Asunder
Rating: This piece of Fanfiction is intended for Mature readers over the age of eighteen due to it's content. I make no profit nor claim to own any characters/rights to Final Fantasy VII.
Pairing(s): Angeal x Sephiroth x Genesis x Zack x Cloud
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Warnings: Yaoi (Boy's Love); Language/Swearing; Violence; Sexual Content; Dark themes; Human Experimentation; Male Pregnancy (MPREG); Alternate Universe (Canon Divergence); Character Death; Poly-OT5 pairing; and possibly others.
Summary: A story of what-if scenarios. What if Sephiroth had something more important than searching for his origin; namely a loving relationship with his two best friends and an over-eager Puppy? What if Hojo's demise came much earlier and Cloud Strife had always been in Mako Reactor 0, his faint calls to others similar only heard now that both SOLDIER and Turk had clearance? OT5/MPREG/Canon-Divergence
Authors Note: Though there are many warnings listed; I wanted to point out and clarify that this is not necessarily a gender-bender work. Cloud is considered Intersex in this fanfic and I am changing his gender as an important plot device,. His visible genitalia is completely male; but he has a fully functional uterus and androgynous features.
This is meant to be a journey; to make creating a biological family with Sephiroth and CO more believable and authentic. If this disturbs or you do not want to venture into such a story; please click the back button. I am not forcing you to consume this topic; if you don't like it; do not subject yourself to it.
If this is something you are interested in; please continue and enjoy. Feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome.
Chapter One
It was like an invisible weight had been lifted; both relief and an odd sense of feeling lost at the same time. If your life had been directed by a single man, the removal of said man would indeed be an monumental thing. Glowing mako eyes tore away from the corpse of the crumpled man to regard his bloodstained weapon. Masumune usually came away clean from every wound; but for some reason; Hojo's blood had lingered. It had gone extremely quiet; similar to the aftermath of an explosion when you had been too close; becoming briefly deaf. He couldn't hear Zack screaming, Genesis yelling spells at conveniently 'escaped' experiments, or Angeal's loud footsteps as they went to aid their captured, young lover.
This had been a rescue attempt initially. The General never thought Hojo would have the gall to interfere directly in his growing relationship; though he had been vocal every step of the way about it. When Angeal and Genesis had befriended him; there had been a period of nearly a year that the Head of Science lectured him about 'being superior' to them and 'being more special'. Perhaps it was that he was lonely or maybe he had rebelled because having friends was something he didn't understand and wanted to experience. But it persisted throughout his teenaged years, blossomed into sexual exploration between them and then a solid relationship between himself, Angeal and Genesis.
It hadn't come easy, a relationship with anyone had confused him but with their patience and determination; finding his 'mother' had become a second thought. It no longer consumed Sephiroth to know of where he came from or what made him 'special'. Angeal and Genesis were special as well and they stayed with him; teaching him and he found somewhere he belonged.
Zack Fair had been an unforeseen addition; but the General never regretted assuring Angeal alongside Genesis that they would be willing to try. The hyperactive SOLDIER had been endearing and affectionate; and his presence lit up the room. Zack was a wonderful youth that Sephiroth had taken surprisingly well to; even when the bright eyed 'puppy' was testing his patience.
Which was why it had caused him to snap perhaps... Sephiroth frowned at the blood dripping off his long katana, Hojo's death rattle quieting finally; sound returning to his world. He turned gracefully on his heel and sheathed his beloved weapon without cleaning it to approach a wide-eyed Angeal and their youngest lover; who was sobbing hysterically; blind to the world due to pain as Tseng methodically and stone-faced tried to place mutilated organs back to where they belonged in his body so that Materia could be used. Hojo had restrained the normally bright and cheerful young man; cutting him from neck to navel.
Zack was beyond them at the moment, whimpering and shuddering. Normally jungle tanned skin was shock white and there was an alarming amount of blood pooling around the medical table. Uncontrolled spasms jerked against the restraints before the 2nd Class lay nearly lifeless.
