Prisoners of War Ch. 33
Title: Prisoners of War Ch. 33
Author: xpaperplanex
Beta: urplesquirrel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2500
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 |
This is totally random, but there's this documentary on about some missing or murdered woman (not sure which) and they're playing L's Theme... that's rather neat.
So, it's hot. Yep. Very hot. I had my Japanese final today and I'm pretty sure I did well. Woot. To celebrate, you get what you get every week, only less. Umm... I was taught under the 'punishment by rewards' philosophy? So, yeah, super short chapter this time, sorry. It just needed to end there.
***
Silence fell over the small group as they mulled over what had been discussed. Sephiroth buried his face in Cloud's hair and let his own hair fall over the sides of his face. Hopefully no one would see the few tears that were falling silently down his cheeks. Crying simply wasn't something that General Sephiroth did. He couldn't even remember the last time he had cried.
The sound of a PHS ringing caused him to jump and he nearly dropped Cloud on the floor in surprise. How long had it been since they had heard their phones ring? Even Zack looked startled as he rummaged through his pockets.
"Hello? Zack here. Aerith? Is that you? I can barely hear you, speak up." Zack stood and started walking around the room, trying to get a stronger signal. "Wait, slow down, I can't understand you. Tseng? What about him? Wait, are you saying we're in danger? Or Tseng? Sephiroth? Woah, calm down, everything's fine here, we've got it all under control. We're going to finish up the mission tomorrow and come home. Either tomorrow or the next day. What? I can't hear you. Did you say Cloud?" Zack went over to the window and leaned out. "What about Cloud? He's fine, he's right here. Dammit! I can't hear you, Aerith! Aerith? Aerith?" Zack took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. "Shit, the signal's gone."
"What did she say, Zack?" Sephiroth pulled out his own PHS to check if it had a signal; there was nothing. "What did she say about Cloud?"
"I don't know!" Zack banged on the buttons on his PHS in frustration. "She kept breaking up. She said something about Tseng and danger. I think she said that we're in danger, but I'm pretty sure we already knew that. And I heard Cloud a bunch of times, but I don't know what she was saying. Shit!"
"I'll go downstairs and see if we can use the inn's phone." Cloud pushed himself out of Sephiroth's lap.
"I'll come with you," Sephiroth said, "We should try phoning Tseng. He probably knows more than Aerith."
Sephiroth followed Cloud down the stairs while Zack kept trying Aerith's number. He felt a surge of pride as Cloud marched straight up to Mr. Guptar without a sideways glance at anyone in the bar.
"We need to use the phone," Cloud said with authority, before grabbing the receiver and handing it to Sephiroth. He was half way through dialling Tseng's number when Sephiroth tapped him on the shoulder.
"There's no dial tone."
"Lines've been down for a few days now," Mr. Guptar explained with a nervous glance at Sephiroth. "It's the same all over town. Don't know when someone's gonna get out to fix 'em. Sorry."
"I see, thank you." Sephiroth kept his hand on Cloud's shoulder as he propelled him back up the stairs.
They re-entered their room to see Zack tossing his PHS down on the bed with a groan of frustration.
"Any luck?" Zack asked.
"No, the lines are down." Sephiroth sat on the bed and pulled Cloud back into his lap, holding him tightly.
"Don't worry, Seph."
"I'm not worried."
"Like hell you're not; Cloud can barely breath, you're squeezing him so tight."
"I-"
"You're not squeezing too tight," Cloud interrupted and snuggled even closer, shutting his eyes.
"Good to know." Zack patted Cloud's head and flopped into a chair. "Look, Seph, we already knew we were in danger, but we know what the danger is. All we have to do is fry a crazy bitch tomorrow and we're home free."
"I hope so..." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair and listened to his breathing slowly even out. Cloud must have been exhausted. "Why would Aerith mention Cloud specifically?"
"Dunno, I could barely make anything out, there was a ton of feedback. She was probably just asking how he was. Nothing to worry about."
"Right."
"So tonight, Marcus and I were thinking that we'd stay in here and keep watch. Not that we don't trust you, but you're obviously good at sneaking out without Cloud noticing. I don't want to have to haul you out of a basement again."
"I understand."
