Transfer that trooper waiting in the reception area to that location." "Sir?" "Right now. I want him out of Midgar as soon as possible. I don't care how you do it, but do it right away and make him like it." With a bitter smile, he added, "Tell him it's for his own safety and that it's in his best interests to keep his mouth shut." "Yes, sir. Right away, sir," said Max in a dubious voice. (Which is perfectly true, in a way.) Reeve sank back into his chair. (This buys me some time to figure out what to do. And if worst comes to worst.... Well, there are always the Turks.) Reeve sat alone, in total silence, until a sharp buzz broke his concentration. His assistant Max said, "Sir, the Highwind II has just landed. Captain Highwind and the others are headed down to your office." ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6g: ONE THING AT A TIME ------------------------------------------------------ When Cid and the others entered the room, they found a seriously preoccupied Reeve. The pilot threw himself into a chair and muttered, "Any luck on finding Scarlet's little hiding hole?" Reeve stared out the window and said quietly, "Not yet. Scarlet covered her tracks damn well. She didn't leave any obvious traces. So we're left with the money." "The what!?" Barret yelled impatiently. Elena nodded sharply. "I get it. When all else fails, trace the money. Salaries, equipment costs, food, transportation. All these things cost money. It has to come from somewhere and it has to go somewhere." Cid smirked. "I get it. Hit 'em with the accountants, huh?" "That's the basic idea, and so far it's worked. I've narrowed it down to three or four few likely prospects, but it's going to take more time to...." Tifa jumped up and shouted, "But we don't HAVE time!" There was a trace of barely controlled hysteria in her voice. Before anyone else could comment, Reeve held up his hand and said wearily, "I know that. It's all taking too much time. Believe me, I'm open to any suggestions, hints, guesses you guys might have for me. Just remember, we're probably only going to get one chance at this." "So what have you got?" "There are four likely locations. The first is located in the mountains just north of Junon. The second is on an island near what used to be the Temple of the Ancients. The third is situated near the Mythril Mines to the east. The last one is on the seaside cliffs just north of Rocket Town." "Can't you do some aerial searching?" said Barret. Cid muttered, "No way. Don't forget that Hojo's got hordes of those weird flying monsters. He'd see us long before we see him." "Shit." Reeve said, "I'm hoping to narrow it down to two locations. After that... it's a coin toss." He glanced around at his friends. "Listen. Why don't you guys change, heal up, and get some rest? Standing around won't make things go any faster." "But...." Tifa protested. Barret gripped her shoulder. "Come on, girl. You know he's right. You're not goin' to do Cloud any good if you pass out on your feet. And you should see a doc about your legs, just to be sure." "Oh hell," she muttered. "All right." Barret and Yuffie escorted a reluctant Tifa out of the room, trailed by Vincent and the Turks. Cid was about to follow them when Red gave him a nudge, then jerked his head in Reeve's direction. Cid nodded and walked back to Reeve's desk. "Okay, what's up?" Reeve twitched in surprise. "Huh?" Red said firmly, "Something's really bothering you." The Shinra exec rubbed his hands over his face. "That obvious, huh?" Cid glanced down at Reeve's desk and saw a picture of a familiar blond-haired young man on the outside of a fat folder. Curious, he reached out to take a look inside, but Reeve quietly put his hand on the folder cover, holding it closed. He quietly said to the pilot, "Please don't. Or at least, not now." Cid blinked twice, then said, "That's Cloud's personnel file, right?" "Yes." Reeve hesitated, then said, "Cid... Red... if you insist on reading it, I won't try to stop you. But I think we should concentrate on finding and rescuing Cloud first. We can deal with what's in here later." Red and Cid stared into their friend's eyes. Reeve looked anxious, stressed-out, and even a little bit sad. Finally, Red said, "Are there things in that file that need to be 'dealt' with?" "Yes, I rather think so." Reeve sighed heavily and added, "Do you guys remember the talk you had in the basement of the Mansion about possible consequences of probing Cloud's memories? Red, you said that it was hard to figure out the best thing to do. Whether it's best to allow someone like Cloud to face a possibly unbearable truth or to let him believe a comforting lie." Cid muttered, "Yeah. And YOU said, 'You can say that again.' Aw hell, Reeve. Are you trying to tell me there's really IS something that bad?" "There's no absolute proof, you understand, but if my theory is correct, it very well could be that bad and that ugly. And to make things even worse, we'll end up with a lot more questions than answers. