Summary: What if Hojo had created two more clones aside from Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj? What if they were a family of sorts with Sephiroth their guardian? Prologue takes place 15-ish years before the game.
Prologue: New Experiments
Shinra LabsA thin needle was pushed through pale skin. The young boy grimaced as he felt the prick of the needle as it submerged and took blood from his vein. Yazoo turned his green, cat-like eyes away from the syringe. While looking away from the object invading his arm his eyes looked over the unbearably white, clean room. A small portion of his silver hair, which fell just past his shoulders, moved in front of his eyes when he felt the needle withdraw from his skin. Yazoo looked back to where the needle had just been taken some of the life giving fluid in his body. Yazoo detested needles for they left him feeling sore and with a bruise. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes begin to form.
Hojo, head of Shinra's science department, walked away from the smaller figure to one of the many computers. Hojo never was a well-liked man and his brown eyes were as cold as ice. His jet-black hair was loosely tied in a ponytail which fell about four inches past his shoulders.
He inserted the small container of Yazoo's blood into a slot on the computer and began a series of tests on the blood. He sighed for he knew that the test results would take over an hour to produce. Hojo turned around, raising an eyebrow when he saw that Yazoo was still sitting where he had left him.
"What are you still doing here?" his voice never leaving its frosty edge.
Taking that as his dismissal, Yazoo hopped off the table landing on the floor without a sound. Quickly, he closed the distance between himself and the door. Yazoo looked over his shoulder at the scientist, sending a glare. Hojo didn't take notice of the glare as he was busy looking over the data of other experiments.
As the scientist kept himself occupied the passing of time went unnoticed. The hour he had been waiting for had come and gone. The computer that had been used to run the analysis had a message flashing on its screen. Only after the message had been flashing for three hours or so did the professor take notice.
He clicked open the file and his eyes speedily read the information that appeared. He nodded to himself, liking the results.
"Yes," he told himself. "I'll use this," he clutched a second vial of the youth's blood in his pocket, "for the next one… However, I will need another to compare it with." He grinned darkly with the thoughts of another set of experiments flowing through his mind. He then walked over to a small refrigerator, placing the blood sample in it.
Hojo was known in Sephiroth for his experiments though few knew of his relation to Spirit, Shinra's newest swordsman who was quickly rising through the SOLDIER ranks. Yes, very few would know that Hojo was his biological father. Though the reason people would never even consider that as a possibility was because the man had never shown the slightest affection when Sephiroth was a boy. In fact, Hojo was the cruelest to him.
With his thoughts now on Sephiroth, he began to formulate a plan on how to get his son to come in and 'donate' blood for the other experiment. He shook his head at how easy it would be to have Sephiroth come in for a 'check up'.
Hojo accessed an e-mail account of his. With practiced skill he typed up a quick letter informing his son and Tseng, the current head of the Turks of an appointment made for the following day. Now, all he had to do was wait. He glanced down at his watch. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that it read 1:30 am. He merely shrugged. There were times when he wouldn't sleep until the following morning.
He stifled a yawn. 'Guess there is nothing more to do tonight but wait…' he thought as another yawn threatened to come from his mouth. When the third yawn came he was no longer able to hold it back. Finally giving into the desire of his body to rest, he walked towards the door. He turned out the lights and locked the door.
In the long corridor the lights were dim. There was no one walking, not even the graveyard shift security. Usually Hojo's steps were unheard, but in the middle of the night they sounded as if he were stomping. After making a few turns he reached the elevator, pulled out his card key, swiping it on the scanner. A few minutes later the elevator bell chimed and the doors opened for the professor.
When the doors opened he was surprised to see Tseng, head of the presidents bodyguards and assassins when necessary. Tseng's well-kept navy blue suit was marked him as the well-known and feared Turks. His black hair may have been shoulder length if not tied in a high ponytail. His semi-tanned skin was a contrast to Hojo's pale white. His dark brown eyes regarded Hojo with a hateful glare. He was one of the few that knew of his relation to Sephiroth and all Hojo had done to him.