"So, you and Cloud get some sleep. No offense, but you really look like you need it."
Sephiroth nodded; he was beyond tired, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep when Jenova was still screaming at him. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try, so he lay down with Cloud in his arms and pulled the blanket over them. It didn't matter that they were both still dressed, he was too tired to care.
Still, despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep. Jenova was screaming to loudly and he couldn't stop worrying about the garbled warning they had gotten. All the evidence so far pointed towards this mission being a setup. He was sure that it wasn't random chance that he, specifically, was sent to the town where his mother was kept. The warning made that all the more likely. And what if there was more to it? Maybe they weren't as safe as they thought they were. The thoughts kept rolling through his mind until, finally, he managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.
***
Cloud woke in the morning feeling a lot better than he had in the past few days. His outburst last night had gotten all the tension and anger out and it felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. And he was still being held in Sephiroth's strong arms, that was a relief. Waking up without him again and again, when everything was going to shit, had been terrifying. Cloud cracked open his eyes and spotted Zack leaning back in a chair against the door. Marcus was sleeping in the second bed. Zack saw him looking and winked.
"Hey, Spiky. Feeling better?" he whispered.
Cloud nodded slowly, not wanting to disturb Sephiroth if he was actually sleeping.
Zack came over and sat on the floor next to the bed. "Nervous about today?"
"Yeah, a bit. If we mess this up, I think we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
"I think you're right. Still, there's no reason why we can't pull it off. A few Firagas and she'll be toast."
"Did Sephiroth sleep much last night? Did you notice?"
"It took a while, but he fell asleep eventually."
"Good, I think he needed it."
"No kidding. I really don't want to wake him up, but we should get going soon. The faster we get this over with, the better we'll all feel, I think. Are... are you sure you're okay after what he said yesterday?"
"I-Yeah, I mean, I know he didn't mean it. It just... hurt. On top of everything else, and I was so scared about all the other things he was saying... I-I'm okay, though. And you're right, we need to get this done."
"All right." Zack reached out and ruffled Cloud's hair, then stood up shouting, "Up and at 'em, boys! We've got a big day today!"
***
Sephiroth's face was looking more and more pinched as they made their way through the caves. It seemed that the closer he was to the reactor, the more Jenova affected him. About halfway there, Cloud was beginning to really worry that Sephiroth would start listening to what she was saying again. He sighed; it had worked last time.
"Sephiroth, will you carry me?" Cloud couldn't believe he had just said that, but what had to be done, had to be done. He was sure that Zack and Marcus would understand.
"What?" Sephiroth looked at him in surprise.
"I'm tired and my hand hurts a lot. Please, will you carry me?"
"Your hand hurts?" Sephiroth stooped to pick Cloud up as he spoke.
"Yeah," he said, settling himself into a comfortable position, "I think the cold bothers it." At least it wasn't a lie, it really had been hurting a lot more since he got here. Although, wanting to be carried because it hurt seemed like a bit of a stretch.
"Sorry, we'll get this done and go home, okay?"
"Okay." Cloud began stroking Sephiroth's hair and pressing tiny kisses to his neck. Anything that would distract Sephiroth from Jenova and keep him on track was worth it; though he blushed when Zack gave him a 'thumbs up' sign. "Maybe... maybe after we're done with this, could we go back and talk to my mom again? I really don't want to leave things they way they are now."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I'm sure she just needed some time to get used to it. And if she doesn't want to listen, we can go, and I can at least say that I tried."
"All right." Sephiroth turned his head and kissed Cloud's forehead. "We'll try to work it out."
"Besides, I need to get the rest of that wood chopped. I don't want her to freeze just because we're fighting."
"We can do that while you guys go talk to her, Cloud," Zack piped up and Marcus nodded his agreement.
"Thanks, guys."
Sephiroth was paying far more attention to Cloud than to anything else by the time they got to the reactor and headed up the long staircase. They ignored the pods and went straight for the door with JENOVA written overhead. Cloud stopped his gentle tugging on Sephiroth's hair long enough to adjust his armlet. It had taken a long time to master the Fire materia that was in it, but Sephiroth had been right; it did feel better to know that he was going to be blasting the thing that was trying to hurt his lover with something that he had worked for. He was certain that the hours he and Sephiroth had spent together, training with it, would make the spells even more powerful in this case.