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been tempted to just shred this entire file and forget about it, but I can't quite bring myself to do it. There's been so many lies and deceptions in Cloud's life already." "Shit." The pilot wondered what could be bothering Reeve so much. Cid's gaze returned to the folder, focusing on the photo of a young Cloud on the folder cover. (It's Cloud, no doubt about that. You can't mistake that hair or the face.) But Cid then noticed the expression in the young man's eyes and face. A quick glance at Red told him that the beast was probably seeing the same thing he did. Red's brow wrinkled in obvious concern as he murmured, "Such bitterness and anger." Reeve's only response was a tired sigh. Cid flicked the photo. "Has this been the thing bugging you the last couple of days?" "It's just the tip of the iceberg, Cid, but yes, that's part of it." They all stared the apparently innocuous personnel folder, then glanced at each other. Finally Red spoke for them all. "Reeve, you should put that folder away and keep it out of sight for now. We don't want Tifa or the others accidentally seeing it and asking questions. As you said, we should deal with it at some point, but this is not the time. We have more important things to worry about at the moment. Whoever he might have been and whatever he might have done in the past, Cloud is our friend now and he's in terrible danger." ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6h: NO TRUER WORDS ------------------------------------------------------ Cloud awoke in gut wrenching agony, but he was used to that. He resisted opening his eyes, dreading the sight of what he was going to see -- the sickening green Mako glow, the scientists in white.... (This past year... my friends... has it all been a dream...? If it is, I don't want to wake up.... Please, I can't stand this any more....) // You can't spend the rest of your life.... // // hiding in an imaginary world.... // Somewhere, he gathered up the willpower to slowly open his eyes. The first thing he was the curving clear wall of his cell. (No, not this again....) Then he slowly glanced up to see a naked, red-haired man watching him from a neighboring cell with a rather sour expression on his face. In an barely audible voice, Cloud said ruefully, "I never thought that I'd be so glad to see you, Reno." The Turk had a most peculiar combination of discomfort, uneasiness, and sympathy on his face. "Uh... yeah, whatever." "What's wrong? No, let me guess. I've been babbling my head off, right?" Cloud managed to look annoyed with himself. He shifted restlessly, seeking some relief from the hard floor grating, but his movements only made the pain worse. "I suppose you could put it that way." Cloud cautiously rolled over onto his back and stared up at the celling of his cell. He absently noted that it look exactly the same as the cells back in Nibelheim. Reno said in a somber voice, "You know, I would NOT like to be you for all the gil in the world." Cloud's lips curled upward, but it really couldn't be considered a smile. "Sometimes I don't like being me, either." ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6i: SCARLET HITS THE ROAD ------------------------------------------------------ Reno was not the only ex-Shinra member having a lousy day. Actually, Scarlet's luck began turning bad one year ago -- just about the time Cloud made his presence known in Midgar -- and it had been going downhill ever since. Getting pounded on by that slut Lockheart... nearly getting blown up in Proud Clod due to Heidegger's incompetence... having a huge meteor crashing down from the sky... all that was bad enough. But to lose control of Shinra to that gutless wimp REEVE, of all people! Well, that was nearly too much to bear. Talk about add insult to injury! But Scarlet always had her secret contingency plans, just in case something went wrong. This weapon research facility had been one of her best-kept secrets. No trace of it appeared in Shinra company records and she financed the facility using the most convoluted and creative accounting she could manage. After losing her bid to control Shinra, she had decided that the best alternative would be to enter the weapon business for herself. There would always be a market for effective ways to kill people. The months following the Meteor incident had spent getting the research facility retooled into a small, but highly efficient production plant for all sorts of weaponry. A few more days, it would have been online and running. But just as things going her way, Hojo managed screw up everything royally by paying her a surprise 'visit'. Scarlet angrily paced back and forth in the small detention cell, one of four that made up the facility's security section. After Hojo's invasion, she had been thrown into the cell and apparently forgotten. For over 24 hours, she'd had nothing to eat and if it wasn't for the small sink, she wouldn't have had any water, either. Hojo really couldn't afford to let her die of starvation or thirst. He was simply trying to make her cooperative, because Scarlet was the only one who could defuse the numerous defensive and self-destruct devices built into the facility. Scarlet snickered softly to herself. Hojo was an idiot. Oh, the crazed scientist had found a secure room in which to confine her, but the chauvinist pig had made a very bad mistake. He had assumed that she was just a weapon designer and computer programmer -- all theory and no practice. Wrong. Not only did she know how to construct all sorts of weapons, she had made damn sure that she knew how to use them properly. And she didn't mind getting her hands dirty. The fool had totally