It had been unacceptable; Sephiroth mused; feeling the strain in his cat-like eyes that signaled he wanted to weep but he refused to. Someone so vibrant and full of kindness should never be subject to what Hojo considered 'tests' and 'experiments'. This hadn't even been that. This was nothing but mutilation with no end goal.
When they had fought in the VR room; Genesis had a wound that refused to heal. Naturally the foursome had checked in with both Hollander and finally Hojo for a cure. Hojo had hinted he knew something and when pressed; flat-out refused to give the information that would aid the auburn haired Commander.
Sephiroth had threatened and then went public about possibly resigning as General.
And this was Hojo's way of striking back...
The whole wing shuddered as Genesis continued taking on the monstrosities; muffled yelling and explosions of magic reaching his enhanced hearing. Angeal winced and gently made petting strokes through Zack's blood soaked spikes as the younger SOLIDER cried; staring unresponsively at the ceiling.
"Did Hojo do anything to him?" Sephiroth asked; as if he hadn't run a department head through with his sword. Tseng nodded wordlessly, dedicating his full attention back to the placement of the failing organs. They were already trying to repair themselves to an extent; but if they weren't in the correct place...
"As soon as Fair is stable; I will issue an order for everyone available in the Turks to search every one of Hojo's labs." The Turk double checked his work before nodding to Angeal; the light off of the mastered Cure Materia nearly blinding him as Zack was hit repeatedly.
They felt rather than heard Genesis return; but his presence was thunderous.
"What did he do to our puppy!?" Genesis seethed and he reeled one leather clad leg back to kick the body of Hojo into the adjacent wall. While the fiery commander usually brought Sephiroth into his rants; there was a surprising lack of declaring Sephiroth had taken his kill. In fact, both he and Angeal were sending Sephiroth concerned glimpses. All that was holding their concentration together was that faint but increasingly steady 'thud' of Zack Fair's heart.
Tseng discreetly stepped away as the young 2nd Class's wounds disappeared to call for medics. Zack would need a few blood transfusions and Aerith would never forgive him if he allowed the boy to die. The Turk wasn't immune to Fair's charms himself, he would almost say they were friends.
Angeal moved over to allow Genesis the room to hold Zack's free hand and Sephiroth gingerly placed his gloved hand over the weak beating of Zackary's heart. The half opened eyes of the SOLDIER were beginning to have some clarity in them and the pained whining had quieted.
"Can you hear us, Pup? We are right here beside you." Angeal murmured soothingly in his baritone voice. Glowing blue eyes blinked slowly and moved towards the larger SOLDER commander.
"Ze..ro..." Zack's voice was cracked and hoarse. He swallowed and winced.
"Hush, precious; you are still in hot water...the medics ar-"
"Ge-n, no!" Zack's hand gripped Genesis' red coat and tugged, "Ho..jo... He said-" Zack began coughing roughly and Sephiroth fished an Elixir from his coat to hand to Angeal. Genesis frowned in concern, glowing grey eyes lifting to his lovers' faces.
"What did Hojo say, love?" Genesis asked softly after Zack had finished the Elixer with his former mentor's aid. Angeal's large hand cradled and supported his head as the SOLIDER opened his glowing blue eyes more fully.
"You need to hurry... Hojo was ranting but-" Zack gasped in a breath, "he said that he wanted me to know before I died" Genesis growled at this, "that both Gen and Angeal are sick and dying. And..and he had a cure."
Zack had already nearly expended all of his strength but all of them were silent, encouraging his blood flow with sure touches. Zack panted briefly and his eyes flickered over to Tseng pleadingly; whose dark eyes softened in response.
"Project C...he said, in..in Mako Reactor 0..."his consciousness was fading, "hurry... He said that C was being terminated..." The azure glow of the SOLDIER's eyes was cut off as Zack lost consciousness.
"Reactor 0?" Sephiroth asked the Turk by his side quietly and Tseng frowned, his voice lowering to a point where only the enhanced could hear as both the medics and Cissnei arrived.
