Finishing Touch
His whole base was fairly disturbing but the large lab was far worse than the stasis corridors in terms of creepiness. Hojo was a meticulous man by nature and so the lab was kept spotless and sterile. Inhumanly so. The white lights threatened to burn the retinas of every soul wandering within their range. Everything about the place screamed artificial, the tables were made of sleek shiny metal and every window had been covered and sealed with the same material. There was nothing natural about this room and that was probably why Hojo appeared to mimicking the Cheshire cat as he entered.
The silence of the lab was prominent as his footsteps echoed loudly. He had just stepped through the growing gap in the iris door, clearly too impatient to wait for it to fully open. The volume of his steps only increased in parallel to his pace as he strode over to the paperwork desk on the far side of the lab. His finger slammed forcefully down on the black intercom button, his impatience easily clear despite the smile still on his lips.
"Xander bring me subject 1311… Oh and for your sake you had better keep her fully anaesthetized this time. You do know I so hate having to deal with live ones." his tone of voice switched from annoyed to disturbingly hollow in mere moments it took him to pause. The shift would make a lesser man piss his pants. However it was only a little more than a little disconcerting to the young man on the other end of the intercom.
Nonetheless the answering voice was soft respectful, but not weak, a follower's voice. "Yes of course Mr. Hojo. She'll be right there." One could almost place a face to the voice just from the tone. Sturdy but knowledgeable, probably with a strong chin and glasses. Of course that wouldn't be far wrong. Xander Wilson was an average sized man who'd only acquired muscles from lugging Hojo's subjects about. His hair was shock blonde and fell in a messy unkempt scientist mess to his ears; the perfect lab assistant in both looks and attitude it seemed.
Of course none of this was Hojo's focus as he found himself impatiently pacing down the row filing cabinets. He was running out of time and he knew it, his prizes had been missing for over six months now and it wouldn't be long till their 'friends' finally found some sort of link between the disappearances of them and the other Geostigma victims. Of course the other victims would only vanish for a day or so a reappear in hospitals elsewhere under the illusion they'd collapsed and been helped.
With pure scientist determination he realised his worries didn't matter right now, this was her last visit and he needed to be in the right frame of mind for it. Perfection was the only option. Then and only then could he set them free…
With a renewed sense of purpose, a small sense of excitement, he quickly shifted through the records, snatching open the right filing draw first of course. He pulled out her abnormally large folder and spread it across the desk. Hojo had to make sure he finished every one of his improvements this time, despite the damage it could cause. He had no more time for interruptions and slip ups.
Hojo's eyes scanned the file for only seconds, apparently he was only bringing previous memorised information to the front of his mind. He easily knew what he needed to do, it was more a case of being careful. Satisfied he was right he turned to face the operating table at the other side of the lab. Checking visually it was ready for her arrival before he wandered around the room collecting samples and tools. Placing them all, in large amounts, on the equipment table. He always did like to be prepared…
Xander couldn't help but find himself staring as the mako mix drained from the stasis tank; he was watching intently as remnants dripped languidly from the curves of the woman's that was held within. Sure he was a professional worker but he was also human and he had to admit that two of the prettiest women he'd ever seen were being stored right next to each other; floating and naked, very, very naked.
With an almost regretful sigh he looked away and down to the large hand held remote panel in his hands. He clicked the last button, allowing the system to pump her body full of numbing sleeping agents before removing all the tubes automatically. He couldn't risk her waking up this time and he personally knew it hurt when those tubes were pulled free.
As the circular tube of the stasis chamber rose into the ceiling Xander threw one last glance to ''s untouched form in her stasis chamber. He finally tucked the remote panel into his lab coat and turned back to the naked girl laid prone on the bottom of her open chamber. With a sense of nonchalant repetition he threw a white sheet over her form and easily lifted her slight weight into his arms. With sturdy steps he began carrying the woman towards another meeting with the devil. Even Xander had to admit that man was evil…
There were many things that could bring a smile to Hojo's face and not many of them were pleasant. Seeing Xander strap his specimen to the operating table with thick metal belts was one of them. Hojo was well aware of what she could do before and now. The chains were a precautionary measure for even in drug induced sleep she could be dangerous.
He watched every belt as it was tightened with a meticulous eye; mostly he was watching his lab assistant for any signs of defection. It was in his nature to be paranoid, he'd died several times already. Satisfied with Xander's work he nodded his head towards the younger man, signifying he could leave. Of course Hojo was only waiting for him to reach the door before giving him another task. He did like to give his help false hope for some time off. It made them compliant.
Without even looking at Xander again Hojo's voice called out with perfect timing just as the iris door began to close. "Oh and Xander, don't forget to release the last 15 subjects. It's time we were moving on…" Hojo's ears were granted with a 'Yes Sir' before the iris door fully closed and Hojo's attention turned quickly back to the form laid on the table. No longer concerned with Xander of the other subjects.
With a flourish he ripped the white sheet from her body and threw it to the ground, ignoring the rustle it made in the silent lab. He took a moment to observe the belts securing her, before finally removing a few around her ribs since they would be in the way of his work. The small risk was worth what he would achieve. The more Hojo thought about his work on this particular specimen the more he found urge to grin. There was even a sense of deranged laughter in his voice as he spoke to her unconscious form.
