Author Note: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix does.
Rick belongs to XpaperplaneX. (I'll return him, I promise.)
Pairings: Cloud x Sephiroth, Zack x Aeris
Rating: M for theme.
Let's try an asylum. I'm on an asylum kick. Slightly Alternate Universe.
Chapter One: The Great Escape.
"Doctor... he's not looking so hot right now..."
"Leave him. I need results, damn it."
"We had to resuscitate him six times! Don't you think that it is enough?"
"No! He's gotta learn to 'come back' with the help of the Mako!"
Professor Hojo dismissed Professor Gast Jr., and walked over to Cloud Strife, who was strapped down to an examination table... pale, and bleeding from the numerous cuts Hojo plastered on the once perfect skin. Sephiroth and Zack Fair were in their own Mako tubes, Sephiroth heavily sedated, Zack highly alert. Sephiroth had to be sedated, after the multiple times he tried to go after Hojo after Hojo would taunt injuring Zack or Cloud in front of Sephiroth. All for "shits and giggles" as Hojo put it, once.
Zack was crying. He watched, helplessly, as his best friend "died" six times today, countless times in the past. Zack was truly scared for Cloud's life - would Cloud live after all of this - if they make it out alive, anyway? Would he be normal? An invalid? Either way, Zack would take care of him, regardless of how Cloud turned out, and if they even made it out alive. Zack attempted to kick at his tube, and scream, but they were falling on deaf ears. Zack just wasn't strong enough to make as much ruckus as Sephiroth made.
As for Cloud - hell, he wished he was killed the moment Sephiroth impaled him with the Masumame back in the reactor.
Then Cloud wouldn't be here.
Then Cloud wouldn't be suffering.
Best of all, Cloud would be free.
Of course, he was unconscious at the moment. Hell, was anyone even sure Cloud was there anymore? With how pale he is, for the amount of blood that he was forced to shed, and the fact that the wound Sephiroth caused in the reactor failed to heal,it would be a bleeding miracle if Cloud made it out alive! Hojo released Cloud from his bounds that were holding him to the examination table, and walked away - not giving a damn that Cloud was slipping off the table to the floor. The massive amount of blood from Cloud was what was assisting him in his fall.
Professor Gast Jr. noticed this, and ran to Cloud to prevent him from falling to the floor. Hojo, noticing the reaction, snickered.
"Your father was as pathetic as you. Always giving a shit about my experiments, never giving enough shit to science. Son, you'll fail just as bad as your father, if you keep this shit up."
Professor Gast Jr. said nothing. He didn't want to acknowledge that monster anymore! Instead, Professor Gast Jr. held onto Cloud, and covered Cloud with his own body until that creep left the laboratory. Zack watched this display, and was angry that it was not himself holding Cloud. Professor Gast Jr. saw Zack glaring at him, and raised his pointer finger on his left hand to Zack, and then used that same finger to point at his head, to communicate that he had a plan. Seeing this, Zack was confused... but watched as Gast Jr. placed Cloud on a clean table, and wrapped Cloud in a blanket. Gast Jr. also turned on a light over Cloud, in hopes that it would warm up Cloud, since Cloud seemed to be shivering from cold. (After all, a naked body has a slight difficulty keeping warm on its own... Gast Jr. thought to himself)
After he was satisfied that Cloud would get some warmth, he walked over to the Mako tube that contained Zack, and typed in a pass code that drained the Mako inside, and then opened the tube. Zack watched Gast Jr., confusion in his eyes. Gast Jr. motioned that he'll explain as soon as Zack was out of there. After a minute, the tube's door opened up, and Zack came stumbling out. But he didn't hit the floor - Gast Jr. was there to catch him the moment he was free. As soon as Zack was free, Gast Jr. wrapped Zack's arms around his neck, and carefully dragged Zack to Cloud. Gast Jr. didn't even care that it looked like the two of them were hugging - right now, Gast Jr. figured all three of these poor souls could use a hug! When Gast Jr. moved Zack to a chair near Cloud, Gast Jr. sat Zack down, and then moved to Cloud. Picking up Cloud, Gast Jr. carried Cloud to Zack, and placed Cloud in his lap.