"Genesis, if you could stay with Zack; I will need both Sephiroth and Angeal for this." After a nod from the auburn haired commander, the Wutian Turk began walking briskly, "follow me." Cissnei nodded to Tseng as they passed and she remained with both Genesis and Zack as they prepped him for transport.
They took the employee elevator and Tseng pressed the button for the basement level; which was reserved for maintenance workers.
"Apologies, Reactor 0 is confidential. The official story is that this reactor was abandoned halfway through completion and the location never divulged." Tseng said in a neutral tone. Sephiroth frowned.
"Where is it? And do you know anything about the Project Zack mentioned?" The General questioned. He discreetly took Angeal's hand and squeezed it as his older lover looked troubled being reminded they were away from their puppy when he was still in danger and possibly traumatized by what Hojo had done to him. Glowing light blue eyes met his and the barest of smiles tugged at the broad shouldered 1st Class' lips. Sephiroth was usually against affection in public and he appreciated the gesture.
"It is below the Shinra building, only accessible from the basement but impossible to access if you don't know exactly where to look. And...I am afraid I know nothing of Project C. Hojo had hundreds of active experiments going in different locations all over the planet. As Turks, we try to keep tabs on everything, but the Professor was especially good at ruining our attempts at digging into his affairs." The Director of the Turks looked slightly annoyed at this fact, frowning.
"So, we don't know where or even what we are looking for?" Angeal asked, brow furrowing in irritation.
"Not necessarily. While Professor Hojo kept most of his experiments secret, his methods for storing them, sorting them and his encoding for his notes were meticulously filed away. So if he is 'terminating' a project, they are always put in a certain place and any notes on file concerning the project can be decoded by any Turk." Tseng said softly, watching the numbers displayed on the digital panel falling into the single digits. Angeal relaxed slightly.
"So you know where to look?" He asked in a concerned tone, just to be sure. Zack had said not only Gen, but himself were not only sick; but dying. Tseng's eyes met his and then Sephiroth's.
"Yes; his method of disposal is quite violent. Whenever a project has failed; Hojo throws the experiment into a mako tank and he introduces fluoroantimonic acid into the mako. As you know and have seen recently; the late Professor is one for torture and drawing it out to his desire." Both men became silent as the elevator came to a stop. Tseng stepped out into the hallway, a low hum resounding throughout the long maintenance tunnel.
"I apologize for making two of you leave Fair unattended, but I needed two SOLIDER for this. We have sent a few Turks down here and Rude was the only one to make it back in one piece." The Turk Director's voice was pitched low again. Both 1st Classes tensed as the stony faced Wutain man continued, "he wasn't able to tell me much; but this site was precious to Hojo. All of his most important work was placed here; close, for safekeeping."
"Super SOLIDER?" Sephiroth wondered out loud, glowing jade eyes glancing to the side to meet with Angeal's. Hojo had always said he wanted to further the current development of SOLIDER, that he could improve and create something stronger.
"Yes; Phase 2 of the SOLIDER program. I don't know if he has made any progress or what is down there, but multiple life signs have been detected. Both monsters and...humanoid life signals."
"There are humans down here!?" Angeal choked out. Of course it was all but confirmed that Sephiroth, himself, Genesis and pretty much any SOLIDER were considered 'human experiments'; but they had yet to see it firsthand. Unless you counted the General, whose entire life was controlled; they had yet to see a human being in active captivity. Zack was a fresh example of Hojo's 'care' and Angeal felt a sinking feeling.
"Here," Tseng suddenly stopped and faced...the wall. Sephiroth frowned and approached it. There was no visible panel to open it and without any warning, Tseng stuck his arm through the wall.
"A hologram?" He stepped through it and saw the beginning of a staircase. Angeal and Tseng appeared beside him, "I have never seen one so convincing."
Tseng nodded and gestured towards the stairs, "I will guide you to the section with the mako tanks and gather anything from the mainframe on Project C."
