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One more chapter, and Book One is finally done, after far too long of being in progress.
Last Interlude of Book One, right here.
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
Chapter Three: On the Run
Interlude Three-Part One
Interlude Three-Part Two
Interlude Three-Part Three
Interlude Three-Part Four
Chapter Four: Plans Begin
Interlude Four-Part One
Interlude Four-Part One
Chapter Five: In The Inn
Beta work by![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
skeren and aikonamika
May, 1992
After Zack’s birthday, they drifted into an odd sort of arrangement. Not that any of them really seemed to mind. After the initial situation, the four of them settled into a variety of groupings. For some reason, one everyone just considered as lack of exposure, Sephiroth and Aeris were about the only ones who didn’t spend at least some time alone, and it showed in the fact that they were about the only ones who hadn’t drifted into some sort of relationship.
Zack and Aeris were an obvious one, as were Sephiroth and Cloud. The birthday present had helped things when it came to Zack dealing with his former lovers, mostly by turning them from former to current. Now that the man didn’t feel so much like a third wheel, he was home more often. Aeris was pleased, because it meant that Cloud was visiting below Plate more, and the three of them were slowly easing into their own relationship. At first, Sephiroth hadn’t been sure, but then he thought about it. Zack was there as well, and he had come back to Sephiroth. The last little bit of worry faded when Cloud showed no hesitation with him, and Sephiroth was content to let things happen as they happened.
More time passed, and as things began to settle, all of them began to smile more, to relax, and to just be happy.
Which was what caused everything to go wrong.
///
Looking at the latest rest results, Hojo tried to decide on what was causing the feeling of discomfort he had. It had to have something to do with one of his projects, as he didn’t care enough about most things to notice the sort of fine detail that would start this sort of unease. After a great deal of thought, and puzzling over it, he finally realized that it had something to do with Sephiroth.
His greatest project was acting differently than before.
Hojo had never approved of allowing the child out of the labs, fearing the contamination of outside influences would make him unwilling to give in to his mother when the time came. At first, when it happened under the President’s orders, he had hope. Sephiroth did not fit in well, and was even more alone outside the labs than he ever had been while in. Inside the labs, he was surrounded by people who understood the more unusual terms he used, who understood why he was so fixated on being clean, as well as his apathy towards contact. As far as Sephiroth was concerned, the fighters he found himself involved with were a completely different species.
At least until that pest had cheerfully pushed his way in, smiling stupidly as he changed Hojo’s project bit by bit.
Hojo -had- hoped to control that, to eliminate it once the war was over, because the war would end some day. Again, the President had interceded, wanting his little poster boy out for people to see.
So, gritting his teeth, Hojo had been forced to accept and deal with it. Even when Sephiroth had the audacity to not only ignore the orders to continue to live in the labs, but instead moved out, -living- with that annoying child.
If there was anyone in the entire military that Hojo would have gladly killed, it would have been that SOLDIER. Zack whatever his name was.
But, now it seemed as if there was another issue all together.
It had been a bit since he had checked on Sephiroth’s living arrangements, but it was something of an ill-tasting surprise to find out that, not only was Sephiroth living with that SOLDIER, but they had added a low level trooper as well. Surely this was the other man’s fault, but Hojo wasn’t sure it had not had some adverse affect on Sephiroth. The oldest of the three was acting differently than he had before, and it was beginning to affect his testing results. The most worrying aspect of this was what affect it would have over the overall plan. Hojo had created an environment where Sephiroth would feel isolated, uncaring about the humans that surrounded him. When the time was right, he planned on introducing the boy to his mother, and watching the final stage of his project come to completion.
Right now, though, he was going to have to deal with some serious complications in order for the plan to go properly.
It had taken a bit to get the information, but now Hojo was looking at the trooper’s file. When he had opened it, he hadn’t been expecting much of use, but ended up stalling out, eyes skimming over the first few lines over and over again.
Cloud Strife.
Parents
Father: Orrin Strife
Mother: Nidara Strife
One of his old projects, come to life. It seemed that the flags he had put on the file had not gone off as he had planned, so he had no idea that this particular child had joined the military.
What an interesting surprise.
Smiling faintly, Hojo settled back in his chair.
Well, now, this put a whole new spin on things.
///
All of them were a bit fidgety. Cloud and some of the others were due up for their SOLDIER exams when they got back from this mission, and they had been more than a little jittery about what would happen once they were done.
Thankfully, the monster that they had been sent after wasn’t too bad, though Cloud was sure if it had been, they wouldn’t have sent a group of regulars in, even if most of them were going up for their SOLDIER exams. They would have sent SOLDIERs proper, and given that Seph hadn’t said anything about it being even mentioned to him as the one in charge of SOLDIER, it was safe to say that it wasn’t too pressing. Just something to be dealt with before it required SOLDIER intervention.