"W-what? Why?" Zack whispered, throat sore and dry. "Won't you get in trouble?"
"I don't care, Zack. This is your friend. Be there for your friend. I will check on Sephiroth." Gast Jr. said.
"Th-thank y-you..." Zack said, while hugging Cloud, and burying his face into Cloud's hair. "My friend... Cloud..."
Zack released his right arm from around Cloud momentarily, to make sure Cloud's heart was even beating! Cloud felt so cold to Zack. Placing his right hand on the left of Cloud's chest, where his heart should be, Zack held his breathe - then let it go when he finally felt a rather faint heartbeat from Cloud. Very faint - as in Zack literally had to push onto Cloud's chest to feel the beat. Wrapping his right arm back around Cloud, Zack reburied his face in Cloud's hair, and started to bawl his eyes out.
"Oh God, Cloud... why you... why couldn't it be me? Why?" Zack cried into Cloud's hair.
"It's because Hojo thinks Cloud has potential to be the 'next Sephiroth', since Hojo now considers Sephiroth to be a "failure", if you will. You do realize Hojo set you all up, right?"
Gast Jr. surprised Zack, and Zack looked up with tears running down his face. Blood was smeared on Zack's face as well; there were cuts on Cloud's scalp that were still bleeding.
"What do you mean, Hojo set us all up?" Zack asked, whispering still because of his dry throat.
Gast Jr. pulled out a water bottle from the fridge, and handed it to Zack after opening it. Zack took it in his left hand, and drank it quickly, hiccupping shortly afterwards. He dropped the empty bottle to the ground, and hugged Cloud, again. Gast Jr. grabbed another clean blanket from a clean table that was reserved for Sephiroth in the morning, and wrapped it around Zack's naked form. Zack nodded his appreciation, and Gast sat down in front of Zack, sitting on the floor in front of Zack.
"What I mean is, Hojo wanted Sephiroth to go crazy, and burn down the town since the residents were starting to catch on to his schemes, and they were putting their foot down and protesting to Shin-Ra. When Hojo overheard Reeve mention to the Turks to shut down the Shin-Ra Mansion and tell Hojo to move it out of there, Hojo got pissed. So, in the twisted, fucked-in-the-head way that Hojo thinks... he planted fake journals in the Mansion's library and left them there for Sephiroth to read. Hojo knew Sephiroth was going to get curious about his actual parents someday... you do know that a Vincent Valentine and a Lucrecia are Sephiroth's real parents, correct?" Gast Jr. pointed towards Sephiroth's Mako tube, where he was still dead asleep. "Not Jenova, not Hojo. Hojo twisted this damn world around to fit into his sick, twisted fantasy, and this is why overnight... my buddy Rick and I are making you escape and hiding you in an asylum until we can get you somewhere else. We already, Rick and I that is, wrote up a fake story saying that the three of you were showing signs of insanity."
"Wait, what? An asylum?" Zack muttered. "I can't go to an asylum! Hojo will surely kill us then!" Zack hugged Cloud again, harder.
"No, he won't. Rick concocted a story that claims that Cloud went insane on me, and beat me senseless. Then, you went after him, and attempted to free Sephiroth to assist you in bringing down Rick. But Rick subdued you both. But we both insisted in the fake report to keep the three of you alive, since you three all show new potential to be the new "super soldiers" that Hojo freaking wants." Gast Jr. replied. Looking at his wristwatch, Gast Jr. smiled. "In fact, Rick should be here in three... two... one..."
Just as Gast Jr. said 'one', Rick came running downstairs, and stopped as soon as he walked into the lab. "Cloud? Cloud?" Rick shouted out, not looking around. Rick knew Cloud from a previous encounter last year (1), and when Rick found out from Gast Jr. what Hojo was doing to his favorite patient, Rick couldn't wait to assist.
"Rick! Oh my God, he's over here, and you're not going to like what you see..." Zack said, fighting tears.