"We will cover you." Angeal returned and he unsheathed his spare broad sword; leaving the Buster on his back. Sephiroth drew his still stained blade and nodded to show he was ready. As a swordsman, he usually cleaned Masumune right after the fact. Keeping Hojo's blood on it didn't have a clear reason, perhaps he wanted the reminder to stay for a bit longer.
Zack's suffering deserved more than a quick clean.
Their descent down the countless level of stairs dragged on quite a bit longer than both Angeal or Sephiroth had anticipated. The pair had blurred down the stairs to get some ground on Tseng to take out any possible sentries but it was eerily quiet aside from the growing volume of a normal reactor. But this was a lot deeper and they slowed to a near stop to allow the Turk time to catch up.
The reactor was excessively loud to their enhanced hearing, the sheer amount of mako pulsed with each beat of their heart and some screams from unknown monsters rang out intermittently. Angeal shielded his glowing eyes as he stepped off of the staircase to peek at the brightness of mako pooling even further below.
Sephiroth and Angeal were unprepared for a call that came from within rather than something attacking. It was weak but powerful enough to steal their vision for half a second. The broad shouldered Commander stumbled back a step and jerked his startled gaze to Sephiroth.
"What is it?" Tseng's calm voice asked, out of breath above them as he took the last set of stairs.
"I am...unsure. A distress call." Sephiroth answered softly.
"I didn't hear anything." Tseng ventured with a frown and then turned his attention to Angeal, "you heard it as well?"
The 1st Class hesitated but then nodded, "yes. It wasn't really anything I heard...more like felt. Something is calling for help."
"Something only you two heard..." Tseng frowned but then shook his head, "we can't check into it for now. This way." Tseng set off at a brisk run and they flanked him. A few levels and a lot of mutated monsters later had both the General and Commander on edge; but no alarm sounded. There were no human sentries and the monsters here were venomous, high leveled abominations.
"This is it." Tseng called just ahead of them and motioned; a locked door with a keypad next to the Turk. Angeal and Sephiroth approached the door when another call rang forth; loud and...
"The distress call is coming from here." Angeal stated quietly. Sephiroth pressed a gloved hand against the wall; just barely hearing the more controlled gurgling of mako tanks within.
"Here?" Tseng asked with a slightly alarmed expression that smoothed out as he hacked into the keypad. The red light changed to green. Dark eyes lifted to regard both men.
"Be careful." Tseng warned tonelessly, "if it is only heard by SOLIDER, it may be dangerous." The Turk reloaded his gun and shoved the door open before the access timed out. Sephiroth took point and edged into the room, followed closely by his older lover. Most of the tanks were empty or full of both mako and remains being eaten away by acid. There were rows of them and Sephiroth frowned at a faint 'pull'. He glanced wordlessly at his Commander, who nodded to his unspoken question, both of their weapons at the ready. The General followed the pull to the last tank in the very last row and froze in place, feeling Angeal tense beside him.
The tank was filled completely with mako, the figure within slumped to the floor of the liquid prison. Sephiroth took a few steps closer to look at the human being; because that was indeed what occupied the tank. It was hard to tell the exact color, but spikes not unlike their puppy's sprang from the person's head, being tugged in different directions by the current of mako. A long sweep of the person's nude body confirmed that he was a male, though his features were 'pretty' enough that it was hard to tell the gender. The eyes...
Were luminescent blue. Sephiroth was uncertain if he had ever seen such a shade of blue in nature. It reminded him vaguely of a winter lake; untouched by man and calm. Too calm; as they were halfway open and staring right through them as if not seeing the two SOLDIER standing in front of the tank. There were some scars, but it looked like Hojo had taken special care not to mar this person's body.
"Seph..." Angeal breathed softly beside him, almost inaudible, "his inner left thigh." The General's eyes snapped to that location and saw a black barcode along with a carefully tattooed 'Project C' just below. They snapped out of their trance when Tseng approached the tank and began hitting the buttons.
