Late, As Always

Late, As Always
Chapter 3

Note: Excuse the abuse. Sephy needed to vent.

Thank you, Dee, for supporting me and my crazy ideas. And my year-long chapters. You truly are a blessing.

Please excuse any typing errors: I am on 2400mg of Motrin. If you find any mistakes, please email them to buttheaddoesdope@yahoo.com. Thank you.

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Cloud felt as though his heart had stopped. Slowly, he closed the researcher’s journal and turned around. Sephiroth was standing a few inches away, looking nothing short of murderous. Immediately, Cloud panicked, as anyone would under the General’s vicious gaze.

“I…I’m sorry, sir… I thought…well, I was curious and it just…”

Sharp nails tore at Cloud’s hands as Sephiroth yanked the journal away. He snarled and threw the heavy book across the room, fire blazing in his Mako eyes. Long pale fingers wrapped tightly around Cloud’s wrists and squeezed as their owner shoved the frightened blonde roughly into the wall beside them. Before Cloud knew what was going on, one wrist was freed seconds before a strong hand collided with his face.

Cloud whimpered and slumped as much as possible, still being held fast by one wrist, in which the pain was quickly approaching unbearable. Tears streamed down his fair cheeks and he sobbed quietly.

“How dare you,” Sephiroth growled, unconcerned with Cloud’s condition. “These books are a part of my private study. There are many things in these books that are only to be read by me.”

Cloud, although in significant pain, could not stop the question he was dying to ask.

“What’s Jenova? Why did you get injected?” he blurted.

Sephiroth stood in shock for a few seconds before screaming in rage and throwing Cloud across the room. Cloud felt something crack in his arm and wailed in pain. Sephiroth advanced on the broken, sobbing blonde. He vaguely noted a spot of blood on the floor next to Cloud yet was too angry to care. He placed a foot on Cloud’s chest, holding him firmly in place.

“Much of the research I do not understand myself,” he explained. “The researcher…died before he could divulge anything. All I have now are my memories, which are escaping me as well.”

Cloud could hardly breathe. His brain started to fill with a suffocating darkness and his eyes were completely unfocused. Staring up at the General without really seeing him and suffering from a broken arm, he lost consciousness.
***
Hours later, Cloud awoke in a familiar bed. Although he was fairly preoccupied when he had been in it earlier, he knew it to be Sephiroth’s. The owner was missing, thankfully, for Cloud was unsure of whether or not he wanted to see the silver-haired beast. Cradling his broken arm, he got out of bed and slipped his shoes on, ready to make a stealthy escape. Cloud crept out into the dark office and headed for the door. As his hand grasped the knob, a voice stopped him.

“Going somewhere?”

Cloud whirled around as a lamp on the General’s desk flared to life. As Sephiroth was illuminated, Cloud quickly shielded his arm and felt adrenaline rush through his veins.

“No need to worry,” Sephiroth said, standing and walking around the desk he was seated at. “I will not hurt you.”

“You awful bastard!” Cloud shouted, frightened. “I thought that earlier up until you went psycho and broke my arm!”

Sephiroth stopped and frowned sadly.

“I… I am truly sorry, Cloud,” he whispered, looking sincere. “I have spent many long hours attempting to discover the reason for my sudden insanity. I fear something may be very wrong, yet no journal mentions anything significant. Hojo stole all of the relevant ones.”

Cloud still seemed wary and made no effort to move forward. Hid hand remained on the doorknob, ready to run should he need to.

“Please, trust me,” Sephiroth continued. “I would not consciously injure you. Never.”

“Why should I believe you?” Cloud answered quickly.

The General paused, biting his lip nervously. He cast his mind about, searching for an excuse. He knew precisely why Cloud should trust him, yet was unable to admit it just yet.

“I cannot say yet,” Sephiroth said, pulling a face. “I feel that neither of us are ready.”

The blonde took his hand off of the doorknob and took a cautious step forward. He looked vaguely hopeful and almost smiled.

“Promise you won’t hurt me again?” Cloud asked, pouting cutely. His icy blue eyes begged for Sephiroth to answer positively.

Sephiroth smiled and crossed to where Cloud was standing, half cowering, half hopeful. He wrapped his strong arms around the cadet, carefully avoiding the injured arm.

“I promise,” he whispered against Cloud’s unruly spikes.

Cloud hugged the silver-haired man tightly with his uninjured arm and buried his face in the muscular chest. After a moment, he looked up and stuck his tongue out.