Still, Cloud was happy when he and the others were able to drag it back to the town. He wanted to get a bit of last minute study in, and knowing Zack, that would be a hard thing to snag. His friend/lover person seemed to believe greatly in the idea of relaxing some before anything major. Which meant he’d probably pester Cloud until he agreed to lay off the studying a bit. Or until Cloud got Seph to intervene. Whichever came first.
The man they were reporting to just looked over his notes, taking their names down and jotting something next to them. He seemed to be highly uninterested, but given how bored the others loitering around seemed to be, Cloud guessed that they didn’t get excited about much. They had the look of long-term regulars, who either hadn’t tried for SOLDIER or who hadn’t gotten in, and were perfectly happy about doing just what they were doing. Which seemed to be a lot of nothing.
He hoped he never had a job that boring. It was bad enough doing guard duty in Midgar, let along the middle of nowhere like this place.
“Says here you guys need to take it to the lab. Seems this one has something the docs want to look at.”
Another bout of fidgeting, and Cloud traded looks with the others. A few looked really put out, and he couldn’t blame them. They -all- had things they’d rather do.
“Might as well get it done,” muttered one, Reeys, Cloud thought. With that, the group all grabbed a hold of the thing and started pulling it along yet again. It was -heavy-, and they weren’t too thrilled about the concept of having to pick it up. Cloud was fairly sure it had been one of those gargoyle things at one point in time.
Though he was so going to have to tease Zack about how dinky Gongaga was next time he saw him. It wasn’t quite as bad as Nibelheim, but it was close.
With a lot of hauling and pushing, and no few strings of cussing, they managed to drag it into the room they had been directed to.
Then the door shut behind them.
All of them started when the door clicked shut, and the one nearest tried to open it.
From there, things got a bit fuzzy. Cloud was sure that he heard something hiss, and there was an odd smell in the air. Then everything faded.
When he woke up, he struggled a bit, trying to piece together coherent thoughts. Though it worked much better once he realized that he was strapped down, and that he was rather naked.
That made his cheeks heat up, but also scared the shit out of him.
He was in the lab still, and he didn’t see any of the others. He didn’t see anyone, actually, though it was really hard to look around with the strap that ran across his forehead.
This wasn’t good. Not at all.
“This,” came a cool voice, “will be interesting. I’ll finally get to see what has fascinated Sephiroth so, and to see how things have developed since I last saw you.”
The pit of Cloud’s stomach turned icy as Hojo stepped into his view, smiling.
Oh, hells. Seph was going to shit a brick.
///
She woke up, panting and sweating, fingers curled tight into the cover of her bed.
Aeris didn’t know -what- had woken her up, only that it had been...horrible. A twisted nightmare, full of pain and rage and so much fear that she could still taste the bitter swell in her mouth. It just barely covered the taste of bile, but she could feel that, sickly sweet and burning in the back of her throat. She hated being ill, hated it with a passion, and she’d gladly take being sick over having those dreams again.
She couldn’t remember what they were, not in the least, not that she wanted to. There was something familiar to them, though, something she couldn’t quite catch. That rage, though, that was something that bordered on the edge of sanity, black and violent, and ready to lash out.
Unaware of what she was doing, she started and almost dropped the PHS she had already picked up as it started to ring. She didn’t remember reaching for it, but it was Zack on the other end, and she quickly opened it and pressed it to her ear. Shivering, cold, she swallowed hard. “Zack?”
“Oh, thank god. I wasn’t sure if you, Seph, -stop- that, if you would pick up. I know it’s really late but....” A pause, and the sound of something crashing, Zack yelling something at Sephiroth, made her press her ear tight to the sound, wanting to hear more. “Aeris, I need your help. I know you don’t want to come, but...please. I need your help. Do you remember where I said I lived?” Something else crashed, and she could hear Sephiroth yelling in the background.
Zack’s voice was frantic and worried, and Aeris felt something go tight in her chest.
Seph, Zack, her. There was only one person that they cared about that was unaccounted for.
“I’ll be up as soon as I can. Keep him there.”
“I’ll try. Thank you.”
The line went dead, and Aeris scrambled out of bed. Pulling on clothing, she scribbled out a quick note for her mother and left it on the dining room table. She was going to be furious, but Aeris didn’t dare wake her. She knew the woman would try forbidding her going up Plate, but there wasn’t time. Sephiroth was going ballistic up there, and Zack needed her help.
If nothing else, she was handy with a Sleep spell.
Slipping out of the house, she ran.