Despair and fear hit both SOLIDER and it took a moment to register that it had come from 'Project C' even though he hadn't moved or blinked.
"Tseng, wait. You are frightening him." Sephiroth told the Director, who looked over his shoulder at them with a slightly startled expression. The sharp gaze jerked to the unresponsive male, then back to the General.
"How do you know? He looks like he is in a mako induced coma." The Turk paused in pressing the buttons but pointed to a timer that was counting down. To termination. They had less than two minutes.
"He is projecting those emotions very strongly at the moment." The silver haired SOLDIER supplied after a moment, his gaze going to Angeal, "we can feel them." Glowing emerald eyes stared at the youth through the glass.
"I will try to talk to him." Angeal murmured softly and he bent down so that he was taking up the expanse before the blank bright gaze.
"Project C?" Angeal asked in a low tone, pressed against the glass. The youth's gaze flickered, sluggish. He was conscious? Sephiroth leaned close as well. His round pupils phased into an all too familiar feline slit that had the General's breath catching.
Confusion and wariness; the pupil returned to it's original roundness and finally focused on Angeal with difficulty. A haze of pain that struck them was confusing as the person looked unharmed and the acid was not deployed.
"We need to turn off the timer for the acid. We are taking you away from here. Can you stay calm while we drain the tank?" Angeal's voice was soothing and the larger man noted that the youth's gaze sometimes became absent as if he were struggling with something. The boy's lips parted and he said something, but no sound came as he inhaled more mako with the action.
"He asked if we are SOLIDER." Sephiroth supplied, more adept at lip reading than the other two.
"We are." The boy's expression closed a little but he gave the barest of nods. Tseng quickly keyed in the deactivation code and the timer for the acid switched off. The tank began to drain and the boy began trembling visibly, more pain filtering into Sephiroth and Angeal's senses.
"Do you see a wound?" Sephiroth questioned, concerned. There was no blood but the amount of pain was staggering. The level of mako drained past the boy's head and Angeal cringed as the youth vomited and dry heaved on the glowing liquid.
"Please..." The boy reached forward sluggishly and pressed a hand flat against the glass. Sephiroth leaned closer to the tank.
"What do you need?" He questioned. The youth's mako bright blue gaze moved from Angeal to look at the General.
"Kill me." The experiment pleaded, the pain that had been creeping along the edges of both SOLDIER's senses roaring into a vicious force. Angeal muffled a cry of pain, eyes widening when blood began leaking from one of the youth's glowing eyes. Sephiroth had staggered back. A gunshot rang out through the room and the glass of the tank shattered; the experiment's body jerking as a very powerful tranquilizer buried itself in the exposed jugular vein.
Sephiroth and Angeal took a good minute to shake off the haze of pain and when they came completely back to awareness; Tseng was busy hacking the computer. Project C had been dressed in one of the lab's generic flimsy gowns and his eyes were completely shut. Blood still seeped from one eye in a morbid parody of tears.
"Are you alright, Angeal?" Sephiroth asked quietly and Angeal nodded hesitantly.
"What happened?" Tseng asked from the computer terminal, not sparing a glance as he was fixated on hacking Hojo's experiment files. They needed to know what they were dealing with before leaving the Reactor.
"He asked us to kill him," Angeal's voice was shaking slightly, "I don't know where it is coming from, but he is channeling excruciating pain. He wants relief."
"Are you sure he isn't manipulating you two? He isn't hurt any-" Tseng's voice quieted as the computer pulled up the file for Project C. The Turk immediately sent several copies to his own computer and several of his subordinates before he sat back and began to decipher the code. The Director paused several times to verify that he even caught on to the basics before he turned to them with a visibly disturbed expression.
"Tseng?" The General queried, mako eyes moving from the Turk, to Project C and then Angeal.
"General, I hate to ask after such private affairs but I am afraid I have to in this case. Do you still have a wing?" The Turk's face was expressionless now and Sephiroth frowned, displeasure in his eyes.
