Sephiroth sat calmly in the chair, staring straight ahead as Hojo injected him with something. The scientist was always finding more excuses to give him extra needles and today was no different at all.
"We're going to need to get your hair cut again soon." Hojo murmured as he moved away to dispose of the syringe he had just used.
Sephiroth took the chance to tilt his head and look at his hair, where it was only just reaching past his chin. He knew that if he agreed to get it cut then it would be chopped right back to even higher than his ears, but he also knew that if he said no he would simply be restrained while it was done.
Hojo returned to his side and Sephiroth fixed his gaze on the far wall again, pretending to be disinterested with everything that was happening.
"You're going to turn eight soon." Hojo told him as he wiped something over the spot on Sephiroth's arm where he had just had the needle. With a slight laugh, Hojo shook his head in disbelief. "You really are remarkable, Sephiroth."
"Can I go yet?" Sephiroth asked, glancing up at the man.
"Not just yet," Hojo said, pulling the gloves on his hands off and dumping them into a bin. "I have one other thing I want to try before I cut your hair and let you go."
"You said I'd need to get my hair cut again soon not today." Sephiroth protested immediately.
"I'd rather do it now than later, to be honest." Hojo said with a small shrug.
"But I'm not turning eight for a few weeks and you said I'd be eight soon, so let me wait at least another few weeks before you cut my hair. Otherwise you've used the word 'soon' close together but you've meant completely different time frames." Sephiroth pointed out.
"Listen to me," Hojo said, squatting down in front of the boy. "The word 'soon' does not have to mean the same thing each time it is spoken. Therefore I have every right to cut your hair after this next test. No more arguments, please."
Hojo stood again and moved over to his bench, looking through the objects that were there before moving to open a drawer and search through that instead.
Sephiroth stood up.
"No."
"No, what?" Hojo snapped, turning around. "What can you do about it, hm? Nothing. So just sit down and be silent while I do what needs to be done."
"I want to go back to my room." Sephiroth said, his hands curling into fists by his sides.
"No, Sephiroth," Hojo took a step forward, his hands up in front of him and his eyes suddenly showing fear. "Please sit down or you're going to hurt yourself."
"I never hurt myself! It's always you!" Sephiroth spat.
"What I just gave you will react badly in your system if you get upset! You need to calm yourself down." Hojo pleaded.
"You should have thought of that sooner." Sephiroth hissed at him, turning and walking towards the door. His heart pounded excitedly in his chest and he could see the doorknob just up ahead. Soon he would be out and no one would be able to stop him.
"I'm sorry, Sephiroth, but I can't risk you damaging yourself." Hojo said in a low voice. Sephiroth immediately knew what he had done and spun around, eyes wide as he saw the other men approaching him, ready to grab him and shove him back into the chair before strapping him down.
Hojo stood back, simply watching. He always did. Every time Sephiroth made an attempt at leaving and he told the other scientists to take hold of the boy he never moved.
Sephiroth let out a yell, startling everyone in the room as he lunged to the side and pushed a trolley over. The objects that had been on top scattered everywhere, smashing into things and creating just enough confusion for Sephiroth to escape.
He spun to the door and grabbed the handle, pulling it open before darting out quickly and pulling it shut again behind him. He could hear Hojo shouting from inside and one of the other scientists was yelling in pain as he had been hit by a sharp object coming off the trolley.
Not waiting around any longer, Sephiroth took off away from the door just as the alarm went off through the entire building and Sephiroth knew Hojo had pressed the large button that was on the wall. It was only used for emergencies, but Sephiroth guessed that having him on the loose was an emergency in their eyes.
He was now thankful for all those times he had been forced to run long distances, as it meant he didn't have to slow down as he ran. He didn't know where he was going, but at least he knew he was faster than anyone else here.
People were emerging from offices all around, but thankfully no one knew the specifics of the emergency yet so no one tried to stop him. He just kept running, knowing that every second was precious, and soon he found himself running down the emergency staircase.
It was probably only ten seconds since the alarm had been pressed, so there was no one else on the stairs yet. Where should he go?
Sephiroth quickly ran through what he knew of the building, trying to figure out where the best place to go would be. Seeing as he was already heading downwards the best option seemed to be to hide in the basement somewhere. He just hoped he'd be able to make it down the 68 flights of stairs in time.
Each time he reached a platform which signalled he'd reached a new floor he ticked it off in his mind, being sure not to miss one so that he knew exactly what floor he was on at all times and how much further he had to go. Every time he ran past another door the sounds of yelling got louder and he couldn't help but wonder briefly why no one had entered the stairwell.