///
With a hiss, Zack ducked down as another lamp busted. They were going to have to buy new ones here shortly.
“Let me out, Zack. You -know- Hojo had something to do with this. I’m going to go talk to the man.”
The glow of green was brighter than Zack had ever seen, and there was something feral and untamed in those eyes. Zack didn’t care.
“Seph, I know he had something to do with this, but I’m not letting you out of here when you are acting like this. We know Cloud isn’t dead, and I refuse to believe he will be anytime soon. So sit down and calm -down-.”
Another snarl, and Seph paced back and forth like an angry cat, eyes never leaving Zack. “I don’t understand how you can say that, Zack.” A snarl. “Are you on his side? Did he offer you something you wanted and you just handed Cloud over to him? Is that how this is?”
Zack’s eyes narrowed, and he glared back at his friend. “I know you are upset, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, Seph. No, I’m never going to be on Hojo’s side for anything. But if you go out like this, he’s going to have just what he wants. A reason to have you locked up. I don’t want that. We need you free and able to do what you can.”
A low growl. “What I can do is go and break Hojo’s limbs until he tells us where he’s got Cloud.”
Sephiroth moved forward again, and Zack had to dance to the side to intercept him.
He forgot how strong his friend was at times, though, and was abruptly reminded of that fact when his back hit the wall. Hard. Something cracked, and he was fairly sure that it was something in the wall, not him, though there was a definite throb of something out of whack.
After this was all over, Zack was going to spend some time practicing. Ow.
Didn’t stop him from grappling with Seph some, tangling with him as best he could, trying to keep Seph from getting out of the house. Maybe Aeris could talk some sense into him while Zack just held on.
And...ow....
Dazed, clinging by sheer force of will, Zack tried to get a hold of the arm he had lost his grip on, before Seph used it to slam Zack’s head into the wall again.
There was a sudden wash of green, and Zack took a deep breath as the look in Seph’s eyes went dazed, and then slowly faded into sleep. Catching the man as he went limp, Zack slid down the wall, arms wrapped tight around Seph. Glancing over the man, he gave Aeris a weak smile.
“Hey, Babe. Glad to see you.”
“You know me,” she said, trying for perky, reaching strained, “always riding to the rescue.”
“Well, come rescue me from being under his heavy ass. Then we’re going to hide that sword of his and make him listen to us.”
A moment of quiet, and he looked at her, tired and desperately wanting a potion.
“He’s gone, Aeris. They took Cloud.”
“I know. And we’re going to take him back.”
///
Head aching, Sephiroth laid where he was for a long moment, trying to sort out hazy thoughts, which worried him. He did not wake up -hazy-. It wasn’t safe, in the war, or in a house with a bored Zack. Though with Cloud, he was a bit more....
Cloud!
Sephiroth sat upright, and found himself looking at a rather blank faced Zack. “Zack, Cloud....”
A grimace. “Gone. But,” he held up a hand, pressing it against Sephiroth’s chest, “-but-, we’re going to get him back. So, please, try not slamming me into another wall and running off like a green recruit. Please?”
Oh. That.
Feeling almost sheepish, thought still frustrated and furious that Hojo had touched -his- Cloud, Sephiroth scowled. “He took him, Zack. We have to get him back.” Better than anyone, Sephiroth knew what might be happening, knew that Hojo couldn’t not test on something that interested him, be it animal or human, and just how -bad- some of those tests got. He wanted Cloud back in one piece, and relatively sane. “You know he has him.”
“I do. I also know that he’s probably surrounded by Turks, ready to have you placed back into the lab if you show any signs of aggression.” Firm tone there, and Sephiroth sighed, having to agree, at least mentally. It did sound like something Hojo would do. Which meant Zack had done the right thing. But, still....
“We need to find him.”
“And we will.” Aeris came into the room, holding a few glasses. One was passed to Zack, along with a kiss on his head, and the other to Sephiroth, and he blinked a bit as he got a kiss on the head as well. “Drink, both of you. Then, we can figure out what we can.” She looked at Sephiroth, settling herself on the foot of the bed. “So, you know him best. Where would he hide Cloud?”
Sipping at the drink, cold and sharp, some sort of citrus juice, Sephiroth turned his thoughts to that problem. Unfortunately, he did know Hojo, and that meant there were probably more places than anyone realized where he could hide one blond regular. “The obvious place would be Midgar.”
A hum from Aeris, and she tapped her chin with a finger. “He does seem to prefer to have some projects here. You were here, and it’s where he kept Mother and I.”
Both men looked at her sharply with -that- sentence, but she didn’t meet their eyes. Now wasn’t the time, but Sephiroth filed it away to talk with her about. Later. And he was sure that Zack was doing the same thing.