forgotten to have her searched. No, her situation wasn't hopeless, but it certainly wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. She was still stuck in a 10' by 10' cell with no real place to go. The locked door was no obstacle -- she knew the all the override codes, of course -- but getting past the hordes of Hojo's pet monsters was the real problem. As she paced, she wondered how the hell she was going to get out of THIS mess with her precious hide intact. Suddenly, shuffling feet approached, then stopped right outside her door. This could be her big chance. Scarlet took a deep breath and readied herself as the door to her cell slid open. The monsters dragged her out of her cell, down the hallways, and carted her up several flights of stairs. She noticed that the elevators did not appear to be working and filed away that information away for future reference. She eventually ended up in her own office facing a softly giggling Hojo. She thought irritably, (The asshole's managed to turn himself into some slimy bug-eyed, tentacled green monster and he STILL has the same dirty, stringy hair!) Sniggering madly, he said, "I hope you haven't found your accommodations too uncomfortable." "What the hell do you want, Hojo?" "I want the codes for the safety interlocks on your little Mako reactor." "What for?" "I need more power, of course." Scarlet scowled angrily. "Then you're going to have to find another source of power, Hojo! If you shut off the interlocks, the inflow of Mako will be uncontrollable and the reactor will blow up in your stupid face. Not that it bothers me, but since the entire facility is sitting on top of the damn thing...." "That would be true IF the Mako had no place to go. But we won't be having that problem." "Why not?" "You don't need to know, Scarlet. Just be cooperative and give me the codes. My time is at a premium right now. I don't want to waste time torturing you." As Scarlet sighed, she counted the number of monsters in the room. (Just a handful....) She gave Hojo a quick glance. (I hope that I'm correct in assuming that Hojo's in direct mental control of these creatures. Otherwise, I'm dead meat.) Scarlet shrugged off the paws holding her back and stepped closer to Hojo. She began to haul up her sparklely, heavily sequined evening gown with one hand, exposing her legs. Scarlet prided herself on her legs -- long, smooth, and unquestionably sexy, with just the right curves and just the right amount of muscle. As she kicked off her high heels, she murmured in a husky tone, "Let's not be too hasty with the threats, okay? Maybe we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement?" Edging a bit closer, she gave him a sultry smile. "Come on. I can be immensely useful to you... in lots of ways...." Hojo made a shooing gesture with a tentacle and chuckled, "Please! Credit me with some taste!" "But I've got such a nice surprise for you... HERE!" With the smoothness of many hours of practice, she grabbed the small but extremely powerful handgun strapped to her thigh, whipped it up, and emptied half the clip right into Hojo's face at point blank range. He staggered back squealing wildly in shock and pain. As she had hoped, deprived of Hojo's guidance, his creatures also began flailing about mindlessly. She dove through an opening between two fumbling monsters, rolled to her feet, and took off down the hallway at full speed in her stocking feet. ------------------------- Reno was pacing as best he could in his small cell when a flash of sequins caught his eye. A familiar-looking blond woman dressed in a singularly tasteless evening gown dashed into the lab, slammed the door closed, and started lavishing kisses on the gun clutched in her hands. "Oh baby, you saved Mama's precious neck again! First Heidegger and now Hojo!" She hugged the weapon to her amply endowed breasts. "SCARLET!?" "RENO!?" Scarlet whipped around and her jaw dropped open when she saw the totally naked Reno standing in a transparent cylinder. With a sour grin, he said, "I knew you were fond of your weapons, Scarlet, but don't you think you're getting a bit carried away?" She shoved her hair away from her face and smirked. "Why Reno, those suits you wear do absolutely nothing for you!" She licked her lips as her eyes scanned the Turk from head to toe before settling on a point just below his waist. "I never realized what an impressive... physique... you have." Reno suppressed the impulse to cover himself and snarled, "Will you quit admiring my attributes and get me the hell out of this fucking cell!?" "Sorry, darling, but as much as I admire that cute ass of yours, I'm more concerned with saving my own butt. I'm outta here!" With those words, she turned to leave. "Scarlet, you bitch! You can't just leave us here!" "Sure I can! You just watch me! And what do you mean by 'us'?" She glanced quickly at the other cell. "Oh shit! It's that son of a bitch Cloud! If you think I'm going to risk my neck to save his...." Suddenly a calculating look crossed her face. "Hey...." At that moment, there was sounds of a rapidly approaching horde. Scarlet blanched, then bolted out the back door to the lab. Less than a minute later, a mob of Hojo's monsters smashed down the lab door. Reno blandly watched as they stampeded right back out in hot pursuit of the former head of Shinra's Weapon Development