“So that’s great!” he exclaimed. He then paused and winced. “Can you heal me now?”

Sephiroth smiled down at Cloud. “I can lend you Restore materia and you may try it on yourself.”

Cloud’s jaw dropped. He had not handled a Restore materia before. Cadets trained with Fire, Ice, or Lightning, for they were low level and lower cost. Restore had been discussed, yet never used.

“Are you kidding?!” Cloud asked. “I only know theory behind that!”

“Theory and practice make perfect,” Sephiroth joked. “I believe that you should at least try it. In fact, if you heal yourself within twenty minutes, you may keep the materia. Deal?”

The older man smiled, eyes sparkling. He obviously had great faith in Cloud. He walked over to his metallic shoulder guards, which skillfully concealed tiny colored orbs. Carefully choosing a green orb, he started back. Cloud extended his right hand when motioned to do so and the near-weightless materia fell into his hand.

“Try it,” the General instructed.

“What do I equip it on?” Cloud asked, confused.

“Ah, correct,” Sephiroth replied, looking displeased. “I was momentarily unaware that you do not keep armor and weapons readily available such as I do.”

The silver-haired man disappeared into his room for a moment and returned with a silver bangle. He handed it to Cloud and stood back, smiling once again. Cloud gulped nervously, hoping that he would not disappoint the General and equipped the bangle after inserting the Restore materia into one of its slots.

Trying to breathe and ignore the pain in his left arm, Cloud tried very hard to tap into the power of the Ancients that was buried deep within the single orb. After several moments, the materia began to glow. Excited, Cloud lost some focus and the orb sparked instead of casting. The blonde jumped and frowned, causing Sephiroth to chuckle and smile.

Cloud stuck out his tongue at the General and resumed his task of healing. He screwed up his face, concentrating on the need to relieve the pain. Ten minutes passed and finally, the materia began to glow once more. This time, the blonde paid no attention and pushed himself harder. The glow grew brighter and enveloped Cloud completely. Mere seconds later, multicolored light bounced around the room as the spell cast. Sephiroth smiling, knowing he could trust in Cloud’s abilities.

Time seemed to stand still. Cloud stood, motionless in shock, for a few minutes before tentatively moving his previously injured arm. The pain was gone and the limb moved freely as if it were never broken. Cloud whopped in joy and hugged Sephiroth, who hugged back enthusiastically.

“I knew you could do it,” he said. “That materia and the bangle which holds it are now yours to keep.”

Cloud looked shocked. He shook his head vigorously.

“No way,” the young blonde protested. “I thought you were joking!”

Sephiroth quirked a silver eyebrow.

“You are declining a gift from the General?” he asked, looking incredulous. “That is quite rude, cadet.”

“I don’t want to take your stuff, though,” Cloud replied. “That doesn’t seem right.”

Sephiroth pulled Cloud very close and smiled into the blonde spikes. Cloud snuggled up and buried his face once more in the General’s chest.

“I plan on sharing all of my possessions with you, Cloud,” the General stated, gauging the boy’s reaction. “My quarters, equipment…and myself.”

Cloud stiffened slightly. Sephiroth could feel shallow breaths coming from the cadet and wondered if he had pushed too far too fast. He was soon graced with a reply.

“Well, I guess that’s alright,” Cloud finally said. He pulled back a little to look Sephiroth in the eye. “But why?”

“I promise that I shall tell you when I am ready,” Sephiroth replied.

“Ok then, so what now?”

Sephiroth pondered what they should do. He knew he ought to see Hojo, yet lately he’d been feeling rather odd. There were moments, sometimes even days, when he didn’t remember anything that had happened. Sephiroth would have stopped attending sessions with Hojo long ago, yet the researcher promised that someday he would reveal the General’s past.

This is not the time, he would say evasively. When you are ready, I will tell you.

Sephiroth wanted that day to come so badly. He knew there was some dark secret about his past, yet the memories of his childhood and adolescence escaped him.

“I am unsure,” the silver-haired man finally replied. “I should keep an appointment with the researchers, but…”

“What, Hojo?” Cloud blurted. “You see him, too?”

Sephiroth’s eyes widened. No… Hojo experimented with others as well? That sick bastard…Cloud…

“Yes, I do. Cloud, why do you have appointments with Hojo?” he asked, panicking.

Cloud paused. He looked thoughtful.

“I don’t know, really,” the blonde answered. “He tells me I’m ill and that I need immunizations to feel better.”

The cadet frowned.