“Midgar is too obvious, though. Everyone knows he doesn’t leave here very often, so that most of his most frequently tested on subjects are here,” Sephiroth continued. “We should also discard any labs near Gongaga. That’s where Cloud vanished, so he wouldn’t be there still.”
There was a bit of a wicked, if tired, smile on Zack’s face. “So we’ll search there.”
Sephiroth shook his head. “Too obvious to anyone who really knows him. He’ll have Cloud tucked away where he isn’t in easy range, or someplace that is easily observed.”
A chuckle from Zack. “I know. But while we are searching there, in a horribly sneaky, if easily noticed way, we’ll keep his attention on those labs. And any other open secret “secret” labs.” Zack gave a wry smile. “He thinks I’m dumber than a box of rocks, which is rather funny if you think about the scores needed to become a First Class, and that I have a rather horrible effect on you, Seph.”
Sephiroth reluctantly had to agree with Zack’s theory. Hojo was going on about how much of a bad influence Zack was, and dropping heavy hints of having him transferred. Which he could theoretically do, but nobody who had the rank to override Sephiroth on that matter felt like dealing with the consequences if they did transfer Zack without Sephiroth’s permission. Not that Sephiroth planned on giving said permission, and he made it perfectly clear that anyone who did do anything of the sort would have him to deal with. And there were so many ways he could make people’s lives a living hell. Even the President.
“So we look in the obvious places,” Sephiroth said slowly, “and keep an eye on the paperwork, because even Hojo needs to deal with paperwork for funding and such.”
A bright smile. “And while we are looking at the obvious and obvious to you places, we’ll be checking out all the places we can find through everything else. I bet Reno will help.”
Aeris chuckled. “I can ask Tseng. He still scowls at you from time to time, Zack, but he does think of you as a friend. Me as well. He’ll help, as long as we don’t endanger Rufus or the President while doing so.”
“It’ll be better this way, Seph. For us and for Spike.”
Zack’s words were cheerful, but Sephiroth could see the darkness in his eyes, and Sephiroth was forced to agree. If they were too obvious, and too quick, Hojo would have Cloud destroyed. He might want to test on Cloud, but if it came to destroying the evidence or giving his enemies a potential reason for coming after him, he would destroy the evidence.
That simply wasn’t going to be allowed.
So, as much as it galled him, Sephiroth forced himself to take a deep breath.
“All right. We need to organize this.”
“First, you both need to sleep.” That was from Aeris. “It’s the middle of the night, and you are both stressed. Sleep, and then both of you come down to the church in the morning. We can start planning there.”
The look she gave them told Sephiroth that she very well might go for that Sleep again, and he didn’t think he’d like that. “I....”
Zack cut in. “I’ll walk you back to your house, Babe, though I know your mom will be awake and ready to shoot at me because we’re out together at this time of night.”
Getting a snort, Aeris just shook her head. “I left her a note that there was something of an emergency, and that I’d be up here for the night possibly. You, lay down right now.”
Sephiroth realized that she meant for Zack to lay down in his bed. Which wouldn’t be the first time that he’d shared with the man, but....
“Trust me on this, Sephiroth. Having him here will help.” Her tone was soft, and then she smiled and bounced to her feet to help manhandle Zack onto the bed. Then she made -herself- comfortable on the other side of the man from Sephiroth. Both men blinked at her, and Aeris gave them a slightly watery grin. “I don’t want to sleep alone, either.”
After a long moment, Sephiroth shifted to give them all a bit more room, and then reached out and turned out the light.
Tomorrow, they would start hunting for Cloud.
Curling up against Zack’s warmth, he shut his eyes. He was a soldier and a SOLDIER. Sleep was important, and he had learned to take it when he could. Would need all his energy to find Cloud as quick as possible, and then work on breaking Hojo.
Cloud would be okay. He’d -have- to be. Or Sephiroth was going to show Hojo and Shin-Ra just why it was a bad idea to hurt his people.
///
“We found him.”
The words echoed through Aeris’s ear, and she gripped her PHS tighter. “Really?”
“Yeah. One of our friends found the latest lab requisition report. We’re going. Tonight.”
“Coming here?”
“Yeah. We’ll bring supplies. Are you sure...?”
“Yes, dear. I’m coming. You need me, and he needs me.”
“We’ll be down tonight. After dark.”
There were a few more moments of conversation, and when Aeris hung up, she steeled herself.
Now, to have the worst conversation of her life.
She went to tell her mom what was going to happen, and to say goodbye.
Though, she still had a smile.
They found Cloud. Time to go rescue him.