"I do."
"And Angeal?" The broad shouldered 1st stiffened and he worked his jaw before nodding in affirmation. Their mutation wasn't spoken about often, Zack hadn't even been told for a while into their relationship. Though their puppy had called their additional appendages beautiful; they didn't show physically unless needed or pleas from Zack won them over.
"And from first hand experience, have you ever 'banished' them away when they were damaged?" The dark haired Director questioned. Sephiroth and Angeal snapped their full attention back to the Turk and looked at him like he had grown a wing himself.
"No! That..." Angeal struggled for a description but failed to come up with one.
"What is this about?" The General asked, visibly tensed.
"This boy is the sole subject of Project C; I haven't read the entire file but Hojo has listed Project C as a breeding program." He paused and seemed to gather himself, "the program is designed to create biological SOLIDER."
They stared at Tseng in confusion, "so this boy is the product of an enhanced mother?" Sephiroth asked after a moment.
"No, this boy is the mother."
There was a few beats of silence before Angeal made a sound like he had been strangled. Sephiroth's brows furrowed as his eyes combed over the unconscious experiment.
"I don't understand, Tseng. He is clearly male." The silver haired 1st Class stated in a careful tone. Tseng sighed and returned to the computer, reading the synopsis.
"Experiment name Project C, seized from Nibelhiem at age four from a single mother, Elysia Strife. Following up on the town's rumors, C was taken to the nearest lab and received a full body scan. Though C had fully male genitalia, the scan revealed a healthy and fully functional uterus after some tests." Tseng paused to let this sink in.
"...He is intersex?" Sephiroth asked after exchanging a look with Angeal.
"Yes. And according to this file; his mako levels rival your own and his absorption rate is unheard of. He has the same mutation as yourself and Angeal; but from the report..." Tseng paused, "Hojo was excited that he had two fully functional wings. I am just glancing through this; but from what I can tell, this boy has been raped in an attempt to successfully breed him. Low leveled SOLDIER have failed to get it to take as the boy rejects them on a cellular level. Hojo became aware of this and to punish him; made it impossible to heal C with Materia or any man made method. To complete his punishment, he broke both wings and forced him to-"
"That is enough." Sephiroth spat and Angeal placed a comforting hand on his lover's shoulder. The General took a few breaths, remembering a time when he was young when Hojo had broken his wing. The pain had been unlike anything he had ever felt and had felt since then. It explained why the boy had begged for death and the pain he had been putting off nearly caused them to fall unconscious.
"We can't heal him?" Angeal questioned and Tseng shook his head.
"Not by normal means, Hojo was trying to gain more control over C breeding. So what is required to heal him is mako attuned to a SOLIDER; exchanged through bodily fluid."
"No! We won't rape him." Angeal hissed, eyes narrowed. Tseng paused and shook his head.
"In this case, it would be beneficial to both parties. Sub-notes reveal that cells from C will heal both yourself and Genesis. Cells that can be passed just as surely through fluids." Angeal tore his gaze from Tseng to Sephiroth, the older SOLIDER shaking his head.
"Seph, I can't rape him. We can't do this."
"If he permits it, it wouldn't be rape." Sephiroth reasoned, though he didn't like the idea either.
"It isn't that simple." Tseng cut in. Angeal frowned at the Turk.
"This is already complicated, what else?" He asked.
"He will imprint with any SOLIDER that shares cells with him. So he will likely beg you to kill him regardless. We can take some vials of blood and kill him now." Tseng said in a calm tone.
"You want us to kill him?" Angeal asked in disbelief.
"It would be the easiest way to do this, he already asked you to kill him. It would be a mercy." The Director confirmed. Angeal tore his glowing blue eyes from the Turk to gaze at Sephiroth in askance. There was a conflicted expression on the General's face and the slitted pupils widened slightly before Sephiroth closed his eyes.
"Sephiroth, we need to get everyone together for this. Gen needs to know and decide for himself if he wants blood on his hands. We need to let Zack know." He insisted. The General paused and then nodded.