Division. Cloud lifted his head a bit and muttered, "Did I just see Scarlet go by? Or was that just another hallucination?" "Nope. She came and she went, the damn bitch." ------------------------- Scarlet grabbed a post, used it to make a sharp right turn, hit a nondescript panel in a particular pattern, jumped through the opening as the panel abruptly slid aside, then slammed it shut behind her. She took a brief second to catch her breath, then scurried down the access tunnel on hands and knees. At occasional intervals, she opened up hidden keypads and typed in codes, then hurried on her way. Finally, she tumbled head first into the backup security room. She tapped a few final commands in the console, then collapsed into a chair, gasping for air. As the security monitors sprang to life, she saw Hojo still staggering around in her office. Scarlet scowled in disappointment and resignation. The crazy scientist had managed to survive getting blown to bits by Cloud and company, so she hadn't expected her gun to do any permanent harm. But one could always hope. Even now, she could see the gaping wounds in Hojo's head slowly closing up. As she flipped through the images from various security cameras scattered throughout the facility, she frowned angrily. The damned monsters were everywhere. All her escape routes to the outside were cut off. "Shit! I'll need an army to blast through all those creatures...," then she smiled wickedly. "I may not have an army, but I know a group of people that'll do just as well." Scarlet reached inside a small cooler unit and pulled out a bottle of wine. Uncorking it and knocking back a few deep chugs without the benefit of a glass, she laughed and said, "Well, Cloud, it's about time you paid me back for all the trouble you've caused me. You're going to be my ticket out of this hellhole. Cheers!" ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6j: EXCHANGING FAVORS ------------------------------------------------------ It was just before dawn, but no one was asleep. While Elena, Reeve, Red, and Cid went over their puny bits of data one more time, the others struggled to find constructive ways to occupy their time. Both Vincent and Barret headed off to the armory to check out their weapons and gather more ammunition. Tifa paced. Strangely, it was Yuffie who was managing -- just barely -- to keep Tifa from punching holes in the walls in frustration. Reeve dragged his hand through his hair. Nothing. No clues. Hours of pouring over records trying to guess where Scarlet's secret research facility might be, but they still couldn't narrow the field any more. There were still four possible locations and no way to eliminate even one of them. (That's even assuming that Scarlet's facility is even one of the four. AND assuming that Hojo didn't change his mind and go somewhere else.) Taking a break from repairing the Highwind II, Cid finally threw up his hands. "Hell, at this point, we might as well pick our target by closing our eyes and sticking a pin in the fucking map! At least we'd be doing SOMETHING!" The intercom abruptly buzzed. Everyone froze, waiting. "Reeve here." "Sir, we have an urgent video transmission for you!" "What? From who? Never mind. Just put it through." The picture of a tired, disheveled blond woman appeared on the monitor screen. "Scarlet!?" "I want to make a deal, Reeve." "A deal!? What the hell are you up to!?" "Listen, you're looking for your spiky haired buddy, right?" Reeve suddenly sat up straight. "Go on." "I know where he is. And I know where Hojo's keeping him." "So what do you want for that information?" Reeve silently typed out a command for a trace on the call. "I want you guys to save my damn neck!" "HUH!?" everyone chorused. "Listen, I'm stuck here with hordes of Hojo's damn pets crawling all over the place. If they catch me, I'm history. So I want you guys to get me out of here! In exchange, I'll help you rescue Cloud and Reno." Elena yelled, "Reno's there too!?" "So where the hell are they?" snapped Reeve. "Uh uh. You do this MY way. Here's the deal. You rescue me FIRST, then I'll help you find them." "Why should we do that?" "I know you're probably tracing this call this very minute. But knowing the location really won't help you. This call is coming from a remote transmitter. Besides, you need me if you want to locate your friends. This entire factory is booby-trapped and I've just put this place on maximum security alert. Now Hojo may not care how many of his creatures die wandering around this place, but I'm sure YOU don't want to run my little gauntlet." Reeve glared at her. In a more conciliatory voice, Scarlet said, "And I know this place like the back of my hand. I can get you to Cloud and Reno by the quickest and safest route." "What guarantees do we have that you'll keep your end of the bargain?" "Don't be an idiot, Reeve! I know that you guys won't leave until you rescue your buddies. So if I want to get out alive, I have to make sure you guys stay alive too. How about it?" Yuffie yelled, "We can't trust that sly, overpainted bitch!" "Hey hey hey...." Scarlet sputtered. Reeve, exhausted and worried over Cloud's kidnapping, lost his usual calm and shouted, "Stop that! God, you're starting to sound like that jackass Palmer!" There was a long, drawn out silence. "There's no reason to be THAT insulting." Scarlet actually