"The Empress of Wutai laid bare and bleeding before me, worthless Shinra scum, wasn't that what you called me? The irony now is beyond even my mind Miss Yuffie." His words were followed by raising his fist into the air and slamming it down with considerable force onto one of her thin arms. He watched quietly with a small smile as the angry yellowing bruise began to show on her skin. His balled fist uncurling to grab a nearby clipboard and pen. Despite all his movements his eyes never left her figure, even as his hands blindly recorded her body's reaction on paper.
"It seems you're still not the healing sort Miss Kisaragi. No problem, I can fix that like I fixed the rest of your pitiful impurities. White Rose is seems you were not…."
Dropping the clipboard onto the table it came from he circled to the other side of the table, snapping sterile gloves onto his hands as he walked. He stopped so he was stood between her left side and the equipment table, in the prefect working place. Silently he reached out for an abnormally sharp scalpel and what appeared to be a metal four pronged square clamp. He didn't even blink as he turned his attention back to her completely naked form the bruise now rushing into the healing phase and turning purple.
He acted with practised ease and no sign of regret as sliced the skin open above her lowest left rib. Blood oozed quickly from the wound as soon as the skin split, her supple flesh proved no resistance and split like butter from her side all the way to her middle. Finally leaving a bloody wound about 6 inches long. However even that didn't seem to be big enough for Hojo for he soon placed all four edges of the metal camp in the fresh wound, pressing a button on its top and watching as clamp expanded making the gash almost as wide as it was long. Leaving a large unnatural square wound, muscle visibly twitching within, on her once flawless side.
Of course blood began to leak everywhere and Hojo found himself swabbing at the wound with sterilised cloth just to be able to see the muscle underneath. He wasn't cleaning for long because his previous improvements kicked in and the blood vessels began to close. Yuffie may not have been healing as well as he hoped externally but internally her enhancements worked perfectly. This of course was something he already knew; which is why the clamp was coated in poison efficiently stopping the wound from closing around it.
Able to see his work once more, and ignoring the blood now smeared down her side, he removed the swab and reached onto the equipment table beside him, slippery bloody hands clumsily grasping a sample tray and the chisel like tool within it. With nonchalance he wiped her blood down his lab coat, before finally and now firmly taking the chisel like tool in his hand. His other hand reached into the sample tray pulling glowing green fragments of what appeared to be materia into his palm.
Hojo grasped the fragments tightly in a closed hand before using the other to ram the chisel through the muscle above her ribs and into the bone. The crunching sound echoed clearly around his lab as a chip was created in her bone. With amazing speed Hojo quickly removed the chisel before using his other hand to smash a single materia fragment into the newly created gap. He watched simply as the bone healed around the foreign object followed shortly by the muscle as it healed around the bone.
He repeated the process with several more materia fragments and just as much force. It seemed Hojo was determined not to stop until the wound was healing too quick for him to carry on. And he could move pretty fast. By the time Hojo has finished with his rib work he'd inserted and entire smashed materia into her bottom left rib. And as soon as he sprayed the poisons' antidote on the clamp the square wound began to heal around the instrument.
Hojo soon found himself having to rip the clamp from the rapidly closing the wound, causing a new set of wounds in her skin as blood spurted violently from four prong shaped holes. The mess only lasted for a few seconds before the skin reclosed. Within minutes the gash was flawlessly healed leaving no sign of his work. He was being clever this time, no ugly scars like he'd left with Valentine.
He blindly reached for one of twenty odd multicoloured needles lying on the second shelf down of the equipment table. These were all finishing doses of his perfect formulas and every single one had to be administrated properly and slowly, but thankfully in no particular order. He dangled the full needle in front of his eyes, blood smearing his fingerprints on the glass. Recognition filled his eyes as he spoke and his lips twitched into another teeth baring smile.
"Oh we have a nice one to start with this time; your final mako dose, to your simple mind Miss Kisaragi it means just a 'slight' burning pain… Shame really I was personally hoping to start with formula x49, that was does make you twitch so wonderfully. You're awfully lithe after all..."
The sarcasm in his haunting deep voice was evident as he spoke to her unhearing form. Hojo found he often couldn't help himself. After all he held all the cards right now, alongside a rather large selection of needles and materia fragments. Yuffie on the other hand held nothing, not even her own body. It was all his and boy was Hojo going to enjoy finishing this project. Even if he had to release her and his other two prizes after. Damn Avalanche…
Authors Notes:
Sheesh was this awful to write. Firstly I'm not a doctor, I'm a games design student, and I have no idea what muscles are where. I do know there are muscles in/around your ribs so I'm sticking with that. Call it creative license.
Secondly I had two ways to take this first chapter, I considered flashing back to before they were captured, I consider switching straight to the rest of avalanche (which is the next chapter) but instead I decided to fuel Hojo's evil a little more (and answer some questions.)
I'm not quite happy with the way this chapter came out, it seems too analytical to me but then it is in Hojo third person. I just hope it came across as dark rather than gory…I still have no Beta, so forgive any mistakes I missed.
Anyway you'll be glad to know Vinnie's in the next chapter!
Review please, I like to hear your opinions and constructive criticism! I'll be replying to my first three reviews soon too!
Oh and Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII (duh) Xander, in his nerdy glory, however is all mine!