"We will tell them. Tseng, can you keep...C sedated?" Tseng nodded and began rearranging the tranquilizers for easier access. The General had known the Director long enough that even though SOLIDER and his department were completely separate; that they would work out differences when working together on more...complicated missions. The rivalry between Turks and the SOLIDER program was just for show; to raise morale. He and Angeal watched with a conflicted expression as the Wutain man administered enough tranquilizer to kill five men.
Project C was both a complication and their salvation. Sephiroth could see merits with both plans. While simply killing C would absolve them of any hardships; it didn't even sit well with him to do so. While an experiment, Project C was still human and his sense of self was intact. Angeal's honor wouldn't allow it and Zack would possibly not recover if he ever caught wind that he had doomed the experiment to death when that same experiment had saved two of his most precious people.
This would be a hard call and the General left with Angeal who was holding Project C close, Tseng following in their wake. They had issues with monsters but Project C remained unconscious the entire way back to the Turk department.
After making absolutely certain that Project C would remain sedated; the General and his oldest lover immediately sought out Zack and Genesis in the hospital wing. They were relieved to see Zack smiling brightly and teasing Genesis goodnaturedly but they both grew quiet upon their arrival. Zack was especially sensitive to their change in moods and Genesis had known them too long to not notice something was wrong.
"Did you...not find the experiment?" Zack questioned, fear creeping in his voice as he eyed them with anxious glowing blue eyes. Genesis tensed and glanced between them, one hand absently moving to stroke his wounded shoulder.
"We found Project C, but there are complications." Sephiroth told them with a furrowed brow. The auburn haired Commander laughed uneasily.
"It is never good to hear you say 'complications' in that tone of voice, deary." He said, tension in his entire body. Angeal took the seat on Zack's other side and took his puppy's hand while Sephiroth sat on the foot of the hospital bed.
"What is it?" Their youngest lover asked in a soft tone, pitched low so it was private between them. They were in the medical ward, but someone could still overhear.
"We located the experiment you mentioned before it was too late. However; Project C is a human experiment who is still very much aware. The nature of his designated Project makes this difficult and we needed to tell both of you the options and consequences before making a final call." Angeal stated softly, Genesis and Zack sending him shell shocked expressions. Angeal's hand tightened on Zack's when those normally cheerful eyes became clouded with pained remembrance of what Hojo was capable of.
"What is the nature of Project C?" Genesis asked just as quietly.
"He is the sole participant in the breeding program for the second phase of SOLDIER; with himself as an intersex individual that Hojo took from his town when found he could possibly carry children."
If they had been shell shocked before, they were now brain dead.
"Wait...? What is 'intersex' again?" Zack asked, flustered.
"A person born without a discernible gender or someone who has both male and female genitalia. In C's case, both are apparently functional. From the file; he is outwardly male but has a working uterus." Sephiroth explained. Zack's jaw dropped as he fought to process this; being from a small town it was something he had never encountered.
"He is sane?" Genesis questioned. If the experiment had become feral; they wouldn't likely be having this conversation. A nod confirmed his thoughts.
"He is enhanced and has a unique mutation that we are intimately familiar with." The broad shouldered 1st murmured. If this situation weren't so grave, Sephiroth may have found the increasing expressions of surprise on his lovers comical. They made no move to speak so Angeal continued, his expression darkening.
"He begged us to kill him. Tseng said that Hojo had broken both of his wings before forcing them out of sight, after insuring that no magic or man-made method could heal the damage." Genesis snarled lowly, his eyes flashing in a familiar expression of homicidal urges towards Hojo.
"He has two wings? And they are inside him, all broken?" Zack choked out after taking all of it in.
"Yes." The silver haired General answered gravely.
"And it is impossible to heal him?" Genesis asked and Angeal sighed; exchanging a look with Sephiroth.
"It is, but the only way to do that is to exchange body fluids to share our attuned mako to make it possible. He has been raped by SOLIDER members before, all that were listed as AWOL in the system. The file also said he imprints with those he shares cells with."