Rick ran over to Zack, who was protective over Cloud. Rick silently asked for permission from Zack to grab Cloud, and Zack reluctantly let go of Cloud, so Rick could pick up Cloud from Zack's lap. Zack only allowed it, since he knew Rick was a nurse at a hospital in Midgar, and had taken care of Cloud before. Zack wrapped the blanket that was on his shoulders down to his lap, to cover up the nudity that Cloud has been covering. As Rick was starting to tend to Cloud to see the extend of damages, Gast Jr. got off the floor to release Sephiroth, and use a shot on Sephiroth to reverse the sedation he was currently under. As Gast Jr. was punching in the pass code, Rick shouted "Holy fuck what happened to my star patient?" while holding back crying.
Zack stood up, wrapped the blanket around his waist, and held it there while he slowly walked towards Rick. Rick had the blanket that was covering Cloud wide opened, and Rick was just pale in shock, disbelief... the blanket fell out of Rick's hand, and Rick wrapped his arms around Cloud's shoulders, but left his left hand intentionally free to grab Cloud's right hand. Zack covered up Cloud from the hips down with the blanket; Cloud still deserved some decency - even if in a coma-like state! Not that Zack would blame Rick for this, Rick was shocked.
"Cloud's hand... did it even fully heal? My poor patient... God, what did he do to deserve being cut up like this? It's worse than when I first saw him in triage a year ago! That's saying a lot, considering when I wheeled him from the ambulance to the emergency room, he already looked like shit back then!" Rick squeezed Cloud's right hand, hoping to hear a noise from Cloud, and was disappointed when there was nothing. "God, is he even breathing? Zack, please find me a stethoscope, and a sphygmomanometer (2)! Cloud's too pale... is he even alive?"
Zack nodded, and tried to find the equipment Rick asked for, while Gast Jr. was struggling to move Sephiroth, who was starting to come out of his unconscious state, to the chair that Zack had just vacated. After Gast Jr. had Sephiroth seated and covered, he assisted Zack in finding the stethoscope and sphygmomanometer Rick asked for. When the equipment was found, Rick first checked Cloud's blood pressure, which was low - 90/60. Leaving the sphygmomanometer on Cloud's upper right arm, Rick moved the stethoscope to check for Cloud's heartbeat. He then felt for a pulse in Cloud's neck – which was a faint pulse. Rick closed his eyes, and then shook his head sadly. He wanted to see Cloud again, but not like this!
"Well, he's alive - if barely..." Rick sighed out. "Oh God... we have to move now, if Cloud's to make it out of here alive. He doesn't have much longer if we don't get him to a hospital. Fuck the asylum for now, he needs medical assistance!"
"Rick… the asylum I am sending them too has a hospital. We can't risk sending them anywhere else. Hojo will catch on." Gast Jr. said.
"But then I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Cloud! I've been worrying about him for almost a year now!" Rick said.
"Then I'll make it so you can be with him. I understand he's your previous patient. I shouldn't allow this... But let me call my associate that works at the Midgar Asylum for the Insane, and tell her that you're the only one, besides me, to care for Zack, Cloud and Sephiroth. Also, for your information, I'm working there too. These three already have their own private room in Wing W – the criminally insane for their own safety – until I can work on a step two."
Zack looked at Gast Jr. in disbelief. 'Criminally insane?' Zack thought to himself. 'Are we going to become criminally insane?'
Just then, Sephiroth woke completely, and even though his vision was still slightly blurry and his head felt like someone beat it constantly with a brick, he recognized the outline of Gast Jr. and went to stand up. Anger in his voice, he threatened Gast Jr.
"Sephiroth, calm down. I am the reason why you, Zack and Cloud are leaving this Hell. Rick, care to look over Sephiroth while I go upstairs and make sure the ambulance is still here, and make my call to my associate?"
Sephiroth sat back down as soon as Gast Jr. mentioned Rick.
"Rick… y-you took care of Cloud last year? Am I right?" Sephiroth asked.
"I did, yes. Now, I'm in charge of all three of you. Are you capable of moving? I need someone to help Zack find clothes for all of you. You can't leave here naked. It's too damn cold outside."