"I love you," he whispered in Sephiroth's ear as a bit of final encouragement before they opened the door.
"I love you, too."
"And I love you all, now move out of the way." Zack stepped up to the door and sliced through it with the Buster Sword. "Shall we?"
The newly created entrance opened into a cavernous room with massive tubes running from the walls up to a platform at the back. There was a narrow catwalk leading to the platform that went across a vast reservoir of mako.
"That's where she is," Sephiroth said, with a slightly awed tone to his voice.
Cloud was feeling pretty awed himself, so he wasn't sure if it was just the size of the room, or Jenova that was making Sephiroth sound like that. Either way, Cloud hugged Sephiroth tightly and whispered, "I love you," a few more times.
"I know, Cloud. Don't worry, I'm not giving you up." Sephiroth kissed him softly, and then walked boldly across the catwalk with Zack and Marcus taking up the rear.
On the platform, there was a large metal statue of a strange looking woman. JENOVA and a few numbers were written on a placard at the statue's feet.
"She's behind it. I can feel her."
"Step aside." Zack came up from behind. He returned his sword to his back and gripped the statue tightly. After a few moments of straining, the sound of twisting metal could be heard and the statue began to move. "Shit! This thing is heavy!"
"Do you need my help?" Sephiroth asked.
"No, you stay where you are. Be ready if anything jumps out at me." A few moments longer and Zack staggered back with the statue in his arms. Sparks flew from it as tubes were pulled out of their sockets. Apparently, it had been more than decoration. Zack tossed it aside to reveal Jenova, encased in a tube of mako. It was female, with white hair and blue skin. In the place of its legs were a bunch of large tentacles and it had no arms. The eyes that looked out at them from behind its hair were glowing red. It didn't appear to be alive, just going by its body, but those eyes were very much alive. And they looked angry.
"Plan?" Marcus asked.
"I smash the container and everyone hits it with Fire spells at the same time. That should cause the mako to catch and we should have a crispy critter. You've got those Fire Veils I gave you, right, Marcus?"
"Right here."
"Good, we'll all keep casting until we can't cast anymore, just to be on the safe side." Zack stepped up to the side of the pod and drew his sword. "Everybody ready? On the count of three. One, two-"
The sound of gunfire rang through Cloud's ears and he saw Marcus collapse and blood start to drip through the grate. He felt Sephiroth begin to turn before he was dropped, hard, on the platform. Sephiroth collapsed bonelessly next to him and he heard a shout from Zack and saw the flash of green light this time, before Zack collapsed as well.
Cloud pulled his sword out of its sheath as he scrambled over to Sephiroth's side. "SEPHIROTH! SEPHIROTH, WAKE UP!" Cloud shrieked in panic. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening.
"I'm afraid he won't be waking up for a while, Specimen C," Hojo's mocking voice echoed through the massive room and Cloud turned in horror. Hojo was surrounded by a dozen troopers with their guns levelled at Cloud.
"What did you do to him?" This was hopeless; he had no chance whatsoever. Even if he got a spell off, they'd gun him down before it ever reached them. He was useless!
"Remember when you were taken prisoner, Specimen? Something knocked Sephiroth out and you convinced him that I couldn't figure out what it was. I admit, it took a while, but fusing a Manipulate materia with Mystify isn't something that one immediately thinks of. And even that isn't the whole picture. I had no idea that it was even possible to merge something like Dream Power into materia."
Cloud had pulled Sephiroth's head into his lap while Hojo was talking, shaking him and trying to get him to wake up. He spared a glance for Marcus, lying of the floor with blood dripping through the grate into the mako below. He was dead, Cloud was certain of it. He felt tears running down his face; how had this happened? Why? Why would Hojo do this to them?
"Well, Specimen, that's all the magic I can use. I'm not sure how it would work on you, anyways, so we'll have to do this the less pleasant way."
Cloud felt something sharp stab into his thigh and the world immediately turned blurry and he felt his limbs grow heavy.
"Bring the specimen down to the lab, then toss the rest in the reactor. I don't need corpses," was the last thing Cloud heard before the world went black.