"Hojo," was the quick acknowledgement of the heartless scientist.
Hojo responded with a curt nod and, "Turk." Obviously he didn't care about the other's name, even after seeing Tseng for the past year on a tri-weekly basis. "Thirty-four," he said, indicated which floor of the seventy-story Shinra building he wanted to go to.
Tseng reached over to the panel with the buttons to all but the top floor, pressing the number marked '34'. As the elevator began its decent the two men stood in an awkward yet comforting silence. For the most part Tseng didn't enjoy silence, but when it came to Hojo, it was all he could wish for.
After reading over all the files on Sephiroth and how his 'father' abused him Tseng had always feared that he would explode on the professor. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips; his way of trying to fend off his anger from the man he despised so. To keep his mind off his current position he watched the screen above the elevator door where the number of the current floor He would have groaned aloud had he been alone.
'Ugh… Damn slow elevators. Still another,' he paused his thoughts to wait for the floor indicator to change, 'thirty floors to go…'
Hojo smirked at the obvious loathing the other held towards him. Hojo knew that since Tseng was still getting used to his position and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it. The last person to cross the scientist had been used for experimentation and later 'disposed' of. A fact Hojo was sure Tseng knew.
As slowly as the elevator descended for Tseng it fell rapidly for Hojo. The numbers on the panel seemed to flash, or maybe it was the lack of sleep finally starting to catch up with him. As the numbers zoomed his head bobbed slightly and before he noticed, he was in the middle of a long, loud yawn. Tseng raised a curious eyebrow while Hojo scowled.
The two men continued to look at each other when the elevator began to slow and ultimately stop. The door slid open, Hojo walking through with an unusually fast pace. He blinked a few times trying to remember where his 'home' was on the floor. Walking to his left, Hojo passed a few sleeping security personnel.
Once at his door he fumbled his hand in the pocket, looking for the right set of keys. With the right key ring in hand he tried to remember which key to use. Pondering for a few seconds, he recalled which key was proper for the lock and opened the door, entering the room.
He flicked on the light switch to the 'on' position. The plain white walls reflected the light but only just. The dull gray carpet seemed to have been rarely used. The equally gray furniture received less use than a pair of sandals on the frozen Gaea cliffs. The same could be said for the television, refrigerator and stove.
On the left side of the room was a door that led to a bathroom. Opposite of it was a door leading to the bedroom, which is where the scientist was headed.
The professor flopped down on his bed, not bothering to remove his coat or his shoes. One object his did remove was his glasses.
Not ten seconds passed from the point where his head touched the pillow to where he snored for the first time that night.
When he awoke the next morning, Hojo felt as if he had just fallen asleep. He groaned, thinking that he slept no more than five minutes as he rolled on to his back. He reached over to the nightstand on his right, looking for his glasses. When they were found he placed them on his nose, their proper place, and looked straight ahead, to the foot of his bed to check the time.
Before Hojo knew the time his eyes were just open, the extent of his weariness obvious. But when his eyes fell on the digital numbers they shot open. Automatically, he shot up into a seated position. He had a group of new recruits that needed their Mako treatment set to visit in less than ten minutes. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to stay awake days at a time after all.
Without the time the man needed to change he rushed out of the room and dorm like housing. In the hallway he pushed anyone to get in his way offering no apology as always. His slid his key card over the elevator lock. Fortunately for the scientist, he did not have to wait long since the door opened a minute later. Even more fortunate for him, the elevator was empty despite the hustle and bustle of a mid-morning Wednesday.
When he managed to get out of the lift and to his lab, Hojo found that the recruits waiting for him accompanied by none other than Sephiroth. One less problem he had to worry about. The two exchanged a quick glance, Sephiroth's loathing for the man obvious only to a trained eye. Again, Hojo inwardly grinned.