"I am capable, yes. I want the status of Zack and Cloud. Now." Sephiroth stood back up.
"Zack is fine, if not angry. As for Cloud… he's not doing so well. If we don't leave tonight, Cloud may not make it to the end of the week. We need to get you three to Midgar, and now." Rick said, looking at Sephiroth.
"No. We go elsewhere. I refuse to go back to Midgar!" Sephiroth replied.
"It's a part of our escape plan, Sephiroth! If you three don't go to Midgar's Asylum for the Insane, all of you will possibly die tonight!"
"Asylum? What! No! We're not going to an asylum!"
"Sephiroth, shut up!" Zack yelled. "Rick didn't want to send us there, but Gast Jr. said it's the only way we're guaranteed to survive! Gast Jr. said that he wrote a report saying that Cloud and us tried to attack, and that we're going to the asylum to get "cured" since we show potential to be the new "super soldier" that Hojo wants! So shut up, and deal with it! If I have to, and Cloud unwillingly has to, then God damn it so are you!" Zack screamed again, just an angry scream. He screamed so loud, that Sephiroth, Gast Jr. and Rick had to cover their ears. After he was done screaming, he fell to the floor, and just sat there.
Rick finally let go of his ears, and sat down next to Zack. "Zack – please help Sephiroth find something for you guys to wear out of here. It's cold outside, it's 2AM, and I want to get you guys out of here as soon as possible. Don't bother finding anything for Cloud though - just give me your and Sephiroth's blankets after your dressed, and I'll wrap Cloud up tight. You can even carry Cloud out, if you wish, since he's your best friend. Hurry – Gast Jr. explained to me that Hojo will be back at 5AM… and I want to make sure you're on your way to Midgar by then. I know this isn't the best plan of action, but it's all we got for now. Please understand…"
"I understand… I'm just angry on Cloud's behalf, since he can't be angry for himself. It's hard to be angry when you died many times in the past, and was forcibly resuscitated."
"Will his pain ever end?" Rick asked, looking back at Cloud, who still had his right arm hanging off the table, sphygmomanometer still attached. Cloud's head was turned towards them, but his eyes closed. Rick turned away, sighing once again.
"I hope it does… he's done nothing to deserve this…" Zack sighed, and stood up. Rick stood up, as well. Nodding at Gast Jr., Zack walked over to Sephiroth and tapped his shoulder.
"Let's go, Sephiroth. We got a mission to find ourselves clothes, and make sure Cloud leaves here, unnoticed." Sephiroth nodded his acknowledgment, and they left the lab. There, Gast Jr. said that he was going outside to check to see if their ambulance was still here, and to call his associate at the asylum to inform her of the change of plans. When they left, Rick walked back over to Cloud, and placed his arm back on the table. He then removed the sphygmomanometer from Cloud's arm, and noticed that some of the cuts Cloud had were no longer there.
"What in the Hell did Hojo do to you, Cloud?" Rick asked, knowing he wouldn't get a reply. He took the blanket that was around Cloud's waist, and wrapped it tightly around his waist again. Rick then removed his sweater that he wore over his green scrubs (he did come to Nibelhamn right after work, after all, thanks to Tseng!) and placed it over Cloud's chest. He then moved Cloud's head to face upwards and adjusted the pillow under his head, to support his neck better. But, it seemed Cloud kept insisting on rolling his head to the right, where Rick was standing, so Rick let it be.
"Come on, guys, I want to leave this place – it's creeping me out…" Rick said to the empty room.
Outside of the mansion, Gast Jr. was on his phone, talking to his associate, Dr. S. She was not pleased.
"Gast, you know the budget doesn't allow us to hire on another nurse! As it is, I'm taking a HUGE risk even allowing this escape to occur!" Dr. S hissed into the phone.
"I know this, but Rick worked with Cloud before, and insists he wants to continue this. He doesn't want to let Cloud out of his sight again." Gast Jr. replied.
"God damn it, fine. Rick will have to work under the books so I can allow this. He had better be as good as you claim. My ass is on the line, and if I go down… all five of you are going down with me. As soon as all five of you arrive, you better call me."