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Author: xpaperplanex
Beta: urplesquirrel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2500
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 |
This is totally random, but there's this documentary on about some missing or murdered woman (not sure which) and they're playing L's Theme... that's rather neat.
So, it's hot. Yep. Very hot. I had my Japanese final today and I'm pretty sure I did well. Woot. To celebrate, you get what you get every week, only less. Umm... I was taught under the 'punishment by rewards' philosophy? So, yeah, super short chapter this time, sorry. It just needed to end there.
***
Silence fell over the small group as they mulled over what had been discussed. Sephiroth buried his face in Cloud's hair and let his own hair fall over the sides of his face. Hopefully no one would see the few tears that were falling silently down his cheeks. Crying simply wasn't something that General Sephiroth did. He couldn't even remember the last time he had cried.
The sound of a PHS ringing caused him to jump and he nearly dropped Cloud on the floor in surprise. How long had it been since they had heard their phones ring? Even Zack looked startled as he rummaged through his pockets.
"Hello? Zack here. Aerith? Is that you? I can barely hear you, speak up." Zack stood and started walking around the room, trying to get a stronger signal. "Wait, slow down, I can't understand you. Tseng? What about him? Wait, are you saying we're in danger? Or Tseng? Sephiroth? Woah, calm down, everything's fine here, we've got it all under control. We're going to finish up the mission tomorrow and come home. Either tomorrow or the next day. What? I can't hear you. Did you say Cloud?" Zack went over to the window and leaned out. "What about Cloud? He's fine, he's right here. Dammit! I can't hear you, Aerith! Aerith? Aerith?" Zack took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. "Shit, the signal's gone."
"What did she say, Zack?" Sephiroth pulled out his own PHS to check if it had a signal; there was nothing. "What did she say about Cloud?"
"I don't know!" Zack banged on the buttons on his PHS in frustration. "She kept breaking up. She said something about Tseng and danger. I think she said that we're in danger, but I'm pretty sure we already knew that. And I heard Cloud a bunch of times, but I don't know what she was saying. Shit!"
"I'll go downstairs and see if we can use the inn's phone." Cloud pushed himself out of Sephiroth's lap.
"I'll come with you," Sephiroth said, "We should try phoning Tseng. He probably knows more than Aerith."
Sephiroth followed Cloud down the stairs while Zack kept trying Aerith's number. He felt a surge of pride as Cloud marched straight up to Mr. Guptar without a sideways glance at anyone in the bar.
"We need to use the phone," Cloud said with authority, before grabbing the receiver and handing it to Sephiroth. He was half way through dialling Tseng's number when Sephiroth tapped him on the shoulder.
"There's no dial tone."
"Lines've been down for a few days now," Mr. Guptar explained with a nervous glance at Sephiroth. "It's the same all over town. Don't know when someone's gonna get out to fix 'em. Sorry."
"I see, thank you." Sephiroth kept his hand on Cloud's shoulder as he propelled him back up the stairs.
They re-entered their room to see Zack tossing his PHS down on the bed with a groan of frustration.
"Any luck?" Zack asked.
"No, the lines are down." Sephiroth sat on the bed and pulled Cloud back into his lap, holding him tightly.
"Don't worry, Seph."
"I'm not worried."
"Like hell you're not; Cloud can barely breath, you're squeezing him so tight."
"I-"
"You're not squeezing too tight," Cloud interrupted and snuggled even closer, shutting his eyes.
"Good to know." Zack patted Cloud's head and flopped into a chair. "Look, Seph, we already knew we were in danger, but we know what the danger is. All we have to do is fry a crazy bitch tomorrow and we're home free."
"I hope so..." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair and listened to his breathing slowly even out. Cloud must have been exhausted. "Why would Aerith mention Cloud specifically?"
"Dunno, I could barely make anything out, there was a ton of feedback. She was probably just asking how he was. Nothing to worry about."
"Right."
"So tonight, Marcus and I were thinking that we'd stay in here and keep watch. Not that we don't trust you, but you're obviously good at sneaking out without Cloud noticing. I don't want to have to haul you out of a basement again."
"I understand."
"So, you and Cloud get some sleep. No offense, but you really look like you need it."