Chapter wordcount: 3,866
OGToF wordcount: 50,243
Last Interlude of Book One, right here.
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
Chapter Three: On the Run
Interlude Three-Part One
Interlude Three-Part Two
Interlude Three-Part Three
Interlude Three-Part Four
Chapter Four: Plans Begin
Interlude Four-Part One
Interlude Four-Part One
Chapter Five: In The Inn
Beta work by
skeren and aikonamikaMay, 1992
After Zack’s birthday, they drifted into an odd sort of arrangement. Not that any of them really seemed to mind. After the initial situation, the four of them settled into a variety of groupings. For some reason, one everyone just considered as lack of exposure, Sephiroth and Aeris were about the only ones who didn’t spend at least some time alone, and it showed in the fact that they were about the only ones who hadn’t drifted into some sort of relationship.
Zack and Aeris were an obvious one, as were Sephiroth and Cloud. The birthday present had helped things when it came to Zack dealing with his former lovers, mostly by turning them from former to current. Now that the man didn’t feel so much like a third wheel, he was home more often. Aeris was pleased, because it meant that Cloud was visiting below Plate more, and the three of them were slowly easing into their own relationship. At first, Sephiroth hadn’t been sure, but then he thought about it. Zack was there as well, and he had come back to Sephiroth. The last little bit of worry faded when Cloud showed no hesitation with him, and Sephiroth was content to let things happen as they happened.
More time passed, and as things began to settle, all of them began to smile more, to relax, and to just be happy.
Which was what caused everything to go wrong.
Looking at the latest rest results, Hojo tried to decide on what was causing the feeling of discomfort he had. It had to have something to do with one of his projects, as he didn’t care enough about most things to notice the sort of fine detail that would start this sort of unease. After a great deal of thought, and puzzling over it, he finally realized that it had something to do with Sephiroth.
His greatest project was acting differently than before.
Hojo had never approved of allowing the child out of the labs, fearing the contamination of outside influences would make him unwilling to give in to his mother when the time came. At first, when it happened under the President’s orders, he had hope. Sephiroth did not fit in well, and was even more alone outside the labs than he ever had been while in. Inside the labs, he was surrounded by people who understood the more unusual terms he used, who understood why he was so fixated on being clean, as well as his apathy towards contact. As far as Sephiroth was concerned, the fighters he found himself involved with were a completely different species.
At least until that pest had cheerfully pushed his way in, smiling stupidly as he changed Hojo’s project bit by bit.
Hojo -had- hoped to control that, to eliminate it once the war was over, because the war would end some day. Again, the President had interceded, wanting his little poster boy out for people to see.
So, gritting his teeth, Hojo had been forced to accept and deal with it. Even when Sephiroth had the audacity to not only ignore the orders to continue to live in the labs, but instead moved out, -living- with that annoying child.
If there was anyone in the entire military that Hojo would have gladly killed, it would have been that SOLDIER. Zack whatever his name was.
But, now it seemed as if there was another issue all together.
It had been a bit since he had checked on Sephiroth’s living arrangements, but it was something of an ill-tasting surprise to find out that, not only was Sephiroth living with that SOLDIER, but they had added a low level trooper as well. Surely this was the other man’s fault, but Hojo wasn’t sure it had not had some adverse affect on Sephiroth. The oldest of the three was acting differently than he had before, and it was beginning to affect his testing results. The most worrying aspect of this was what affect it would have over the overall plan. Hojo had created an environment where Sephiroth would feel isolated, uncaring about the humans that surrounded him. When the time was right, he planned on introducing the boy to his mother, and watching the final stage of his project come to completion.
Right now, though, he was going to have to deal with some serious complications in order for the plan to go properly.
It had taken a bit to get the information, but now Hojo was looking at the trooper’s file. When he had opened it, he hadn’t been expecting much of use, but ended up stalling out, eyes skimming over the first few lines over and over again.
Cloud Strife.
Parents
Father: Orrin Strife
Mother: Nidara Strife
One of his old projects, come to life. It seemed that the flags he had put on the file had not gone off as he had planned, so he had no idea that this particular child had joined the military.
What an interesting surprise.
Smiling faintly, Hojo settled back in his chair.
Well, now, this put a whole new spin on things.
All of them were a bit fidgety. Cloud and some of the others were due up for their SOLDIER exams when they got back from this mission, and they had been more than a little jittery about what would happen once they were done.
Thankfully, the monster that they had been sent after wasn’t too bad, though Cloud was sure if it had been, they wouldn’t have sent a group of regulars in, even if most of them were going up for their SOLDIER exams. They would have sent SOLDIERs proper, and given that Seph hadn’t said anything about it being even mentioned to him as the one in charge of SOLDIER, it was safe to say that it wasn’t too pressing. Just something to be dealt with before it required SOLDIER intervention.