Dr. S hung up and Gast Jr. sighed. Putting away his PHS, he walked over to the ambulance, and pulled out the stretcher for Cloud to be immediately placed on, and moved out of here. They were going by ambulance to Cosmo Canyon, then by helicopter driven by Tseng of the Turks to transport them to Midgar Asylum for the Insane, then from there Rick and Cloud were going to the hospital section to get Cloud stabilized then moved to join Sephiroth and Zack in room W123.
"Always a complicated situation… I want a damn vacation…" Gast Jr. said, waiting for his charges to come out. Looking around the ashes that were once Nibelhamn, Gast Jr. shivered. "Hurry it the Hell up – I want to get out of here!"
Zack and Sephiroth returned down to the labs, fully dressed and armed with their weapons. When they got to Rick, they handed Rick their blankets, and assisted Rick in holding up Cloud so Rick could cover Cloud's chest and head with the two blankets handed to him. After Rick was satisfied that Cloud would be warm, yet easily accessed to should he go into cardiac arrest on their way to Cosmo Canyon, Rick picked up Cloud and walked out of the labs – Sephiroth and Zack behind him. Sephiroth was hesitant to show affection to Cloud – they were boyfriends, after all – but seeing Cloud comatose was tearing Sephiroth apart inside! Sephiroth held the stethoscope and sphygmomanometer that Rick discarded, and Zack fell in place behind Sephiroth, Buster Sword in his hands, ready to fight. Nobody was happy. Sephiroth soon quickened his pace so that he was walking besides Rick, and saw that Cloud's left hand was hanging out from the blanket. Sephiroth looked at Rick, and Rick gave a sad smile.
"Sephiroth, I know about you and Cloud – you don't have to be ashamed. I may be a nurse, but I'm not a close-minded individual. I know you're tearing yourself apart inside, I can see you want to cry but can't. If you were to cry in the ambulance, I wouldn't hold it against you."
"Cloud is not the only reason why I currently hate myself. As Zack and I were looking for our uniforms, Zack told me what Gast Jr. had said – Cloud lost his mother because I went insane and burned down the damn town! Try living with that on your mind, and knowing that your boyfriend could possibly hate your damn guts because his mother and his friend's father died because of you. That his friend will have a permanent scar across their chest and stomach because of you! I saw the anger in Cloud's eyes! You see the scar on Cloud's chest, near the right shoulder? I did that because I thought some alien being was my damn mother. I called Cloud a traitor; he's not going to love me anymore!" Sephiroth replied, in anger at himself.
"You don't know that. You have to give Cloud time to heal if he wakes from this. When he's more alert, accepting, more himself… explain to him what happened… I'm sure Zack and I would be willing to be there to help you out with this. Cloud doesn't strike me as one to hate someone after the story has been explained. But I'm not going to promise that the relationship is going to pick up where it left off… you're going to have to earn his trust again." Rick said.
Sephiroth sighed, and knew Rick was right. Sephiroth fell back; to the point he was now walking behind Zack, his head hung low.
"Sephiroth, don't beat yourself up over this. This is all Hojo's fault. Sure, Cloud's gonna be pissed, but he'll learn that it's not your fault." Zack said.
"I wish I could believe you…" Sephiroth started, but then Rick hit the wall and started yelling.
"Hey! I need someone's help to subdue Cloud! He's starting to have a seizure!" Rick yelled, placing Cloud on the ground, away from the wall so he would not injure himself.
Sephiroth and Zack ran over to where Rick was, and Sephiroth moved to Cloud's shoulders, and held down his shoulders. Rick moved out of the way, and Zack moved in to hold down Cloud's legs. But both Sephiroth and Zack were not holding Cloud down hard, they both knew if they prevented Cloud from moving, he can injure himself and others. Which is why his arms were free, and when Cloud was kicking, Zack moved with him, not against him. Rick ran back to the labs, since they weren't far from the lab at all, and found some anti-seizure medication to administer through a needle, to calm Cloud down. As Rick was doing this, Sephiroth was talking to Cloud.