Sephiroth nodded; he was beyond tired, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep when Jenova was still screaming at him. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try, so he lay down with Cloud in his arms and pulled the blanket over them. It didn't matter that they were both still dressed, he was too tired to care.
Still, despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep. Jenova was screaming to loudly and he couldn't stop worrying about the garbled warning they had gotten. All the evidence so far pointed towards this mission being a setup. He was sure that it wasn't random chance that he, specifically, was sent to the town where his mother was kept. The warning made that all the more likely. And what if there was more to it? Maybe they weren't as safe as they thought they were. The thoughts kept rolling through his mind until, finally, he managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.
***
Cloud woke in the morning feeling a lot better than he had in the past few days. His outburst last night had gotten all the tension and anger out and it felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. And he was still being held in Sephiroth's strong arms, that was a relief. Waking up without him again and again, when everything was going to shit, had been terrifying. Cloud cracked open his eyes and spotted Zack leaning back in a chair against the door. Marcus was sleeping in the second bed. Zack saw him looking and winked.
"Hey, Spiky. Feeling better?" he whispered.
Cloud nodded slowly, not wanting to disturb Sephiroth if he was actually sleeping.
Zack came over and sat on the floor next to the bed. "Nervous about today?"
"Yeah, a bit. If we mess this up, I think we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
"I think you're right. Still, there's no reason why we can't pull it off. A few Firagas and she'll be toast."
"Did Sephiroth sleep much last night? Did you notice?"
"It took a while, but he fell asleep eventually."
"Good, I think he needed it."
"No kidding. I really don't want to wake him up, but we should get going soon. The faster we get this over with, the better we'll all feel, I think. Are... are you sure you're okay after what he said yesterday?"
"I-Yeah, I mean, I know he didn't mean it. It just... hurt. On top of everything else, and I was so scared about all the other things he was saying... I-I'm okay, though. And you're right, we need to get this done."
"All right." Zack reached out and ruffled Cloud's hair, then stood up shouting, "Up and at 'em, boys! We've got a big day today!"
***
Sephiroth's face was looking more and more pinched as they made their way through the caves. It seemed that the closer he was to the reactor, the more Jenova affected him. About halfway there, Cloud was beginning to really worry that Sephiroth would start listening to what she was saying again. He sighed; it had worked last time.
"Sephiroth, will you carry me?" Cloud couldn't believe he had just said that, but what had to be done, had to be done. He was sure that Zack and Marcus would understand.
"What?" Sephiroth looked at him in surprise.
"I'm tired and my hand hurts a lot. Please, will you carry me?"
"Your hand hurts?" Sephiroth stooped to pick Cloud up as he spoke.
"Yeah," he said, settling himself into a comfortable position, "I think the cold bothers it." At least it wasn't a lie, it really had been hurting a lot more since he got here. Although, wanting to be carried because it hurt seemed like a bit of a stretch.
"Sorry, we'll get this done and go home, okay?"
"Okay." Cloud began stroking Sephiroth's hair and pressing tiny kisses to his neck. Anything that would distract Sephiroth from Jenova and keep him on track was worth it; though he blushed when Zack gave him a 'thumbs up' sign. "Maybe... maybe after we're done with this, could we go back and talk to my mom again? I really don't want to leave things they way they are now."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I'm sure she just needed some time to get used to it. And if she doesn't want to listen, we can go, and I can at least say that I tried."
"All right." Sephiroth turned his head and kissed Cloud's forehead. "We'll try to work it out."
"Besides, I need to get the rest of that wood chopped. I don't want her to freeze just because we're fighting."
"We can do that while you guys go talk to her, Cloud," Zack piped up and Marcus nodded his agreement.
"Thanks, guys."
Sephiroth was paying far more attention to Cloud than to anything else by the time they got to the reactor and headed up the long staircase. They ignored the pods and went straight for the door with JENOVA written overhead. Cloud stopped his gentle tugging on Sephiroth's hair long enough to adjust his armlet. It had taken a long time to master the Fire materia that was in it, but Sephiroth had been right; it did feel better to know that he was going to be blasting the thing that was trying to hurt his lover with something that he had worked for. He was certain that the hours he and Sephiroth had spent together, training with it, would make the spells even more powerful in this case.
