icedark_elf | Fic: Fresh Beginnings: Collecting (FFVII, Sephiroth, Zack, Others, PG)

Title: Fresh Beginnings: Collecting
Author: GW Katrina aka

forgottenlover
Series: Fresh Beginnings
Wordcount: 1,738
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Hojo finds some interesting things and Sephiroth and Zack gain some company.

Previous story: First Moves

Collecting

When the specimen had been discovered, Hojo had had it collected and brought to the lab. He had forgotten just how messy children were, and how much attention that they needed in order to stay healthy. An ignored child of that age tended to sicken and die, and it was the first of his new specimens. Two more had died before being collected, and three others afterwards, and he was curious on just what the child had that let it survive where others had already died from the poisoning.

Still, he was far too busy dealing with his other projects, so he decided to solve two issues with one stone. Sephiroth had shown signs of increasing stubbornness and unwillingness to do his testing since the move, and had vocalized displeasure with the move when asked. So, therefore, Hojo would simply focus the boy’s attention on something, and it proved most beneficial.

Sephiroth had taken to the specimen, which was something of a surprise. It was not uncommon to see him walking around, holding it carefully, and sometimes growling at the scientists when they tried to take it from him. The only ones who did not receive that reaction was Hojo himself and Dr. Mirana, who was the official doctor in charge of dealing with the infant. When it was taken from him, and if he had no tests of his own, Sephiroth would follow the doctor and had, at least once, bitten one for making the infant cry.

So Hojo told Sephiroth in very clear terms. If he did not behave and do as he was told, his access to the child would be limited. It was just that simple. And so, since then, Sephiroth had complied without the least bit of defiance.

Hojo would have to remember this.

Right now, however, his attention had been captured by something else. Looking at the report, he smiled, a slick, small smile that his son would have recognized as tied to the most painful of tests.

A lost specimen had been located. How delightful.

Reading more, Hojo’s mind was already racing as he started to plan tests to make up for all these years.

///

Sephiroth was not sure what was going on. There were all sorts of things that weren’t normal happening, and he quickly collected Zack from the last doctor who had him and went somewhere out of the way corner. The doctor was one of the nicer ones, and had let the boy take his person and go to hide after he was done with the blood work. He made sure that Sephiroth was all right carrying the child, though he knew the silver haired boy was fine with it.

Zack was starting to toddle around, though he didn’t get much of a chance to practice, as Sephiroth liked to carry the littler boy. He had grown a lot, but he was still very tiny compared to Sephiroth, and Sephiroth found it calming to hold Zack and listen to his heart. His present-person was starting to get a lot more tests, something that neither of them seemed to like. Zack definitely wanted to be with Sephiroth, and would fuss after needle pricks and the more hurtful of tests and refuse to calm down until Sephiroth was located and they were reunited.

Sephiroth was just as happy that Zack wanted to be with him, because Zack was his present-person, and Sephiroth wished that he could keep his present hidden away from everyone else. Father had threatened to take him away, and that made Sephiroth feel sick to his stomach, so he did his best to make sure it didn’t happen. He never got to keep anything for as long as he had gotten to keep Zack, and he didn’t want to lose him.

So now they were hiding, though he knew everyone knew where they were. It was still a sheltered room in the lab, and he had used sheets to build something to hide from all the eyes, and filled it with more blankets. Dr. Mirana had helped him build it, and it was a place where he could pretend that he and Zack were the only people in the world, and there were no more tests, though he wasn’t sure what it would be like to have no more tests. Still, it was fun, and Zack was a lot more fun to play with now, though he wanted to crawl all over the place.

It was kinda fun to chase the little boy, who had all sorts of spiky black hair now. That was fun to play with, too. He could poke the hair down, and when he lifted his hand, Zack’s hair would go right back up. His eyes glowed, too. Sephiroth had never met anyone else who had glowing eyes, though he knew that it had something to do with the Mako, just like his did. Still, it was nice to not be the only one.

So, not knowing what was going on, and Father not here to ask, Sephiroth hid as much as he could with Zack. He made sure they got fed and things, but he tried to stay out of as many peoples way as he could.