sounded hurt. Elena whispered to Rude, "That WAS sorta hitting below the belt, you know." Reeve took a deep breath, then turned to Cid and said, "I think it's your call." Yuffie jumped up and down, shouting, "It's a damned trap! She's probably working with Hojo!" On the monitor, Scarlet retorted, "Working with Hojo!? Listen, you barbaric hellcat! How stupid do you think I am!? The freak's gone totally around the bend! There's no making deals with a person like that!" "You could be setting us up just to save your damn neck!" "You think he gives a fuck about you? Right now, he's so obsessed with his current wacko schemes that everything and everybody else is basically 'out of sight, out of mind' with that fruitcake! That's the only reason I've managed to stay alive this long! He's been too busy with his big project to hunt me down. And his creatures are so stupid, they won't do a damn thing without Hojo's direct commands." "Come on, Scarlet! If you've managed to escape from him this long, why can't you get away from the plant? You've obviously got plenty of backup plans and escape routes. Why haven't you used them?" said Cid in an decidedly suspicious tone of voice. Scarlet snarled, "Because I got damn lucky the first time around. Hojo knows squat about security so he didn't have his creatures search me. But all bets are off now. I've got weapons but I'm just one person and this close combat shit is NOT my strong point, okay? I step outside my hiding hole and I'm going to get nailed, sooner or later. That's where you guys come in." Cid said, "Enough of this crap. We've got no choice." He looked around at his friends. "I say we go for it. Scarlet, you've got a deal. Now where the hell are you and how do we get there without having to fight through all of Hojo's monsters? We know he's got a whole army of flying creatures, and god knows what else." "You're damn right. You show up in the Highwind and you wouldn't get within a mile of this place. You'll have to go underground. There's a two mile tunnel that leads directly into the middle subsurface levels of the factory. But the only way to reach the entrance of that tunnel is to hike through a cave system that comes out onto the surface about.... oh, ten miles from the facility." "Ten miles!" Cid sputtered. "Yes, ten miles, you old goat. There are several closer entrances, but you run the risk of encountering some of his roving monsters. And since he's somehow controlling them telepathically or that shit, Hojo will know the moment a monster detects you. Got it?" "All right, all right!" "Ten miles should put you outside of their ground patrols. The path is easy, but only passable on foot. For guys like you, it shouldn't take more than... oh, about 2 to 3 hours if you jog it. Now listen carefully. Every mile in the caves, you're going to having to find the security checkpoints and type the right codes in or something really nasty is going to happen to you. The same thing in the tunnel and the plant itself but at shorter intervals. PAY ATTENTION. If you screw up, not only are you liable to get hurt but the noise is probably going blow any chance for surprise. Got it? This plant is completely off the official records so there are no blueprints." Tifa muttered, "Paranoid bitch." "I heard that, slut." Cid took a deep breath. "Yeah. Just make sure you get the damn codes right!" Reeve said, "I'm recording. Go ahead, Scarlet." She concisely rattled off security codes, locations of security checkpoints, and the path to a secure meeting point. Scarlet finished with, "I'll be waiting for you guys. From there, I'll show you the way to the lab level where they've got your friends." Cid said grimly. "We'll be there. But try to double-cross us and I will personally nail your ass to the wall. Got it?" "Yeah, yeah. You just make sure you do your part." Her eyes shifted nervously, then her painted lips tightened. "There's a small, but fully functional Mako reactor at this facility and Hojo's been messing around with it. I don't need to tell you what THAT means. There's also a lot of weird equipment being installed in the labs. It looks too damn similar to one of Hojo's old cloning setups for my liking." "Shit, Scarlet....!" She took a deep breath and said, "Listen, Reeve. One last thing. Not only is Hojo mucking around in my labs...." "Yes?" "He's got some huge project going on in the lowermost levels. His creatures have been hauling in hundreds... and I mean hundreds... of human corpses into that area. And nothing's coming out." Reeve's stomach flip-flopped queasily. "Can't you see what's going on with your security cameras?" "None of the cameras down there are working. Hojo's beasts must have taken them out. I'm not sure whether that's deliberate or accidental." Tifa barged in with an urgent, "Have you seen Cloud!? Is he all right?" "He's alive. That's all I can say. He wasn't looking too hot when I last saw him." A definite tone of malice entered Scarlet's voice. "You better not take too long getting here. I've got a feeling that Hojo's planning to have some serious fun with your friend Cloud." Tifa snarled, "You bitch! You think that's funny!?!?" Scarlet's reply was just as angry. "Listen, I think he fucking deserves to suffer, considering the trouble he's caused ME. The only reason that I'm making a deal here is to save my own neck." She paused, then