Ficlet: Time
Title: Time
Verse: Diversion
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hojo, kid!Seph and a lab.
Notes: From the Catzilla-fluff straight to the Hojo-grim. I give joo whiplash! Much love on forgottenlover for her editing. *hearts*
Time
Sephiroth sat quietly on the chair he had been pointed to, looking around. This new Lab he had been transferred to was whiter than the old one, more gleaming and much bigger too. He wondered briefly if there were other subjects here. He missed his Vincent.
Loud voices coming up from the hallway distracted him, and after few moments the Doctor walked in, followed by a stuttering Assistant. The Doctor seemed still angry.
“Doctor Hojo, please reconsider the matter!”
Hojo ignored him and went to his desk, spreading out a stack of papers. “The new Section Three lab in Mideel won’t be ready for six more months, and with all the damage the Omega specimen caused on Section Two I’ll need at least two months to repair it. You heard me? Two. Months.”
“I can understand your problems, but sir--”
Hojo whipped around and grabbed the man’s face. “I need two months, and you will give them to me! I can’t afford to any meddling now.” Hojo’s glasses gleamed into the white lights of the room. “The whole lab will be on complete lockdown until Section Two is operative and the specimen is transferred back. No one will be going out, no one will be coming in. ShinRa must not find out JS01 is here, or he’ll start interfering with my work.”
“S-sir, please-”
Hojo smiled slightly. “Two months. If anything happens, you all will find out what it’s like to stay on the other side of a microscope.”
The Assistant looked all pale and sweaty. The stink of his fear was almost overwhelming. He nodded, and scrambled away as soon as the Doctor released him.
Hojo chuckled before turning to Sephiroth. “So, Sephiroth, how do you like your new room? Are you excited to be in a different place?”
He looked up at the man. “It’s bigger, but it doesn’t seem very different otherwise.”
“Lay down on the table.” The Doctor nodded, fiddling with the scalpels and instruments on a tray. “A very bad specimen broke out and wrecked up the old Lab. He will be dealt with accordingly, don’t worry.”
Sephiroth was glad the table was under him was made of very cold steel, the Doctor didn’t question him when he shuddered lightly.
Hojo raised a syringe full of mako. “Now, don’t think about the boogeyman, we have work to do.”
---
Sephiroth didn’t know how much time it had been since he had been taken here. Time in the mako tube passed much differently without Vincent, so slow and lonely. Even Jenova’s whispers were muffled with distance.
It could have been a week or a month, but one day as he was being stapled to the table, after more round of chemical injections, for a test on skin tissue regeneration when the door of the examination room had opened, and a short and fat man had come in followed by two men dressed in dark blue. Doctor Hojo’s face had twisted in a furious grimace for a moment before melting back in his usual mild expression as he turned around to face the intruders.
“President ShinRa! You honor us with your presence here.”
The fat man scowled. “Do I, now? Or is it you who crawled out of your mountain cave to honor Midgar with your presence?”
Sephiroth was subtly looking at the men waiting at the door from where he was laying. The first thing he recognized was the blue suit, and after that it wasn’t long before a face too fell back in place. The brown-haired man was Veld, second in command of the Turks. He remembered seeing him in Vincent’s memories. They had been friends, and the last time they had seen each other Veld didn’t have that scar on his cheek. The other one, the taller blond, was Wendle. He too had changed from the rookie Vincent remembered. He was very broad now, and there was a tattoo peeking from under his collar. He was wearing sunglasses too.
“But, President, I’ve been only doing my best to accomplish our aims. My hard work hasn’t allowed me to get away for long, but the results are very promising.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” The fat man came nearer to the table, staring down at Sephiroth. “So this is Jenova’s son.”
“Yes, President.” Hojo smirked briefly. “Doesn’t he look like his mother?”
The President nodded. “I had heard rumors about very dangerous tests being performed, but I’m glad to see they’re obviously lies.” He shot the Doctor a warning look. “I would have been most displeased to find him damaged with all the money this project is costing me.”
With all the time he had spent studying the Doctor to detect his moods, Sephiroth noticed the slight stiffening of his back. The Doctor was getting angry, and very fast.
“Of course it’s just lies, President. I would never damage such a unique specimen.”
“I am sure. However,” he went on, “to quell such nasty rumors that could damage the company’s reputation and since you already moved your work back in Midgar, it would be wise for you and your team to remain stationed here from now on. That way I’ll be able to watch over the specimen’s progress and personally guarantee for his state.”
Sephiroth could see the vein on Hojo’s left temple begin to bulge. The Doctor was pissed. “Very well, President. For the good of the company.”
The President nodded, obviously satisfied with himself. “I’ll of course send as many troopers as you need to help dismantle the Section Two lab.”