"Hey, hey, Cloud! Calm down!" Sephiroth panicked out. "It's me and Zack, we got you! Rick's gonna give you some medication, please stop."
"Ngh… n-n-no, s-s-stop… p-p-pain…" Cloud muttered out, as he was thrashing about. The blankets that were keeping him warm came off of him. "H-H-Hojo… p-p-pain…" Cloud opened his eyes briefly, and then collapsed as Rick got there. Cloud stopped thrashing about, but Rick administered the medication anyways.
"Is he okay?" Rick asked.
"He was talking, pleading to Hojo to stop the pain, then he briefly opened his eyes, then shut them again and stopped thrashing about." Zack replied, and let go of Cloud's legs. "Damn, the blankets are loose…"
"That's okay, gotta make sure he didn't hurt himself. Sephiroth, do you still have the stethoscope and sphygmomanometer? Got to check his vitals…"
"Y-yeah…" Sephiroth muttered out, pulling them out of his jacket's pocket. He handed them to Rick, who sat over Cloud and pulled out a little flashlight from his scrub pockets. Rick turned on the flashlight, and lifted up Cloud's eyelids, right then left eyelid , shining the light from the flashlight into each eye and was satisfied that at least Cloud's eyes were dilating like they should when light was flashed into them. Rick then took Cloud's blood pressure, which was still the same – 90/60. Rick then checked for Cloud's heartbeat and was satisfied that it was a little stronger than it was in the lab. Even Cloud's pulse was stronger! Rick put the flashlight back into his pocket after turning it off, and handed the stethoscope and sphygmomanometer back to Sephiroth. Wrapping Cloud back into the blankets, Rick picked Cloud back up and looked at Sephiroth and Zack, who wore frightened looks on their faces.
"His pulse and heartbeat is stronger. That's a positive." Rick said which, in return, caused Sephiroth and Zack to release the breath they didn't think they were holding go. "We really should be going. And for the question you're afraid to ask, I administered a medication that will prevent Cloud from having another seizure. It's called Kepra – thankfully Hojo had some. Did the sick bastard ever use it?"
"I doubt it. Many of his 'experiments' died in seizure." Zack said.
"Wait, what? Hojo uses people in his experiments, and then fails to revive them? What kind of doctor is this jerk?" Rick asked, in disbelief.
"Obviously not a good doctor." Sephiroth deadpanned. "Let's go. I want to get out of here."
"Right. Yes. Of course. Let's go."
The rest of the trip out of the mansion was without incident. When they got above ground, and out of the mansion, Rick ran Cloud to the waiting stretcher, and strapped Cloud down. Gast Jr. and Rick then pushed the stretcher into the ambulance, and locked it down so it wouldn't get loose during travelling. Rick then got in, and sat closest to Cloud, since Tseng, who already knew of the plot, ordered no paramedics in the ambulance. Just a driver, his name was Sharpshot – Tseng's second cousin. Since Rick was the only one in the group besides Gast Jr. who had any real medical training, it made sense that Rick got in first, sitting on the right side of the ambulance reserved for paramedics.(3) Sephiroth got in next, on the left side of the ambulance, followed by Zack. Gast Jr. got in the front of the ambulance after locking the rear doors, and they were off to Cosmo Canyon, where Tseng was waiting for them, patiently.
Inside of the ambulance, Rick uncovered Cloud's face, arms and chest from the blankets, and started an IV in Cloud's right arm, to hydrate him. No doubt, Cloud was probably dehydrated, if the stories Gast Jr., Zack and Sephiroth had anything to say about the type of doctor Hojo was. Then, Rick hooked Cloud to a heart-monitoring machine that allows him to keep track of Cloud's vitals, without pestering him every half hour. It was going to be a long trip from Nibelhamn to Cosmo Canyon, after all! Zack and Sephiroth watched Rick move… and were frowning, also trying not to cry… it was rather painful for both of them to see Cloud in this state, after all. Rick also placed an LCD device on Cloud's right pointer finger, to monitor Cloud's blood pressure and pulse. Then Rick sat back, what else could he do? This was the same ambulance that transferred Rick from Cosmo Canyon to Nibelhamn… Tseng said it would be too risky to travel all the way to Nibelhamn by helicopter, especially if Hojo was still around. This is why Cosmo Canyon was the rendezvous spot. Not only that though – there were more open land for the helicopter to land safely than there were in Nibelhamn.