glanced away from the camera, staring at something off-screen. "What the hell is he doing now?" she muttered. Scarlet's eyes abruptly widened in shock. "Oh shit...." "WHAT!?" everyone yelled. "He... Hojo was talking to your buddy Cloud, then he suddenly stabbed him with those damn tentacles of his." Tifa screeched, "He did WHAT!?" Continuing to look off-screen, Scarlet started to look a touch queasy. "Oh, ick! Now he's rummaging around Cloud's guts! Ewwww! Hold it now. Hojo's just pulled something out of his body." She squinted. "Damn these cameras. Looks like some sort of small package." "Fuck...," muttered Cid, letting his cigarette fall to the floor where it burned a hole in the carpet. "What is it!?" yelled Red. "How the fuck should I know!?" Scarlet retorted "Well at least tell us what it looks like! How big is it!?" Red snapped anxiously. "How big?" Scarlet glanced back at the video pickup in astonishment. "What sort of goddamn question is that? Oh, all right. I think it's some sort of a cylinder, about the size of my fist. Why?" "What color is it!?" Cid demanded. "Color!? C'mon! Hojo just ripped the damn thing out of someone's belly! You think I can tell you what color it is under all that blood!?" "Oh shit...." Yuffie glanced around wildly at her friends. "Do you think....?" "Think what!? Reeve, answer me!" snapped Scarlet. Cid whispered, "It was under our noses all this goddamn time. The bitch Roissy must have known all along. Hell, she's probably the one who hid the damn thing in Cloud in the first place!" "And when she got hurt, Roissy must've told her sister Montessi, who then murdered her own sister to keep the sample's location a secret all for herself!" exclaimed Tifa. "And that's why Montessi tried to kidnap Cloud!" finished Red. "REEVE!!!" shrieked Scarlet. "What the hell's so special about that damn tube Hojo's got!?" "Because it's a cell sample...." "So WHAT!?" "....of Sephiroth!" Reeve shouted back. A long pause ensued as Scarlet absorbed this unhappy bit of information and put it together with the other things she'd seen going on around the plant. "My god. The cloning equipment Hojo's been setting up and the removal of the Mako reactor safety interlocks...." Echoing Yuffie, Scarlet whispered, "Oh shit!" She then took a deep breath, then shrieked, "What are you assholes waiting for! DO SOMETHING!!! GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!!" They all looked at each other, then stampeded for the Highwind. ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6k: RENDING NIGHTMARES ------------------------------------------------------ The door to the lab abruptly opened and Hojo, accompanied by several of his creatures, half-walked and half-slithered into the room. "Have you been having pleasant dreams?" Hojo said mockingly as he peered at Cloud, who lay motionless and barely conscious at the bottom of his cell. "Hojo, you're such a friggin' bastard," snapped Reno. The scientist shrugged, then waved at his minions. After roughly hauling Cloud of his cell, they held him up for Hojo's inspection. Cloud stared at the raw looking patches on Hojo's face and head. The young man laughed weakly and said, "It looks like you ran into something painful. I'm SO glad." Hojo's tentacles twitched angrily. "Just a minor inconvenience called Scarlet." The scientist stared at Cloud with particular intensity. "So, it seems that the last few hours haven't taught you to respect me...." "Respect you? Not bloody likely. So, what the hell do you want, Hojo?" Cloud said wearily. "What do I want? You'll see, you'll see. But perhaps this would be an opportune moment to conduct a little experiment in attitude adjustment." The last two words brought Cloud's head up. He tensed, then felt a sharp, agonizing sensation in his skull. However, it was a sensation very different from the purely physical pain caused by the monster's poisonous gas. It felt sickeningly familiar, as if some huge hand had clamped down on his mind and was now digging in with vicious claws. He instinctively tried to grab at his head, but the monsters brutally twisted both arms behind his back. He gasped as the mental pressure increased steadily in an attempt to crush Cloud into utter submission, but Cloud refused to give in. (No way I'm going to be anybody's puppet again! Especially not Hojo's!) Still severely weakened by the poison, Cloud made no attempt to pull free from the monsters' grip. Instead, he concentrated his energy on trying to fight off Hojo's blatant attempt to take control of his mind. And to Cloud's hidden surprise, he found that he was succeeding. After a moment or two, Cloud gritted his teeth and snarled, "Give it up, Hojo! It's not going to work!" Hojo leaned back, breathing heavily. "Interesting. It's much harder to dominate you than I thought it would be." With a shrug, the scientist said, "It was worth a try. But don't worry. You might have slipped your leash temporarily, but Sephiroth will soon bring you back to heel." Cloud yelled, "I am NOT going to be Sephiroth's puppet and I'm sure as hell not I'm going to be YOURS! So stay the hell out of my head!" Hojo was clearly not impressed by his captive's bravado. "Perhaps you managed to resist my control, but do you really think you have the slightest chance of resisting Sephiroth's? I remind you that I made you into a Sephiroth Clone." "And