“Dismantle the lab?” Apparently the Doctor wasn’t expecting that one. “But sir, the strategic location out of most people’s eyes of Section Two should be maintained for- ”
“Nonsense,” the man interrupted with a wave of his hand. “I’m already building you a new lab in Mideel. Nibleheim is too out of the way, expensive to keep furnished and old. If the need should arise in future there are other quiet places we can consider. I’m told Cosmo Canyon is nice, and the jungles around Gongaga are full of interesting animals.”
Hojo bit back a protest. “Thank you for your concern, President, but my staff can handle Section Two. Although I might need few new assistants in the near future.”
The President smirked, and walked back to the door. “No need to thank me, my dear Hojo. I like to keep my men well-equipped.” He paused. “Oh, and speaking of which. There are many jealous people around, and leaving such a brilliant scientist as yourself with no protection would be terribly careless of me. Wendle.”
The blue-suited blond stepped forward, head high. “Yes, mister President?”
“Stay here and watch over our dear Doctor. Veld will surely organize shifts so that there will always be a Turk present in the labs to insure protection.”
Both Turks nodded. “Yes, President ShinRa.”
There was the tiniest sound. Sephiroth looked down, and saw that the glass syringe in Hojo’s hand had cracked. “You are much too kind, President.”
“I’m protecting my investment, too. And, Hojo, please try not to make me lose another Turk.” Veld pushed the button to open the door for the President and they walked out, the door closing again with a soft hiss.
Wendle leaned against the wall beside the door. “Go on with your work, Doctor, I won’t get in the way.”
Hojo scowled, and turned to push the syringe at the Assistant. “Go take a 20/d syringe and throw this one away. We’ll just monitor the specimen’s reaction to the new chemical mix for today.”
Sephiroth was careful to keep his eyes fixed on the ceiling. The Turk would report back any experiment to President ShinRa, who would then be unhappy with Hojo if he came out damaged of it. Section Two was far and the Doctor could get away with the nastier tests, but here in Section One he would be closely monitored. Vincent must have known, and had made so he’d get moved to Midgar.
He fisted his hand. Was Vincent going to survive Section Two being dismantled? He was Hojo’s secret, and he couldn’t be moved to another lab. Moving him out was likely too dangerous. His eyes flickered to the door, at the blue-clothed man standing there. He would know.
---
Other fics of the Diversion AU are found here.
Verse: Diversion
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hojo, kid!Seph and a lab.
Notes: From the Catzilla-fluff straight to the Hojo-grim. I give joo whiplash! Much love on forgottenlover for her editing. *hearts*
Time
Sephiroth sat quietly on the chair he had been pointed to, looking around. This new Lab he had been transferred to was whiter than the old one, more gleaming and much bigger too. He wondered briefly if there were other subjects here. He missed his Vincent.
Loud voices coming up from the hallway distracted him, and after few moments the Doctor walked in, followed by a stuttering Assistant. The Doctor seemed still angry.
“Doctor Hojo, please reconsider the matter!”
Hojo ignored him and went to his desk, spreading out a stack of papers. “The new Section Three lab in Mideel won’t be ready for six more months, and with all the damage the Omega specimen caused on Section Two I’ll need at least two months to repair it. You heard me? Two. Months.”
“I can understand your problems, but sir--”
Hojo whipped around and grabbed the man’s face. “I need two months, and you will give them to me! I can’t afford to any meddling now.” Hojo’s glasses gleamed into the white lights of the room. “The whole lab will be on complete lockdown until Section Two is operative and the specimen is transferred back. No one will be going out, no one will be coming in. ShinRa must not find out JS01 is here, or he’ll start interfering with my work.”
“S-sir, please-”
Hojo smiled slightly. “Two months. If anything happens, you all will find out what it’s like to stay on the other side of a microscope.”
The Assistant looked all pale and sweaty. The stink of his fear was almost overwhelming. He nodded, and scrambled away as soon as the Doctor released him.
Hojo chuckled before turning to Sephiroth. “So, Sephiroth, how do you like your new room? Are you excited to be in a different place?”
He looked up at the man. “It’s bigger, but it doesn’t seem very different otherwise.”
“Lay down on the table.” The Doctor nodded, fiddling with the scalpels and instruments on a tray. “A very bad specimen broke out and wrecked up the old Lab. He will be dealt with accordingly, don’t worry.”
Sephiroth was glad the table was under him was made of very cold steel, the Doctor didn’t question him when he shuddered lightly.
Hojo raised a syringe full of mako. “Now, don’t think about the boogeyman, we have work to do.”
---
Sephiroth didn’t know how much time it had been since he had been taken here. Time in the mako tube passed much differently without Vincent, so slow and lonely. Even Jenova’s whispers were muffled with distance.