"I love you," he whispered in Sephiroth's ear as a bit of final encouragement before they opened the door.
"I love you, too."
"And I love you all, now move out of the way." Zack stepped up to the door and sliced through it with the Buster Sword. "Shall we?"
The newly created entrance opened into a cavernous room with massive tubes running from the walls up to a platform at the back. There was a narrow catwalk leading to the platform that went across a vast reservoir of mako.
"That's where she is," Sephiroth said, with a slightly awed tone to his voice.
Cloud was feeling pretty awed himself, so he wasn't sure if it was just the size of the room, or Jenova that was making Sephiroth sound like that. Either way, Cloud hugged Sephiroth tightly and whispered, "I love you," a few more times.
"I know, Cloud. Don't worry, I'm not giving you up." Sephiroth kissed him softly, and then walked boldly across the catwalk with Zack and Marcus taking up the rear.
On the platform, there was a large metal statue of a strange looking woman. JENOVA and a few numbers were written on a placard at the statue's feet.
"She's behind it. I can feel her."
"Step aside." Zack came up from behind. He returned his sword to his back and gripped the statue tightly. After a few moments of straining, the sound of twisting metal could be heard and the statue began to move. "Shit! This thing is heavy!"
"Do you need my help?" Sephiroth asked.
"No, you stay where you are. Be ready if anything jumps out at me." A few moments longer and Zack staggered back with the statue in his arms. Sparks flew from it as tubes were pulled out of their sockets. Apparently, it had been more than decoration. Zack tossed it aside to reveal Jenova, encased in a tube of mako. It was female, with white hair and blue skin. In the place of its legs were a bunch of large tentacles and it had no arms. The eyes that looked out at them from behind its hair were glowing red. It didn't appear to be alive, just going by its body, but those eyes were very much alive. And they looked angry.
"Plan?" Marcus asked.
"I smash the container and everyone hits it with Fire spells at the same time. That should cause the mako to catch and we should have a crispy critter. You've got those Fire Veils I gave you, right, Marcus?"
"Right here."
"Good, we'll all keep casting until we can't cast anymore, just to be on the safe side." Zack stepped up to the side of the pod and drew his sword. "Everybody ready? On the count of three. One, two-"
The sound of gunfire rang through Cloud's ears and he saw Marcus collapse and blood start to drip through the grate. He felt Sephiroth begin to turn before he was dropped, hard, on the platform. Sephiroth collapsed bonelessly next to him and he heard a shout from Zack and saw the flash of green light this time, before Zack collapsed as well.
Cloud pulled his sword out of its sheath as he scrambled over to Sephiroth's side. "SEPHIROTH! SEPHIROTH, WAKE UP!" Cloud shrieked in panic. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening.
"I'm afraid he won't be waking up for a while, Specimen C," Hojo's mocking voice echoed through the massive room and Cloud turned in horror. Hojo was surrounded by a dozen troopers with their guns levelled at Cloud.
"What did you do to him?" This was hopeless; he had no chance whatsoever. Even if he got a spell off, they'd gun him down before it ever reached them. He was useless!
"Remember when you were taken prisoner, Specimen? Something knocked Sephiroth out and you convinced him that I couldn't figure out what it was. I admit, it took a while, but fusing a Manipulate materia with Mystify isn't something that one immediately thinks of. And even that isn't the whole picture. I had no idea that it was even possible to merge something like Dream Power into materia."
Cloud had pulled Sephiroth's head into his lap while Hojo was talking, shaking him and trying to get him to wake up. He spared a glance for Marcus, lying of the floor with blood dripping through the grate into the mako below. He was dead, Cloud was certain of it. He felt tears running down his face; how had this happened? Why? Why would Hojo do this to them?
"Well, Specimen, that's all the magic I can use. I'm not sure how it would work on you, anyways, so we'll have to do this the less pleasant way."
Cloud felt something sharp stab into his thigh and the world immediately turned blurry and he felt his limbs grow heavy.
"Bring the specimen down to the lab, then toss the rest in the reactor. I don't need corpses," was the last thing Cloud heard before the world went black.
***
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