what of it?" Cloud retorted defiantly. Hojo smiled, exposing row upon row of needle-like teeth. "Back when I was working on the Clone project, I believed that I was merely trying to physically duplicate Sephiroth's abilities. But now... yes, now I realize the TRUE purpose of the Sephiroth Clones -- not to replace Sephiroth, but to serve him!" Hojo leaned forward, his voice dripping with malice. "That's right. It's true that the Clone process is similar to the one used to create SOLDIERs. But instead of merely creating physically superior fighters, the special Mako and Jenova treatments resulted in beings whose every cell is subject to Sephiroth's domination. In essence, Sephiroth Clones are but extensions of his will. The perfect slaves, puppets of flesh and bone, who exist solely to serve and obey their master, the great Sephiroth!" Hojo shouted. ------------------------- (He looks like a fucking street preacher,) Reno thought disgustedly as he watched Hojo ranting and flinging up his tentacles in excitement. Hojo's babble about leashes and puppets, slaves and masters, was enough to shake up anyone -- Reno included -- but judging from Cloud's reaction, the other man was taking Hojo's threats damn personally. (I'm guessing that Cloud had some nasty first-hand experience with this mind control shit. Which could explain a lot....) He glanced over at Cloud and saw the other man go very, very still for several seconds. At first, Reno thought that Cloud's mind had gone 'blank' in the spooky way it did before, but then he heard the low snicker. It wasn't loud, but the eerie, wild edge to Cloud's laughter nearly convinced Reno that he wasn't in the presence of just one lunatic, but rather TWO lunatics. Cloud's head came up with a snap and Reno could see that the vicious rage was back. "I'm nobody's fucking puppet! Nobody tells ME what to do! Got that, you sick son-of-a-bitch!!! I'm the one in control!!!" Hojo looked a bit taken aback, but quickly recovered. Rubbing his chin with a tentacle, the scientist muttered, "Now this IS interesting. Another personality shift? I wonder where this one came from." Ignoring Hojo's mutters, Cloud thrashed violently in the monsters' grip and snarled, "Nobody hurts me OR makes fun of me and gets away with it, Hojo! I don't care how long it fucking well takes, but you'll pay, just like the rest of THEM. You'll see! Nobody messes with ME and lives! NOBODY! Got that, you shit-assed freak!? I'm gonna make you BLEED! You, your fucking son, and that damn bitch are all going to beg for DEATH before I get through with you!!!" (God, he looks totally psycho. Almost rabid,) Reno thought, feeling uncharacteristically nervous as he watched Cloud do his own share of wild ranting and raving. Hojo may have found Cloud's outburst intriguing, but it was clear that the scientist had more important things on his deranged mind. "Hmmm, fascinating. Pity that I don't have time to study the matter further. And when Sephiroth returns, the whole issue will become moot, anyway. Oh well," the scientist said with a nonchalant shrug. Cloud growled ferociously as the monsters obeyed Hojo's silent command to hold him spread-eagle. Hojo smirked, then lashed out with a razor-tipped tentacle, driving it deep into Cloud's abdomen. ------------------------- Cloud screamed once. The scream quickly turned into a strangled gurgle as blood flooded into his mouth. The pain from the initial stab was bad enough, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of Hojo's tentacle twisting and slithering around in his guts as the mad scientist probed and prodded. "Where is it? It has to be in here!" he heard Hojo growl. He opened his mouth to protest and found himself choking in his own blood. "Gaahh... s-stop....gah...." But Hojo was relentless in his quest. Cloud could feel his internal organs being brutally shoved from this side to that, bruised, torn.... At least it was physical pain. He could handle that. It was the other types of pain that frightened him.... But even a mako-enhanced body could cope with only so much abuse. Between the physical trauma, the blood loss, the pain, and the lingering aftereffects of poisoning, Cloud finally and mercifully passed out. ------------------------- Reno could do nothing but glare furiously at Hojo. The scientist abruptly halted his rummaging, then with a triumphant cry, pulled something out of Cloud's abdomen with a loud slurping noise. Reno couldn't see exactly what the object was, but it was obviously valuable, judging from the way Hojo cradled the hand-sized item in his tentacles. As Cloud crumpled into a limp, blood soaked heap on the floor, Hojo caressed the blood-covered object and cuddled it against his cheek with a tenderness that made Reno feel sick, then did a grotesque jig of triumph around the lab, chortling wildly. "Hahahaha! Here it is, the real thing! Intact! Yes! All my hopes, all my dreams! YES!!! Oh beautiful specimen! I can FEEL it! You're the real thing, all right! Yes, yes. It WILL work! Soon Sephiroth will return in all his glory!" For a moment, Reno was afraid that Cloud had died from Hojo's brutal mauling. But as Hojo continued to babble, a faint movement told the Turk that Cloud had somehow survived the ugly ordeal. How long he'd remain alive with all his injuries was an open question. The scientist spared the unconscious, still