“But I don’t feel very ill at all,” he continued, “not until after the injections. Then I feel awful and most times, Zack has to restrain me because I go a little crazy.”

The General blanched. Cloud’s reactions were scarily similar to his own after seeing Hojo. That could only mean one thing…

“I need to see Hojo. You may stay here if you like,” Sephiroth said. He looked furious. “I shall return shortly.”

Cloud frowned deeply. “Well, ok. I think I’ll take a nap. I’m pretty tired.”

Sephiroth offered a small smile and calmly exited the room, grabbing Masamune as he left. As soon as he was out of earshot, he broke into a heavy sprint. He swore he saw red gathering around the edges of his vision. Hojo would pay, and Sephiroth would be the one to collect.

He told me that there were no others, Sephiroth thought. He promised that he would subject no others to this horror. What was he thinking?

A dangerous, raging anger bubbled very close to the surface. Sephiroth flexed his fingers, need to hit something, needing to draw blood…

Needing to kill.

Masamune was gripped tightly in his right hand, twitching, ready to slice easily through malleable human flesh. It taunted Sephiroth, begged to drink the sweet, warm blood of the monster that tormented him weekly. No longer would he receive injections and wait for story time. A strange prickling developed near his shoulder blades, yet he ignored it.

Not long after, Sephiroth reached the lab. Shunning the formalities, the General kicked down the metal door and stormed inside. Tapping into his mastered Fire materia, he burned all in his path. As flames erupted everywhere possible, researchers fled in panic. Sephiroth slashed mindlessly at them, roaring furiously, green eyes blazing blindingly.

Hojo appeared at the elevator, looking unsurprised and nonplussed. He approached the silver-haired man slowly, shaking his head.

“Late for session, as always, Sephiroth,” he chided as he looked around his lab, frowning. “And causing mass chaos and destruction, also. Is that all that you’re good for?”

“Watch your tongue, filth,” the General replied angrily. “What have you done to the others?!”

Hojo smiled innocently. “What are you talking about?”

Sephiroth roared furiously and grabbed the frail researcher by his white coat and raised him a few feet off of the ground. Baring his teeth in a terrible snarl, he raised Masamune with his free hand and put it to the researcher’s pale neck.

“I swear, I will kill you if you choose to withhold information from me,” he growled. “I want to know the truth about everything: myself, and your other experiments.”

“What, you mean standard Mako showering?” the old man asked. “Why, General, you know I’m required to give SOLDIERS Mako treatments!”

Sephiroth pushed harder on Hojo’s neck.

“How about cadets who have not even taken SOLDIER examinations yet?” he replied. “Why would they be seeing you for injections?”

“I see you’ve met young Strife,” Hojo said calmly. “Yes, he’s a perfect young man. He has been invaluable to our research.”

Sephiroth shook Hojo roughly and slammed him into a nearby wall. The older man groaned in pain and glared down at Sephiroth.

“Oh? Are you going to kill me?” Hojo taunted. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Now, put me down, you buffoon, and I shall willingly explain.”

Frowning, the General slammed Hojo down on his feet after removing Masamune. He stayed close, hoever, in the even that the researcher decided to attempt an escape. Sephiroth kept Masamune hear Hojo for extra security.

“Mr. Strife has been participating in a Jenova experiment, along with…many others,” Hojo began, smiling maniacally. “We’re making an army fir for an overlord, General, one which shall obey your every command.”

The silver-haired man blanched. Could he mean..?

“Yes, Sephiroth. We’re creating an army…of you.”

Before any coherent thought could form in Sephiroth’s shocked mind, he began pummeling Hojo. Anything that could do damage was used to hit the black-haired man, who struggled uselessly. The powerful General had him trapped.

“Stop! Stop, you useless experiment!”

Punching Hojo extremely hard squarely in the nose, Sephiroth desisted.

“You did this, Hojo,” he whispered, looking genuinely insane. “What? Afraid that you cannot control the horror that you created? Afraid that it may…kill you?”

“Of course not! How could you murder the one person who is able to prevent Cloud from becoming a monster like you?”

Sephiroth froze. No…not Cloud… The prickling from earlier increased alarmingly and the burning rage was ever close to the surface… Sephiroth screamed as large wings burst from his shoulder blades and dropped to his knees, letting Masamune fall beside him. He buried his face in his hands, silent tears streaming down his alabaster face.

Hojo gasped. It had worked!

“Behold your, inaptly named, hidden power, Sephiroth,” he whispered in awe. “I suppose this could be called your limit break. However, yours, unlike others, may be permanent.”