"Rick… I know I'm asking an impossible question, but, will Cloud make it?" Zack asked, breaking the haunting silence that was only interrupted with the beeping of Cloud's heart monitoring machine.
"I really don't know, Zack. I can't even guarantee that Cloud is going to wake up as himself. What is Mako, anyways, and why is Hojo so insistent on injecting this "Mako" into his experiments? I need to know what kind of drug I'm working with, to prevent bad side effects or reactions." Rick asked back.
"Mako is a product of the Planet used in SOLDIERS such as Zack and myself to make us stronger out on the battlefield, to heal our wounds faster. This way, with the Mako in us, we can spend less time at a medical camp on base, and be out on the battlefield." Sephiroth said. "It's not a drug, I can assure you that. There's nothing out there that can react violently to Mako, except for the human body. If you can't handle it, you're kicked out of SOLDIER to go elsewhere in Shin-Ra or home. The choice was yours to make, and you were not injected with Mako anymore. Or, if you happen to have that sadistic asshole Hojo assigned to you, you end up as Cloud there, and comatose until death."
"Why did Hojo pick on Cloud?"
"Because Cloud's from Nibelhamn, and the Mako Reactor in Nibelhamn had a leak in it. The leaking reactor sent the Mako into the drinking water. Since Cloud and his mother drank, bathed and cooked with that Mako-enhanced water, Hojo wanted to see how high Cloud's tolerance was. Apparently, Cloud can handle the amount of Mako that is in me… but as to why he's in his comatose state… it eludes me." Zack said.
"It's the Jenova in Cloud. Hojo planted some of that alien bitch into Cloud, which is why he's comatose. Jenova, apparently, likes to keep Cloud to herself." Sephiroth added.
"Jenova? Alien bitch? What do you mean? I'm sorry for the questions, but I never heard of this. Remember, I'm just a nurse from a hospital. All I know is healing materias, and medicine." Rick said.
"Jenova is a creature that was found in space. Hojo believes this "Jenova" thing to be a Cetra – who were people who are in tune with the Planet and can communicate with the Planet – and Hojo wanted to utilize this Cetra power to have SOLDIERS locate their enemies through talking to the Planet." Sephiroth said.
"Sounds like a goddamn fairy tale, if you ask me." Rick said, shaking his head.
"No kidding." Zack said, and went to go laugh. But he stopped himself the moment he saw that Cloud's right hand was starting to twitch violently. It was the only part of Cloud that was twitching. "Rick? Why is Cloud's had twitching?" Zack asked.
"Maybe he's becoming aware that we're here, and he's moving?" Rick guessed.
"No. Jenova is talking to him, because she's trying to talk to me, and the bitch is giving me a headache." Sephiroth said, and then held his head after lowering it. "Ugh…"
"Hey man, don't go passing out on me…" Zack said to Sephiroth, but it was too late. Sephiroth fell forward, slamming the front of his face into Cloud's left arm.
When Sephiroth's face hit Cloud's left arm, Cloud starting moving his head to the left, then the right, and continued the left-to-right motion. Rick went to go stop the motion, but then Cloud started to mumble.
"N-n-no! D-d-don't hurt me! STOP!" Cloud yelled, eyes squeezed closed, and panicking. With the current motions Cloud was going through, it caused his blood pressure, heart rate and pulse to elevate quickly, and dangerously. It caused the machine hooked up to Cloud to beep quickly, loudly, and Rick told Zack to pull Sephiroth off of Cloud before Sephiroth got hurt.
"Move him, now! Cloud's about to go into arrest, and I can't have Sephiroth there!" Rick said, standing up, looking for a defibrillator. It would happen any minute! Rick knew it and he was scared! Zack pulled Sephiroth away, and after he pulled Sephiroth off, he stood up and removed the straps holding Cloud down on Rick's command.