Though only about 15, Sephiroth looked at least twenty. He was already as tall as the new recruits who were already eighteen to their early twenties. With the experiments that were preformed on him, Sephiroth's hair had started to turn silvery white at a young age. His eyes were the same color as the Mako he received and because of the Jenova cells his eyes were not pupils but slits, like a cat. Also, with the excessive Mako and Jenova cells Hojo had been injecting him with since birth, Sephiroth had abnormal strength, speed and control of his material. Even his simple spells could inflict the same, if not more, damage than a normal person's strongest spells.
"You're late professor," came the cold, stoic voice of the silver haired man. He watched boredly as the professor gathered the necessary materials for the soon to be SOLDIERs.
Hojo scowled at the other's words, "And it's time for your monthly."
The recruits stood there, unknowing what to do. The two related men seemed to be at each other's throats even though the exchange words were few and seemingly innocent.
After gathering the needed Mako and syringes for the recruits Mako treatment he began to take 'volunteers'. Hojo found it amusing to hear their screams of pain when the Mako was put into their bloodstream. It was the same every batch of recruits. Grown men would scream their lungs out as the felt the Mako burn them as if lava was flowing in them.
After Sephiroth had dismissed all the recruits only he and the professor remained in the lab. The silver-haired man detesting every second cursing them.
The scientist continued to busy himself by preparing the exam for the young SOLDIER. He would have to take one more blood sample than the usual for his new plans. He wondered if it was possible to do so without the SOLDIER raising suspicions. He mentally shrugged. He needed not explain himself to the younger. It was true, the man never explained his intentions to anyone, not even Shinra's president.
"Sit," Hojo commanded his son.
Sephiroth looked at a nearby chair. Instead he hopped on to the examination table in the center of the room. Giving a bored yawn, Sephiroth just waited for his 'treatment' to being.
Having gathered what he needed, the professor strode off to his son. Where he would normally inject only 50mls of Mako once to potential SOLDIERs, he would inject his son with up to four times that and once every month or so. Unfortunately for the professor this was not one of the semi-annual visits, just a monthly one.
Already knowing the routine the green-eyed man had removed his jacket and laid it by his side. He held his arm out for the cruel man, hoping this trip could be over as soon as possible. Unlike most, Sephiroth no longer gave the scientist the pleasure of hearing him complain about the pain. Yes, it still hurt him but no longer as much as when he was a child, years of injections having made him used to the pain.
After some poking and needles Hojo was finished with the silver-haired youth. There was a slight change in the glow of his eyes they were a bit brighter. His skin had a faint tint of green for he was feeling sick. Either the professor didn't notice or, more than likely didn't care for he just walked away.
Grateful that he was done for the day, the SOLDIER put his jacket back on. He wavered slightly as he stood, feeling a little dizzy. Without even bothering to spare a glance to the old man he walked out of the lab, not showing any signs of his illness.
As soon as he was out the door he leaned against the wall, panting. His head felt a little light and fuzzy. Slowly he made his way to the elevator. This was the main reason he hated to 'visit' Hojo so much. After every visit he felt weak, something he hated even more than the vile man.
As he continued to use the wall as support and making his way to the elevator he spotted Zack, a fellow SOLDIER in training a head of him.
Zack was about two years younger than him but showed much promise. Zack had unruly black hair that stuck out in odd angles all over. Some called him a 'porcupine' because those spikes were sharp at times. His eyes were purplish with a faint glow of the Mako in them. He was a few inches shorter than Sephiroth and perhaps the only one trying to befriend him.
Sephiroth tried to straighten himself up but he felt too weak to. "Zack…" he called.
Having faintly heard his name called, Zack turned to see who it was. His eyes widened shocked to see the taller teen leaning against the wall. He ran over to his friend's side.
"You okay Seph?" he asked, swinging one of his friend's arms over his shoulder.
Had Sephiroth the energy to complain about the nickname he would have. Though he chose to ignore it for the time being and responded, "Hojo."