The room became silent as Zack and Genesis allowed the gravity of the situation sink in with them.
"We are we supposed to do?" The youngest 2nd questioned, eyes flicking in between all of them.
"Tseng suggested that we take what we need and then kill the experiment." Sephiroth stated tonelessly so it was hard to tell what the man's personal thoughts in it were. Genesis bristled and Zack glowered.
"We...We can't do that! We don't pay someone back for saving two very...very important-" Zack gasped, shuddering and emotionally raw from his run-in with Hojo and this news, "we can't murder him!"
"I agree with the pup and I know Angeal won't want to kill him. What about you, Sephiroth?" There was an old challenging glint in Genesis' glowing grey eyes. An old rivalry that had simmered down since they had become partners. Sephiroth paused, thinking out his response carefully.
"It doesn't sit right with me that Project C has appeared to suffer his entire life under Hojo's authority. He did request that we kill him and with the circumstances; I don't see any humane way to deal with this." He looked at Genesis and the auburn haired Commander looked away in sadness and frustration.
"Zack? You have been quiet..." Angeal murmured gently and the youth blinked as if coming out of a trance.
"You said he would imprint with anyone he shares cells with, what does that mean exactly?" The puppy's voice was eerily calm and it concerned everyone else in the room.
"Unconditional and unquestioned trust." Genesis murmured softly. Zack frowned and tilted his head.
"Does body fluids have to be...ya'know, like spunk? Can't it just as easily be saliva?"
All of the older SOLIDER paused in consideration. Since the experiment had revolved around breeding and reproduction; as well as the trying day it had been so far; rape had sprung immediately to mind.
"It would just be kissing," Zack's voice had taken on a pleading tone, "we could ask his permission and I am sure Aerith may be able to help out?"
"Puppy..." Angeal's tone was gently questioning. Zack sounded like he wanted to give the experiment a chance at life but the imprinting was inevitable. Project C would be at high risk of falling for a form of slavery. Much like a chocobo chick who saw his mother when it opened its eyes for the first time, ultimate trust was something that was risky and could be mistreated.
"I want something -good- to come of today. If we kill Project C, this day will haunt me for the rest of my life." Zack's glowing blue eyes were slightly moist with unshed tears, "we need to at least give him a choice."
"What about imprinting with us? Wouldn't that be a form of intimate relationship?" Leave it to Sephiroth to get to the root of things when they had decided that C should live. Zack sighed.
"He sounds like he could at least use some friends? Just because he does this imprinting stuff doesn't mean he has to have sex with each of us and bear us children." Their puppy ended that statement with an unsettled laugh, as it was completely possible, "if some problems come with it, we can work them out; right?"
There was a few minutes of quiet as each of them milled through their separate thoughts. It seemed harmless enough. Take the experiment to Aerith to see if she could stabilize him enough for him to make a choice. Share cells so that Genesis and Angeal would live. And the rest was open ended.
C could leave Shinra all together. Imprinting didn't change anything and the experiment was a stranger to them. They would have everything they needed when the Commanders' health was assured.
Needless to say; when they agreed on attempting this that they didn't realize how wrong they would be...
To be continued...
Greetings old readers and new alike. I am unhappy to announce that I have retired Anxious Heart completely. I know a lot of you stuck around for the story to be completed but no matter how much I tried to work on an outline; the pieces never fell into a place where I could complete it. I posted the story in 2011, and it went through 3 rewrites before I decided today that it should be taken down. I apologize profusely for being unable to tackle the time travel genre at this time and encourage another writer to adopt Anxious Heart for those who have waited so long. I can provide the first 5 chapters if anyone is interested.
This new story is my winter writing project and I am a few chapters ahead of posting here. I admit to having a guilty pleasure with MPREG stories and writing the OT5 is a challenge. I hope that it is well received here. I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I intend to contribute to the fandom while waiting for Square to complete the remake.