It seemed to go on for a long time, and he thought he liked not having to deal with Father every other day or so. Then, after what seemed like forever, the door to the room opened, and he peeked out of the tent, not recognizing the footsteps.

There was a woman there, and she was holding another little person. Was it her present-person?

She looked really tired, and something on her face seemed...almost like Father when he was angry, but less so, and mixed with the tired. She also looked lost.

Who was she?

He grabbed Zack as Zack crawled past him, and hugged him close, staring at the stranger. Was she there to do more tests on them?

Sephiroth was confused, and he didn’t like being confused.

What was going on?

///

This was...unexpected.

She knew who Sephiroth was, she had been there when he had been little, though she had not had any contact with the child then. Gast had told her about the boy.

Gast....

Heart aching, mourning the loss of her husband, Ifalna moved to sit in the corner, holding her daughter close. There had been one attempt to take Aeris away, but Ifalna had stopped that quickly enough by threatening to kill herself if they took her daughter away. So she still held her baby, who was finally asleep after having cried for so long after the soldiers had burst into their home and killed Gast.

Oh, gods....

Swallowing back another sob, feeling tired, sore, and so empty it hurt, she looked at Sephiroth. The other child she did not know. Where had Hojo gotten him? He did not feel contaminated by Jenova. Not yet, though he glowed with life in the same way Sephiroth did, and the violet eyes shone brightly.

“Hello, Sephiroth,” she said finally, after a long staring contest. “I’m sure you don’t know me, but I knew Doctor Gast.” Knew him, loved him, wanted him back.

Green eyes, lighter in color than her Aeris’s eyes, hardened. “He left me.”

Oh, she had forgotten that. “He didn’t want to,” she told him. “He just couldn’t get you out of the labs with your father here.” Which was true. He had a hard enough time getting her out, and he had done that at first with the intention of just doing more intense study with her, though no more physical exams. It had simply grown to be more.

The hard look stayed, and Sephiroth continued to glare at her. She shifted Aeris slightly, trying to not waken her, but moving her so he could see. “This is Aeris. She is Gast and mine’s daughter. Who is that you are holding?”

She could see his arms tighten to the point of drawing a whimper from the other boy, which he quickly loosened. Eyes losing that hardness, he looked the child over, obviously making sure he hadn’t hurt him. Once he was done, he hugged him again, easier this time, and rested his cheek on the black hair. “This is -my- present-person. You can’t have him.”

That...was both adorable and disturbing. “I don’t plan on taking him, dear. I’m as trapped here as you are. Maybe you can help me take care of Aeris as well? You seem to be doing a very good job with your...present-person.”

He looked at her, wary and unsure. It broke her heart. No child should look like that. He was only, what, eight or so? He shouldn’t have to be so afraid of people.

“Zack.”

A confused sound escaped her.

“His name is Zack. Father gave him to me a long time ago.”

The child looked to be ten or so months old, so it probably had seemed like a long time to someone Sephiroth’s age. “Well, he’s very pretty. Maybe he and Aeris will be friends. I bet she’ll be friends with you as well.”

This time, he was the one who made the confused sound, though he clamped down on it quickly. “What is a friend?”

Oh.... Oh, gods, this was worse than she ever could have expected. “A friend,” she started, trying to find the right words. “A friend is someone you care for, who you love and want to protect. They’re family you chose.”

He continued to look at her, rubbing his cheek on Zack’s head as the little boy looked at her. Then the black haired child smiled and started to babble at her, waving his arms and patting at Sephiroth.

His noise woke Aeris up, who started to whimper, and then cry softly. Aeris had always been a quiet child. Wanting to calm her down again before she got too fussy, Ifalna started to sing softly. Her voice faltered for a moment as she saw the startled look on Sephiroth’s face and the confused one on Zack’s as the other baby went silent. Both of them looked as if they had never heard anyone sing before.

That told her one thing and one thing alone.

When she escaped, she would not leave these ones behind. She wouldn’t.

Escape suddenly got a great deal more complicated.

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