Still, Cloud was happy when he and the others were able to drag it back to the town. He wanted to get a bit of last minute study in, and knowing Zack, that would be a hard thing to snag. His friend/lover person seemed to believe greatly in the idea of relaxing some before anything major. Which meant he’d probably pester Cloud until he agreed to lay off the studying a bit. Or until Cloud got Seph to intervene. Whichever came first.
The man they were reporting to just looked over his notes, taking their names down and jotting something next to them. He seemed to be highly uninterested, but given how bored the others loitering around seemed to be, Cloud guessed that they didn’t get excited about much. They had the look of long-term regulars, who either hadn’t tried for SOLDIER or who hadn’t gotten in, and were perfectly happy about doing just what they were doing. Which seemed to be a lot of nothing.
He hoped he never had a job that boring. It was bad enough doing guard duty in Midgar, let along the middle of nowhere like this place.
“Says here you guys need to take it to the lab. Seems this one has something the docs want to look at.”
Another bout of fidgeting, and Cloud traded looks with the others. A few looked really put out, and he couldn’t blame them. They -all- had things they’d rather do.
“Might as well get it done,” muttered one, Reeys, Cloud thought. With that, the group all grabbed a hold of the thing and started pulling it along yet again. It was -heavy-, and they weren’t too thrilled about the concept of having to pick it up. Cloud was fairly sure it had been one of those gargoyle things at one point in time.
Though he was so going to have to tease Zack about how dinky Gongaga was next time he saw him. It wasn’t quite as bad as Nibelheim, but it was close.
With a lot of hauling and pushing, and no few strings of cussing, they managed to drag it into the room they had been directed to.
Then the door shut behind them.
All of them started when the door clicked shut, and the one nearest tried to open it.
From there, things got a bit fuzzy. Cloud was sure that he heard something hiss, and there was an odd smell in the air. Then everything faded.
When he woke up, he struggled a bit, trying to piece together coherent thoughts. Though it worked much better once he realized that he was strapped down, and that he was rather naked.
That made his cheeks heat up, but also scared the shit out of him.
He was in the lab still, and he didn’t see any of the others. He didn’t see anyone, actually, though it was really hard to look around with the strap that ran across his forehead.
This wasn’t good. Not at all.
“This,” came a cool voice, “will be interesting. I’ll finally get to see what has fascinated Sephiroth so, and to see how things have developed since I last saw you.”
The pit of Cloud’s stomach turned icy as Hojo stepped into his view, smiling.
Oh, hells. Seph was going to shit a brick.
She woke up, panting and sweating, fingers curled tight into the cover of her bed.
Aeris didn’t know -what- had woken her up, only that it had been...horrible. A twisted nightmare, full of pain and rage and so much fear that she could still taste the bitter swell in her mouth. It just barely covered the taste of bile, but she could feel that, sickly sweet and burning in the back of her throat. She hated being ill, hated it with a passion, and she’d gladly take being sick over having those dreams again.
She couldn’t remember what they were, not in the least, not that she wanted to. There was something familiar to them, though, something she couldn’t quite catch. That rage, though, that was something that bordered on the edge of sanity, black and violent, and ready to lash out.
Unaware of what she was doing, she started and almost dropped the PHS she had already picked up as it started to ring. She didn’t remember reaching for it, but it was Zack on the other end, and she quickly opened it and pressed it to her ear. Shivering, cold, she swallowed hard. “Zack?”
“Oh, thank god. I wasn’t sure if you, Seph, -stop- that, if you would pick up. I know it’s really late but....” A pause, and the sound of something crashing, Zack yelling something at Sephiroth, made her press her ear tight to the sound, wanting to hear more. “Aeris, I need your help. I know you don’t want to come, but...please. I need your help. Do you remember where I said I lived?” Something else crashed, and she could hear Sephiroth yelling in the background.
Zack’s voice was frantic and worried, and Aeris felt something go tight in her chest.
Seph, Zack, her. There was only one person that they cared about that was unaccounted for.
“I’ll be up as soon as I can. Keep him there.”
“I’ll try. Thank you.”
The line went dead, and Aeris scrambled out of bed. Pulling on clothing, she scribbled out a quick note for her mother and left it on the dining room table. She was going to be furious, but Aeris didn’t dare wake her. She knew the woman would try forbidding her going up Plate, but there wasn’t time. Sephiroth was going ballistic up there, and Zack needed her help.
If nothing else, she was handy with a Sleep spell.
Slipping out of the house, she ran.