It could have been a week or a month, but one day as he was being stapled to the table, after more round of chemical injections, for a test on skin tissue regeneration when the door of the examination room had opened, and a short and fat man had come in followed by two men dressed in dark blue. Doctor Hojo’s face had twisted in a furious grimace for a moment before melting back in his usual mild expression as he turned around to face the intruders.
“President ShinRa! You honor us with your presence here.”
The fat man scowled. “Do I, now? Or is it you who crawled out of your mountain cave to honor Midgar with your presence?”
Sephiroth was subtly looking at the men waiting at the door from where he was laying. The first thing he recognized was the blue suit, and after that it wasn’t long before a face too fell back in place. The brown-haired man was Veld, second in command of the Turks. He remembered seeing him in Vincent’s memories. They had been friends, and the last time they had seen each other Veld didn’t have that scar on his cheek. The other one, the taller blond, was Wendle. He too had changed from the rookie Vincent remembered. He was very broad now, and there was a tattoo peeking from under his collar. He was wearing sunglasses too.
“But, President, I’ve been only doing my best to accomplish our aims. My hard work hasn’t allowed me to get away for long, but the results are very promising.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” The fat man came nearer to the table, staring down at Sephiroth. “So this is Jenova’s son.”
“Yes, President.” Hojo smirked briefly. “Doesn’t he look like his mother?”
The President nodded. “I had heard rumors about very dangerous tests being performed, but I’m glad to see they’re obviously lies.” He shot the Doctor a warning look. “I would have been most displeased to find him damaged with all the money this project is costing me.”
With all the time he had spent studying the Doctor to detect his moods, Sephiroth noticed the slight stiffening of his back. The Doctor was getting angry, and very fast.
“Of course it’s just lies, President. I would never damage such a unique specimen.”
“I am sure. However,” he went on, “to quell such nasty rumors that could damage the company’s reputation and since you already moved your work back in Midgar, it would be wise for you and your team to remain stationed here from now on. That way I’ll be able to watch over the specimen’s progress and personally guarantee for his state.”
Sephiroth could see the vein on Hojo’s left temple begin to bulge. The Doctor was pissed. “Very well, President. For the good of the company.”
The President nodded, obviously satisfied with himself. “I’ll of course send as many troopers as you need to help dismantle the Section Two lab.”
“Dismantle the lab?” Apparently the Doctor wasn’t expecting that one. “But sir, the strategic location out of most people’s eyes of Section Two should be maintained for- ”
“Nonsense,” the man interrupted with a wave of his hand. “I’m already building you a new lab in Mideel. Nibleheim is too out of the way, expensive to keep furnished and old. If the need should arise in future there are other quiet places we can consider. I’m told Cosmo Canyon is nice, and the jungles around Gongaga are full of interesting animals.”
Hojo bit back a protest. “Thank you for your concern, President, but my staff can handle Section Two. Although I might need few new assistants in the near future.”
The President smirked, and walked back to the door. “No need to thank me, my dear Hojo. I like to keep my men well-equipped.” He paused. “Oh, and speaking of which. There are many jealous people around, and leaving such a brilliant scientist as yourself with no protection would be terribly careless of me. Wendle.”
The blue-suited blond stepped forward, head high. “Yes, mister President?”
“Stay here and watch over our dear Doctor. Veld will surely organize shifts so that there will always be a Turk present in the labs to insure protection.”
Both Turks nodded. “Yes, President ShinRa.”
There was the tiniest sound. Sephiroth looked down, and saw that the glass syringe in Hojo’s hand had cracked. “You are much too kind, President.”
“I’m protecting my investment, too. And, Hojo, please try not to make me lose another Turk.” Veld pushed the button to open the door for the President and they walked out, the door closing again with a soft hiss.
Wendle leaned against the wall beside the door. “Go on with your work, Doctor, I won’t get in the way.”
Hojo scowled, and turned to push the syringe at the Assistant. “Go take a 20/d syringe and throw this one away. We’ll just monitor the specimen’s reaction to the new chemical mix for today.”
Sephiroth was careful to keep his eyes fixed on the ceiling. The Turk would report back any experiment to President ShinRa, who would then be unhappy with Hojo if he came out damaged of it. Section Two was far and the Doctor could get away with the nastier tests, but here in Section One he would be closely monitored. Vincent must have known, and had made so he’d get moved to Midgar.
He fisted his hand. Was Vincent going to survive Section Two being dismantled? He was Hojo’s secret, and he couldn’t be moved to another lab. Moving him out was likely too dangerous. His eyes flickered to the door, at the blue-clothed man standing there. He would know.
---
Other fics of the Diversion AU are found here.