"Remove them, Zack! Or else Cloud's gonna hurt himself!"
"Right! On it!" Zack laid Sephiroth down, and then started removing the straps from around Cloud's chest, arms and legs.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Cloud screamed at no one in particular, and started to thrash about more, which resulted in his IV being ripped out, along with the device on his right finger. "Hojo, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!"
"Cloud! It's me Zack! We're not in the labs!" Zack yelled in panic. "Listen to me! STOP or else you're gonna hurt yourself!"
"Forget it Zack, he can't hear you! Hold him down, damn it! There's a needle out loose, and I don't feel like getting stabbed with it!"
When Rick said that, Gast Jr. opened the window from the cab of the ambulance, and demanded to know what was going on. Rick explained that Cloud was about to go into cardiac arrest, but to keep moving, it would do them no good to stop. Rick been in many ambulances before, during his intern days as a paramedic, so Rick knew he could do this successfully without incident. As he said that, Cloud stilled in his motions, and the heart monitor machine made a loud, wailing noise and indicated that Cloud's heart had stopped beating.
"Zack, move!"
Zack moved out of the way, and Rick went right to work. Grabbing the pads of the defibrillator, he placed gel on them, and placed them on Cloud's chest. Then he hit a button, which sent a bolt of electricity through Cloud, to get his heart beating again. It didn't work the first time, so he had to do it again. Zack wanted to look away, so he did. He closed his eyes tight, and covered his ears; he didn't want to hear the noise! Not too many things scared Zack – but every damn time he saw Cloud go into cardiac arrest at Hojo's lab, he did the same exact thing. Closed his eyes, covered his ears, and hid by curling into a ball at the bottom of his Mako tube. It hurt him to witness this. After the fifth time of Rick having to use the defibrillator, Cloud came to life… and Sephiroth woke up. Zack was already crying and chanting "Cloud don't die, please don't die" over and over, Rick tapped Zack's shoulder and said everything was okay.
Zack uncovered his ears, opened his eyes, and didn't hear the heart monitor machine screaming anymore. It was beeping normally, and Zack let go of his breathe, but didn't stop the tears.
"Wh-what happened?" Sephiroth asked, sitting up, rubbing his head.
"You passed out; Cloud had an episode, and then went into cardiac arrest." Rick responded, wiping sweat off his forehead after placing the pads of the defibrillator back on the wall of the ambulance, after cleaning them off. "It took five tries, but Cloud's back with us."
"I think it was Jenova. She is mad we're doing this. She wants Cloud, and she wants him now." Sephiroth said. "That would explain the cardiac arrest. Cloud can scream loud, especially when it's in your head… he is seriously hurting. It killed me to hear him screaming and crying inside of my head."
Rick had to pull out another IV line, and reinsert it back into a new spot in Cloud's right arm. Cloud had sweat on his forehead, so after Rick covered Cloud back up in the blankets he wiped the sweat off Cloud's forehead with a towel. He then reattached the LCD device on Cloud's finger, and sat back down and cried himself. Just crossed his arms next to Cloud, slammed his head into his crossed arms, and cried. Zack was still crying, visibly upset from the incident so Sephiroth decided the best thing to do was keep quiet. Sephiroth pulled Zack over to him, and Zack just wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's shoulders, and cried hard into Sephiroth's left shoulder.
Foot Notes:
(1)Rick, like I said, belongs to XpaperplaneX at . If you read her story, you'd get the reference. I'm not just going to give it to you. GO read her story, she's an amazing writer. Rick is my favorite non-famous OC. ;-)
(2)Sphygmomanometer: The manual device that takes your blood pressure via the nurse squeezing the ball, causing the armband to fill with air and feel like it's crushing your upper arm. I love it.
(3)Is this true? I don't exactly take the time out of my life to study an ambulance. I hate them. :
Let me explain something about Gast Jr.: I know Professor Gast never had a son, only a daughter (Aerith). In my sadistic way, I decided to create Gast Jr. as Gast's son. Aerith obviously can't be in the lab – it'd make no sense and I'd severely warp the story – as if I am not already ;) Gast needed a son. :)