Halfway down, he felt like he'd just gained five extra lungs. He wasn't tired at all – in fact he felt more alive than ever before. But he was angry like he'd never been before. All he felt like doing was bursting through one of those doors and smashing his fist into the first person he encountered.
But he knew if he did that he would be eventually taken by Hojo again and he hated that thought much more, so he kept going.
Down another ten floors.
Only fourteen left.
Nine.
Three.
Bursting through the door that had 'Lower Basement' written on it, Sephiroth found himself in a dim lit room. Blinking his eyes to try and get used to it, he took a few steps forward. There was a box in his path which was open, and as Sephiroth looked down at it he saw the familiar laboratory tools which Hojo had.
Rage suddenly firing up through his entire body, he let out a yell and grabbed the box, throwing it across the room and watching in satisfaction as the contents spilled everywhere, flying around the room and smashing into walls and other boxes. It was like knocking over that trolley again, but better.
Sephiroth walked forward towards another box before doing the same thing with it, not even caring what was in it any more. The contents went everywhere and he enjoyed seeing it, but unlike every other time he had done something out of pure anger, he wasn't calming down. Every box he threw was only managing to enrage him even more.
Just as the noise from another box being smashed up died down, another noise broke the silence and startled Sephiroth. He froze and turned around, his eyes searching the room until they stopped on a long wooden box with the lid open.
A man slowly sat up from inside the box and turned to look at Sephiroth. Their eyes connected and in that instant Sephiroth realised it wasn't a normal box. It was a coffin.
The man then looked around the room, taking in the overturned boxes and broken objects littering the ground before looking back at the boy.
"You did this?" he asked.
Sephiroth didn't answer. Instead, he turned and grabbed another box, this time throwing it directly at the man and the coffin he sat in.
But the man stood and got out of the coffin before it collided, standing to the side unharmed and watching Sephiroth with narrowed eyes.
"Are you okay?" the man asked gently, glancing down at Sephiroth's hands before returning to watching his face. Sephiroth then realised he was shaking and clenched his hands tightly to try and make it stop.
It worsened.
"Hey, it's okay, relax," the man said urgently, walking over just as Sephiroth dropped to his knees. The anger that had been coursing through the boys body was gone and he was left with a feeling of weakness. He felt as if he was slowly falling apart and it hurt! He was out of breath and all of his limbs ached like he was a normal person who had run the same distance he had.
"Ho-Hojo." Sephiroth stuttered, causing the man's eyes to widen in shock. "He can... help me."
The man was still for a moment as he took this in.
"Listen to me, you need to go back. I can't go with you, but I believe you can do this." the man said then, leaning down to look into Sephiroth's eyes. They were bloodshot and watering, making the man feel even more sorry for him.
"I c-can't. It hurts." Sephiroth complained, his hands splayed out on the ground in front of him as he tried to keep himself up.
"Yes you can, and you will. You're going to go up there and find Hojo so that he can help you. But you can't tell anyone about me, understand? If you're asked, you never saw anyone down here."
Sephiroth nodded minutely, beginning to realise that this was probably what Hojo had been talking about when he warned him not to get upset.
The man grabbed Sephiroth's arm then and pulled him to his feet, allowing the boy to lean on him. Slowly, the two of them began walking towards the door which led to the staircase and which Sephiroth had first come through.
Reaching it, the man transferred Sephiroth from leaning on him to leaning on the door.
"I know you can do it, so go get fixed up." he said encouragingly.
Sephiroth grabbed hold of the doorknob and opened the door, groaning as his body wanted to collapse but he kept standing up. The man slowly retreated away from the door, moving back over to the coffin he had been in before.
Sounds from the stairwell echoed into the basement and Sephiroth could hear the sounds of soldiers searching for him. Some were talking on their radios, but the main noise was created by the sound of their feet pounding on the metal stairs.
Stepping through the door, Sephiroth gritted his teeth. He didn't want to go back to Hojo, but he knew he needed to or else he would die. And he hadn't even turned eight yet.
A moment later, a soldier spotted him and spoke quickly into his headset radio before running down to stand in front of him. It was a young soldier, in his early twenties, and he pointed his gun at Sephiroth warily. The soldiers had been told that the boy would be dangerous and not to underestimate him.
Sephiroth tried to say something but then his vision blurred and he stumbled forwards, feeling his head collide with a step before his eyes closed and his mind shut down.
Inside the basement, the man had just finished emptying the coffin again and was lying down inside it. His name was Vincent Valentine and he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to fall asleep again or not.
That boy was Lucrecia's son. He had her eyes.