Zack looked a little confused but then remembered a few of the details Sephiroth had given him on how he was treated. He nodded and helped Sephiroth get to the bunkers where they were housed.
Hojo looked at the vial of Sephiroth's blood. He already knew exactly what had to be done. It would take a few months for the new specimens to be completed. Making sure that none of his incompetent assistance would ruin anything would be a daily chore.
He began to make all the necessary preparations for the new clones. He went to one of his other, larger laboratories. There were several empty tanks, each able to hold at least a full grown male. For these new subjects he would only need two. He began to fill those two with Mako as well as other substances.
When he had crated the other he advanced his way to make his clones. Because of all his previous trials and errors, he found a way to crate a clone with very little DNA. That was the reason for taking the small amounts of blood from Yazoo and Sephiroth, or as Hojo referred to them number three and number one.
He sighed; it was going to a long few months.
About four months laterHojo observed from the control panel, monitoring the current health and vitals of his two new specimens. He was more than a little surprised when he discovered that instead of two males he was getting females.
It would definitely be interesting with these two. He was unsure of how he would 'raise' them but he just figured it would be the same as with the others.
Two of his assistants were taking notes beside the tanks containing the two girls. Because they were from two different people, it was natural that the look different though they were more so than expected.
One was a few inches tall than the other. This was the one that came from Sephiroth and so Hojo called her 'number five.' She had pure silver hair just like Sephiroth with her bangs in the same angles and he guessed that she would also have his eyes.
The other, the one created from Yazoo, though was strangely different. Instead of the silver hair she had black with silver bangs. None of the others ever showed any signs of black hair except for Sephiroth when he was young. Because of that difference Hojo wouldn't be able to guess how else she would be different from the others.
Since everything else seemed to be going well and it getting late, Hojo decided he was going to turn in for the night. He ordered one of his assistants to inform him if anything changed. Fearful of what Hojo would do to him if he didn't the assistant nodded.
Just as the professor was about to open the door the assistant called him back.
"Professor! Number four is starting to wake up!" He looked over at his superior for orders.
He went back to the panel quickly, looking over the incoming data. Indeed, Samuel, the assistant was right. Number four was waking up ahead of schedule by at least a month.
"Damn," Hojo muttered. "Is there anyway to keep her sedated?"
"We can't," Samuel responded, "if we try that she could die."
"Very well, wake them both."
"Both! But sir, the other can still be contained until she is ready!"
Hojo glared at the underling, "Are you questioning my orders?"
Not wanting to anger the older man any further, Samuel shook his head, "No sir."
"Good."
"Kat, Mike we're going to wake them up now," he called over to his colleagues.
They looked back at him as if he were insane but knew from the look on his face that he was not deceiving them. They placed their notes on a nearby table to get some towels. The girls would need to be dried after being taken from the Mako tanks.
"Damages?" Hojo asked Sam.
"Their immune systems will be weak for a while but nothing else, sir."
"Very well. Keep them in clean rooms until their immune system is normal."
Again, Sam nodded.
Kat had gone to address number five, the Yazoo clone, while Mike had gone to the other.
Kat was lucky because she didn't have to struggle with her 'patient'. Mike, however, was having a difficult time trying to control number five. Sam had even rushed over to help control the girl but their combined efforts were not enough. Hojo even went over to the two to help them restrain the girl.
Number five saw an exposed limb and with her sharp teeth she bit down, hard. Hojo's face contorted in pain, trying to hold back his yell.
"Knock her out!" he yelled at the two.
Sam, using a free hand, grabbed a nearby book, slamming its hard surface on the girl's head. She fell limp in her captor's arms, once more asleep.
Hojo growled as he examined his arm. Number four's teeth had gone in deeper than he expected, drawing some blood. If she had bitten down any harder she could have taken a chunk out of his arm.
"Get them into the clean rooms! Separate them!" He ordered.
These two were definitely going to be different from the others.
A/N: Okay, that's all for now. Review if you want to know what happens to these two girls!