Sephiroth leapt up, hovering in midair by way of his new power.

“What…have you done?! What the hell have you done to me?!” he roared. Masamune flew into his outstretched hand. “You do not deserve to live. You are not god and should not experiment on humans in this way…”

“I may not be god, dear General,” Hojo replied, still awed, “but I believe it is safe to say that you are.”

Sephiroth’s form pulsed red. His eyes glowed so intensely that he appeared to have solid luminescent green orbs for eyes. His breathing was extremely ragged, chest heaving quickly, and he shook violently. Hojo worried that his best experiment would suffer a damaging seizure and fail. Quickly, he tried to formulate a plan.

“Fine, bring cadet Strife in,” he said quickly. “I’ll reverse any effects on him. The cells can be eradicated very simply.”

“You will remain here until I return,” Sephiroth growled. “If you leave, I shall hunt you down and kill you.”

Hojo nodded curtly. “I shall remain here.”

Sephiroth snorted angrily and let himself fall gently to the ground. He then turned on his heel and exited, walking easily through the raging flames, which licked hopelessly at the feathering wings. Hojo noticed, with a start, that one wing was black and one was white.

How did that occur? Hojo wondered, perplexed. And what could it possibly mean?

He shook his head and proceeded to extinguish some of the flames.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth was rushing to his quarters to retrieve Cloud. He finally made it, opening the door frantically and rushing in. Immediately, he noticed that the entire apartment was dark. Frowning, he wondered if Cloud had turned off the lights to take a nap.

Walking carefully toward his desk light, Sephiroth stepped in something slippery. Panicking, he turned on the light and bent to examine the liquid. A gasp escaped his lips as he realized that it was blood. In fact, the blood was splattered around the office.

Sephiroth’s wings fwapped open immediately and he launched himself across the room to the entrance to his bedroom. Though it was also dark, he could see Cloud lying on the bed. Is he alive?

Whispering for his candles to light, he leapt over to where Cloud lay, expecting the worst. To his surprise, however, Cloud was awake and staring straight up at him. The cadet was severely beaten and slashed, yet was unfazed. He frowned, looking confused. Seconds later, he twitched.

“Cloud, are you okay?” Sephiroth asked, sitting beside the blonde and looking worried.

Blank blue eyes regarded him oddly.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“What do you mean, who am I?” Sephiroth replied, vaguely horrified. He hoped it was all just a sick joke. “How do you not know who I am if I just spoke to you ten minutes ago?”

Cloud twitched again.

“I’ve never seen you before,” Cloud insisted firmly.

“So how are you in my room?”

“This isn’t your room.”

Sephiroth sighed. “Check the plaque on the door. I believe I am General Sephiroth, not you, and this is my room.”

Twitch. “But I’m Sephiroth.”

The silver-haired man stopped breathing. This couldn’t be happening to Cloud, not to the first person he felt really close to who treated him like a human being, not an untouchable god.

“Well, then, General Sephiroth,” he said, feeling awkward. “I believe you have an appointment with Hojo.”

Cloud nodded. He stood and began to walk toward the door. He turned and rose an eyebrow, looking questioningly at Sephiroth.

“Why are you wearing my clothes?” he asked.

Sephiroth faltered. “Well, erm, sir… I uh, idolize you and er, took your clothes to be like you.”

Cloud nodded and continued walking. Sephiroth followed, horrified. How could Hojo do this to humans? Was he god? No. He dare he… Sephiroth’s wings flexed. That man would die someday, he was sure.

Sephiroth did not notice that he had stopped walking while he was deep in thought. Cloud had, however, and was waiting for him in the office. The blonde had an odd stance, one that Sephiroth recognized as uniquely his. He frowned and stepped forward.

Green eyes regarded him coolly. Sephiroth opened his mouth to speak and seconds later, promptly closed it. Green eyes? Cloud’s eyes were blue!

“Well, come on then,” Cloud snapped.

As they prepared to exit, Cloud collapsed and began twitching madly. Sephiroth stood over him, panicking, unsure of what to do. He ran for the door to get help, yet within seconds, it was over. Now genuinely terrified for the first time in years, Sephiroth returned to where Cloud lay, waiting patiently for any sort of response.

Moments later, blonde lashes fluttered. Blue irises were slowly revealed as Cloud opened his eyes carefully. A slight gasp escaped his bluish lips as he spied the General, who did not realize that his wings were in plain view.

“Are you…and angel?” he asked, awed.