With a hiss, Zack ducked down as another lamp busted. They were going to have to buy new ones here shortly.
“Let me out, Zack. You -know- Hojo had something to do with this. I’m going to go talk to the man.”
The glow of green was brighter than Zack had ever seen, and there was something feral and untamed in those eyes. Zack didn’t care.
“Seph, I know he had something to do with this, but I’m not letting you out of here when you are acting like this. We know Cloud isn’t dead, and I refuse to believe he will be anytime soon. So sit down and calm -down-.”
Another snarl, and Seph paced back and forth like an angry cat, eyes never leaving Zack. “I don’t understand how you can say that, Zack.” A snarl. “Are you on his side? Did he offer you something you wanted and you just handed Cloud over to him? Is that how this is?”
Zack’s eyes narrowed, and he glared back at his friend. “I know you are upset, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, Seph. No, I’m never going to be on Hojo’s side for anything. But if you go out like this, he’s going to have just what he wants. A reason to have you locked up. I don’t want that. We need you free and able to do what you can.”
A low growl. “What I can do is go and break Hojo’s limbs until he tells us where he’s got Cloud.”
Sephiroth moved forward again, and Zack had to dance to the side to intercept him.
He forgot how strong his friend was at times, though, and was abruptly reminded of that fact when his back hit the wall. Hard. Something cracked, and he was fairly sure that it was something in the wall, not him, though there was a definite throb of something out of whack.
After this was all over, Zack was going to spend some time practicing. Ow.
Didn’t stop him from grappling with Seph some, tangling with him as best he could, trying to keep Seph from getting out of the house. Maybe Aeris could talk some sense into him while Zack just held on.
And...ow....
Dazed, clinging by sheer force of will, Zack tried to get a hold of the arm he had lost his grip on, before Seph used it to slam Zack’s head into the wall again.
There was a sudden wash of green, and Zack took a deep breath as the look in Seph’s eyes went dazed, and then slowly faded into sleep. Catching the man as he went limp, Zack slid down the wall, arms wrapped tight around Seph. Glancing over the man, he gave Aeris a weak smile.
“Hey, Babe. Glad to see you.”
“You know me,” she said, trying for perky, reaching strained, “always riding to the rescue.”
“Well, come rescue me from being under his heavy ass. Then we’re going to hide that sword of his and make him listen to us.”
A moment of quiet, and he looked at her, tired and desperately wanting a potion.
“He’s gone, Aeris. They took Cloud.”
“I know. And we’re going to take him back.”
Head aching, Sephiroth laid where he was for a long moment, trying to sort out hazy thoughts, which worried him. He did not wake up -hazy-. It wasn’t safe, in the war, or in a house with a bored Zack. Though with Cloud, he was a bit more....
Cloud!
Sephiroth sat upright, and found himself looking at a rather blank faced Zack. “Zack, Cloud....”
A grimace. “Gone. But,” he held up a hand, pressing it against Sephiroth’s chest, “-but-, we’re going to get him back. So, please, try not slamming me into another wall and running off like a green recruit. Please?”
Oh. That.
Feeling almost sheepish, thought still frustrated and furious that Hojo had touched -his- Cloud, Sephiroth scowled. “He took him, Zack. We have to get him back.” Better than anyone, Sephiroth knew what might be happening, knew that Hojo couldn’t not test on something that interested him, be it animal or human, and just how -bad- some of those tests got. He wanted Cloud back in one piece, and relatively sane. “You know he has him.”
“I do. I also know that he’s probably surrounded by Turks, ready to have you placed back into the lab if you show any signs of aggression.” Firm tone there, and Sephiroth sighed, having to agree, at least mentally. It did sound like something Hojo would do. Which meant Zack had done the right thing. But, still....
“We need to find him.”
“And we will.” Aeris came into the room, holding a few glasses. One was passed to Zack, along with a kiss on his head, and the other to Sephiroth, and he blinked a bit as he got a kiss on the head as well. “Drink, both of you. Then, we can figure out what we can.” She looked at Sephiroth, settling herself on the foot of the bed. “So, you know him best. Where would he hide Cloud?”
Sipping at the drink, cold and sharp, some sort of citrus juice, Sephiroth turned his thoughts to that problem. Unfortunately, he did know Hojo, and that meant there were probably more places than anyone realized where he could hide one blond regular. “The obvious place would be Midgar.”
A hum from Aeris, and she tapped her chin with a finger. “He does seem to prefer to have some projects here. You were here, and it’s where he kept Mother and I.”
Both men looked at her sharply with -that- sentence, but she didn’t meet their eyes. Now wasn’t the time, but Sephiroth filed it away to talk with her about. Later. And he was sure that Zack was doing the same thing.