heavily bleeding Cloud a brief glance, then plucked an emergency medical kit off the wall. Reno scowled as Hojo bandaged the deep wound in Cloud' side in a decidedly haphazard fashion, then gestured for his creatures to toss the young man back into his cell. "What the hell are you up to, Hojo?" snapped the Turk. The scientist giggled madly. "I want him around to see my moment of triumph." "Triumph? What the hell...?" "Yes! Triumph! When Sephiroth again walks this miserable Planet!" Hojo held up the cylinder in his tentacles and slyly asked the Turk, "My son will soon be back to fulfill his destiny... to become a god!" "Son!?" Then Hojo's previous words finally clicked. "You mean Sephiroth was your SON!? And you're planning to bring him back?" "Oh yes! You should be honored, Turk. You will be among the first to witness Sephiroth's glorious return!" With those words, Hojo pranced out of the lab, cackling madly. Reno sank down to the floor of his cell and shook his head in rueful disbelief. "Great. Just. Fucking. Great." ------------------------------------------------------ PART 6l: TO THE RESCUE ------------------------------------------------------ As the Highwind II headed off at top speed to the rocky region north of Rocket Town, Cid kicked one of the ship's bridge consoles and muttered, "I can't believe that I didn't think of it!" Yuffie muttered, "Gee, I wonder how Cloud's gonna feel when he realizes that he's been carting around a chunk of Sephiroth all this time." "Oh, be quiet!" snapped Tifa. "Cid, can't we go any faster!?" "I'm red-lining it right now! Remember, I still haven't had the chance to overhaul the engines after that big fight last evening!" Red shook his head in quiet amazement. "Actually, when you think about it, it makes a bizarre sort of sense. A hiding place that no one would think of, that moves around, and is more than capable of protecting itself." "But how could Hojo have possibly missed a wound like that?" Red glanced uncomfortably at Tifa, then slowly shook his head. "Just another minor incision on an experimental subject. Probably one among many." "How would you...?" Her voice abruptly trailed off. Tifa whispered, "Sorry, Red. I forgot all about what happened to you." The beast shrugged the matter away with a twitch of his furred shoulders. "That's all in the past. It's not important. Anyway, why would Hojo notice? He probably had many other projects to oversee. Remember, it was Dr. Stephen and Dr. Roissy who had the most actual contact with Cloud. Besides, Roissy was apparently using Cloud just as a temporary hiding place, except...." Cid muttered, "Except Zack and Cloud screwed things big-time up by escaping." "Exactly." Tifa stopped wringing her hands and said, "But what about Cloud!? We don't even know if he's still alive!" Cait Sith said quietly, "I'm pretty sure he is." "How do you know that?" "Scarlet says that Hojo sort of patched Cloud up before dumping back into his cell. She also managed to get some of the intercoms working so we could get some audio. It's hard to understand, but I'm pretty sure that Hojo wants to keep Cloud alive." "That's a relief!" Tifa said with a weak smile which rapidly faded when she saw the little robot cat slowly shaking its head. "Isn't it?" she asked desperately. "I wish I could be so optimistic, Tifa, but... just before Scarlet and I lost the audio, we heard Hojo say -- and I quote exactly -- 'When Sephiroth returns, I'm sure he won't have any problems restringing his puppet.'" Tifa frantically shook her head. "No... he can't do that! He CAN'T! Cloud broke free of Sephiroth's control when we were in the Lifestream!" Yuffie quickly patted Tifa's shoulder. "No way! Hojo's just being a vicious, nasty bastard." She glared at the others. Cid managed to keep a poker face and said, "Yeah. I'm sure the bastard's just trying to jerk Cloud around. And we're not going to give him OR Sephiroth the chance to screw around with Cloud." He glanced at the Turks. "Or with Reno. Right, guys?" Everyone nodded vigorously, fierce determination on all their faces. ------------------------- (end of Part 6) ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ In part 7, - Guess who FINALLY shows up! ------------------------------------------------- Keeper of Duo's Dark Side ~~~ Duo no Seishi Co-Keeper of Duo's Scythe & Bat Wings (w/ Death) Co-Keeper of Little Grim Reaper Duo (w/ Kitsune) Saitoh no Koibito ~~~ Corruptor Extraordinaire ------------------------------------------------- madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E http://www.madamhydra.net/ ------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The Full Disclaimer: All names, likenesses, and rights of Final Fantasy VII and its characters are trademarks, copyright, and property of Square Co., Ltd. and legally associated parties. The characters and associated materials of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. The author of this work claims no ownership, part or whole, of the original plot and characters. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. All original portions of this work is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author Madamhydra. No part of this work is to be reproduced, altered, or adapted in any way without the author's express permission. ======================================================================