Sephiroth stuck out his tongue and carefully folded his new wings. They failed to disappear completely and Sephiroth frowned.

“Of course not,” he replied irritably.

Cloud reached up, pointing at the feathery abominations.

“But, the wings…they’re all pretty and feathered,” he said, staring at Sephiroth’s wings. “Can I touch them?”

“No, we must hurry to the lab,” Sephiroth snapped, grabbing the cadet’s outstretched hand.

“I don’t want to,” Cloud protested as Sephiroth lifted him easily, cradling the young boy in his strong arms.

Grabbing his key, Sephiroth walked carefully out into the hallway. He looked around shiftily, checking for officers. Seeing none, he beat his wings and rose effortlessly into the air. Cloud yelped and clung to the silver-haired man.

“I assure you,” Sephiroth began, chuckling, “that this is perfectly safe. I gained some experience with them on my way back here to fetch you.”

Cloud just nodded against Sephiroth’s chest.

“Off we go, then,” the General warned.

The blonde clutched tighter as they rocketed down the corridor. He knew he was safe, and yet… Something had changed in the General. Where had the wings come from? Why was he acting cold? Cloud could feel Sephiroth trembling slightly. Something had gone wrong when he left, and Cloud wished more than anything that he knew.

They soon arrived at the lab. Sephiroth noticed that the flames had been extinguished, leaving a charred path through the middle of the lab. Hojo stood alone in the center of the room, looking exhausted and angry. He looked curiously at the General, who was still cradling the young cadet. The silver-haired man carefully set Cloud down and glared at the researcher, waiting for a response.

“I see you’ve brought him,” Hojo observed. “I didn’t think you’d return.”

“Of course I returned, you fool,” Sephiroth snarled. “Now, undo all of this.”

Cloud looked curiously at Sephiroth. “Undo what?”

Before the General could answer, Hojo cut in.

“You’ve been part of an experiment, Mr. Strife,” he said. “It involves changing your genetic material to make you an exact replica of Sephiroth. The injections I gave you contain Jenova cells which rewrite your DNA.”

Cloud stared. “What?”

Sephiroth frowned. “Well, thank-you very much, Hojo.”

“Anytime, General.”

Cloud was in a vague amount of shock. He had known that something was going on. Sighing, he resigned to his fate as a clone.

“Now, undo it!” Sephiroth yelled. “Do it, or I shall leave and kill all in my path! ShinRa will never have my assistance again.”

Hojo frowned. He reached into one of his many pockets and retrieved a syringe. Motioning for Cloud to come closer, he uncapped the end and pushed out some air. Trembling, the young blonde stepped forward, visibly sweating.

“Is this going to be like the others?” Cloud asked, eyeing the needle nervously.

Hojo shook his head. “Theoretically, it should be painless with little or no side effects.”

“Only theoretically?” Sephiroth asked, frowning. “Why is that?”

“I’ve developed it within the last month. It has not been used yet,” Hojo replied calmly, taking Cloud’s arm. “We haven’t had a use for it until you demanded that it be used on this boy.”

Cloud beamed. “You did that?”

“Of course I did,” Sephiroth huffed. He rustled his wings slightly. “Now, close your eyes and get cured.”

Nodding, Cloud let blonde lashed flutter down, concealing his beautiful eyes. His brow furrowed nervously as he sensed the thin needle approaching his arm. A small gasp escaped his rosy lips as a frowning Hojo pushed the needle into Cloud’s spongy flesh.

Cloud whimpered in pain and squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. Sephiroth placed a gloved hand on the boy’s shoulder, looking worried. His breath caught as Hojo slowly pushed on the end of the syringe and the pale green liquid seeped into Cloud’s bloodstream.

“Ow…Sephiroth…this hurts!” Make it stop, please, make it stop!” Cloud cried, eyes opening suddenly. His unfocused gaze sought Sephiroth.

“Hojo, is this safe?!” Sephiroth asked, panicking for the millionth time in a few hours.

The researcher looked unsure. “Theoretically.”

Finally, the liquid was fully dispensed, free to float menacingly in the blonde’s bloodstream. Cloud stopped breathing momentarily.

“How…could you let…this happen?” he asked, looking angrily at Sephiroth.

As Sephiroth opened his mouth to reply, the cadet’s legs gave way. Cloud felt as though he was falling in slow motion, darkness tugging at his vision. Just before he hit the cold tile floor, he heard Sephiroth’s cry of anguish. Before Cloud could comfort the General, the world faded quickly to black.