“Midgar is too obvious, though. Everyone knows he doesn’t leave here very often, so that most of his most frequently tested on subjects are here,” Sephiroth continued. “We should also discard any labs near Gongaga. That’s where Cloud vanished, so he wouldn’t be there still.”
There was a bit of a wicked, if tired, smile on Zack’s face. “So we’ll search there.”
Sephiroth shook his head. “Too obvious to anyone who really knows him. He’ll have Cloud tucked away where he isn’t in easy range, or someplace that is easily observed.”
A chuckle from Zack. “I know. But while we are searching there, in a horribly sneaky, if easily noticed way, we’ll keep his attention on those labs. And any other open secret “secret” labs.” Zack gave a wry smile. “He thinks I’m dumber than a box of rocks, which is rather funny if you think about the scores needed to become a First Class, and that I have a rather horrible effect on you, Seph.”
Sephiroth reluctantly had to agree with Zack’s theory. Hojo was going on about how much of a bad influence Zack was, and dropping heavy hints of having him transferred. Which he could theoretically do, but nobody who had the rank to override Sephiroth on that matter felt like dealing with the consequences if they did transfer Zack without Sephiroth’s permission. Not that Sephiroth planned on giving said permission, and he made it perfectly clear that anyone who did do anything of the sort would have him to deal with. And there were so many ways he could make people’s lives a living hell. Even the President.
“So we look in the obvious places,” Sephiroth said slowly, “and keep an eye on the paperwork, because even Hojo needs to deal with paperwork for funding and such.”
A bright smile. “And while we are looking at the obvious and obvious to you places, we’ll be checking out all the places we can find through everything else. I bet Reno will help.”
Aeris chuckled. “I can ask Tseng. He still scowls at you from time to time, Zack, but he does think of you as a friend. Me as well. He’ll help, as long as we don’t endanger Rufus or the President while doing so.”
“It’ll be better this way, Seph. For us and for Spike.”
Zack’s words were cheerful, but Sephiroth could see the darkness in his eyes, and Sephiroth was forced to agree. If they were too obvious, and too quick, Hojo would have Cloud destroyed. He might want to test on Cloud, but if it came to destroying the evidence or giving his enemies a potential reason for coming after him, he would destroy the evidence.
That simply wasn’t going to be allowed.
So, as much as it galled him, Sephiroth forced himself to take a deep breath.
“All right. We need to organize this.”
“First, you both need to sleep.” That was from Aeris. “It’s the middle of the night, and you are both stressed. Sleep, and then both of you come down to the church in the morning. We can start planning there.”
The look she gave them told Sephiroth that she very well might go for that Sleep again, and he didn’t think he’d like that. “I....”
Zack cut in. “I’ll walk you back to your house, Babe, though I know your mom will be awake and ready to shoot at me because we’re out together at this time of night.”
Getting a snort, Aeris just shook her head. “I left her a note that there was something of an emergency, and that I’d be up here for the night possibly. You, lay down right now.”
Sephiroth realized that she meant for Zack to lay down in his bed. Which wouldn’t be the first time that he’d shared with the man, but....
“Trust me on this, Sephiroth. Having him here will help.” Her tone was soft, and then she smiled and bounced to her feet to help manhandle Zack onto the bed. Then she made -herself- comfortable on the other side of the man from Sephiroth. Both men blinked at her, and Aeris gave them a slightly watery grin. “I don’t want to sleep alone, either.”
After a long moment, Sephiroth shifted to give them all a bit more room, and then reached out and turned out the light.
Tomorrow, they would start hunting for Cloud.
Curling up against Zack’s warmth, he shut his eyes. He was a soldier and a SOLDIER. Sleep was important, and he had learned to take it when he could. Would need all his energy to find Cloud as quick as possible, and then work on breaking Hojo.
Cloud would be okay. He’d -have- to be. Or Sephiroth was going to show Hojo and Shin-Ra just why it was a bad idea to hurt his people.
“We found him.”
The words echoed through Aeris’s ear, and she gripped her PHS tighter. “Really?”
“Yeah. One of our friends found the latest lab requisition report. We’re going. Tonight.”
“Coming here?”
“Yeah. We’ll bring supplies. Are you sure...?”
“Yes, dear. I’m coming. You need me, and he needs me.”
“We’ll be down tonight. After dark.”
There were a few more moments of conversation, and when Aeris hung up, she steeled herself.
Now, to have the worst conversation of her life.
She went to tell her mom what was going to happen, and to say goodbye.
Though, she still had a smile.
They found Cloud. Time to go rescue him.
Chapter wordcount: 3,866
OGToF wordcount: 50,243
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