Chapter 4 The Kill

This should be the last chapter.

It's 30 Second to Mars's song The Kill.

Characters (all but Myde) belong to Square Enix.

Warnings: There's some sad stuff in this chapter. Plus, Hojo. Doesn't that make you feel all warm inside?

What if I wanted to break
Laugh it all off in your face
What would you do?
(oooh ooooh ooooh ooooh)

Myde didn't know how much more he could take. He could feel whatever crap Hojo had put in him was breaking him down, killing him. That pulsing black gunk could not be good for his body.

Of course… the kids had a slight idea as to what was happening, and were worried about it. Well, Yazoo was. He was concerned about anything that could potentially harm his brothers. And the fact that Hojo had had the boys spar against Myde testing… whatever… had the boy in shambles.

Last time, it had been Myde versus Yazoo, and it was pitch black. Thank the gods for Krad and Mako enhanced eyesight.

What if I fell to the floor?
Couldn't take this any more
What would you do?
(Do, do, do, do, do)

"Well, fools, begin." Hojo had a couple robotic arms drop both Myde and Yazoo into the chamber and flicked the lights off. Not like it mattered. Both could see just fine in the dark. Myde had Krad – thank the gods for Fallen Angels. Mako tended to get in his way.

Yazoo could use his Mako enhanced eyes to defend himself, mostly.

"Sorry, kid. I'll go easy on you." Myde blinked once, eyes ajusting to the darkness.

"Don't. It'll make it that much harder later."

Both, with tears in their eyes, fought half-heartedly, only getting serious when Hojo threatened Yazoo's brothers, and Yazoo fought a little harder.

They ended up with some not so serious wounds – well, if you can call a broken shoulder not serious.

"Sorry," Yazoo mumbled. He didn't mean to break Myde's shoulder.

"S'okay." Myde winced as Loz and Kadaj helped Yazoo reset the bone.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Kadaj asked, noticing Myde's look.

"Yeah. It always hurts to break something." Myde winced again. Must have torn a ligament.

Come break me down!
Bury me, bury me!
I am finished with you!

"You're a wretch, a useless wretch; why, the other Valentine was more responsive than you."

'Hojo's just saying that to piss you off. Don't give in to him. Don't let him have the pleasure of knowing you're irritated.' Krad spoke quietly. Myde nodded internally, not giving Hojo the satasfaction of seeing his scowl.

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life
What would you do?
(Do, do, do)

Hojo hit him with his fist, at least there wasn't a scalpel in that fist. That might have actually been painful. Myde impassivly stared ahead, and, knowing how much it pissed the scientist off, said nothing.

Myde could feel young eyes watching, wanting to know what was going on in his mind. He smirked, pissing Hojo off even more, and driving the watcher to confusion.

'What is he up to? Is he trying to get himself killed?'

You say wanted more
What are you I'm waiting for
I'm not running from you (from you)

"You won't have the satasfaction of seeing me cry out any longer, Hojo. I am stronger than that," Myde rasped quietly. The person was watching as – once again – Hojo struck the Valentine in anger. Myde winced, but said continued striking him until the greasy scientist had enough of Myde's silence.

"You're a freak, just like that other wretch, Vincent Valentine." Myde's eyes flickered blood red and he slugged Hojo in the jaw, certainly breaking more than a few teeth.

"Say anything about him again, and I'll break more than a few teeth." Myde breathed hard for a few moments before regaining his previous composure of not having any responses at all.

Come break me down!
Bury me, bury me!
I am finished with you!
Look in my eyes!

You're killing me, killing me!
All I wanted was you!

"Subject seems to react unusally to the words Vincent Valentine. Probably because the fool is the subject's father – must get more data to support this." Hojo started recording his observations in his notebook when a harried lab ra-assisstant came running through the door.

"Professor, Valentine is missing, there's no sign of him!"

In the lab room…

"HOJO" was written on a sheet of folded paper in blood red ink.

"What's this?" Hojo opened the paper, reading the insides.

'Hojo –

You're an annoying -instert string of German cusswords- that deserves to be shot, but death is too good for you. So, in light of me breaking out, I shall mock you thoroughly, just to piss you off. Why? Because I can.

You don't seem to get that though you experimented on me, I was already messed up, and you can't screw with my mind. Anymore than it was, anyway.

You're a fool, if you think you can break my spirit. Never gonna happen.

Just so you know, Turks are always better than scientists. Plus, we're more likely to get work. So there.

M. Valentine'

"That fool. As soon as he's caught, I'll have to teach him how things are run around here."

I tried to be someone else
But nothing seemed to change
I know now, this is who I really am inside!
Finally found myself! Fighting for a chance I know now,
THIS IS WHO I REALLY AM!

Reno and Rude found Myde just inside the compound, covered in blood and barely concious. Myde whispered a quiet "Hey Red," before passing out completely.

"Okay Rude, here's what we tell the others – there were fifty of them and they were armed with sciency stuff and we escaped under a hail of scalples – nah, we'll tell them that we ran into the first room and found him. That's close enough," Reno said, using a Cure materia on the bleeding Turk in the back of the chopper. Rude was piloting.

Come break me down!
Bury me, bury me!
I am finished with you!
(You! You!)
Look in my eyes!
You're killing me, killing me!
All I wanted was you!
Come break me down!
Break me down, break me down!

This is what happened to me during those nine months in hell. I gained another voice in my head – this time, an honest to Chaos theiving demon – and something that I can only discribe as darkness. There's no other way.

If needed, I shall write more, but for now, this journal is closed.

Myde A. Valentine

Age: 19 years, one month

Myde finished transcribing his experience and flipped the notebook closed. He bit his lip, placing the pen behind his ear and walking over to the door where he knew Reno would be waiting with Rude and Tseng. Just as they had been for the last few weeks, ever since he came back.

"I'm fine," he said, eyes betraying that lie.

"Myde, no one who deals with Hojo is ever fine," Tseng said.

"My, please, just let the guy take a look at your mind – ya'll be fine." Reno said cheerfully, slapping Myde's shoulder.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Reno. Thanks a lot." Myde's voice dripped with sarcasm, so caustic Reno hid behind Rude to prevent the evilness from getting to him.

"Keep me out of this." Rude said nothing else, just stepped out of the way so the young gunman could get at the stun-baton user.

"Boys, enough. Myde, that notebook has to go to Veld, so he can take a look at it." Tseng made a swift grab for the notebook, but was knocked aside by one of the teenager's arms. "Don't kill each other."

"Boys, isn't it a little early in the morning to be debaucherous?" Veld asked, in that 'I'm-a-scary-dad-do-not-piss-me-off' voice of his.

"Nope. We're not being debaucherous, sir," Myde replied, smiling cheerfully, a complete 180 from the evil he was seconds before. "Oh, this is yours now. I really don't want to see it again."

"Of course. Well, be in the meeting room in ten minutes. The R&D department has something to show us." Veld walked down the hallway, notebook in one hand, fifth mug of coffee in the other.

A moment or two later, the four of them realized that in Veld-speak, "Ten Minutes" meant "you have five minutes to get there and sit down and another five to make sure no one is lost."

"Shit!" was heard along the halway, as four different gusts of wind went through. Two in the vents, and two in the elevators.

Amusingly enough, one of the ones in the vents yelped as his ass was hit when he dove in.

Finally. I know it was kinda angsty, and kinda bad-ish. But I tried. And I couldn't resist that last line. It was Genesis hitting Reno as Reno dove into the air vent he uses to get between floors.

While these have been fun, I'm glad I'm finished. No more.

Hope you liked them.

Review please!