Chapter Four

The black haired teen's mind went blank as horror shot through him. "What about Genesis then?"

"That really isn't a point to be bothered with, Zack Fair." Rufus Shin-Ra waved him off. Walking past the two scientists, the Vice President came around their chairs to exit the main facility. Beyond them awaited a simple observation room in which the blond would continue to observe the remaining tests and experiments in relative comfort.

Left to their thoughts and the uncomfortable presence of Turks and lunatics, Genesis and Zack fell into awkward silence as Hojo and Hollander continued their work involving the now crying teen trapped in his own hellish transformation into something entirely different from the standard protocols. All for Rufus Shin-Ra to wrestle control from his father's clasping fingers.

Sickened as he was with the procedures they were conducting, Zack remained the only participant in the lab largely untouched by science's touch. Flexing his arm silently in the quiet of the lab, violet eyes slashed in the direction of Elena as she stepped around the men to glance awkwardly at a darkened corner of the room where a low menacing growl slipped free. Clutching her fingers reflexively on her weapon, the Turk cocked her head at Rude.

"Valentine's stirring again. His body adapting to the neurotoxins so soon?" She asked him.

"You're the one who gave him Hollander's cocktail, aren't ya, Elena?" Reno interrupted, checking the straps holding their blond prisoner in check. Blue eyes snapped open with single clarity and a noticeable glow of mako in their depths when a finger grazed to close to his bare skin. "Morning, Cloud, you'll have some company in training later. Check it out, real life Soldiers, just like we promised."

A glob of spit impacted the laughing green of Reno's vision and again an ominous growl echoed from the depths of the unlighted portion of the lab.

"Shove your mind games, Turk." Cloud snarled at him.

A snicker from Genesis rewarded Cloud's bravado with a chuckle reaching his ears from Zack. Slowly, his head turned towards them and each Soldier found themselves pierced to very core of their souls by his eyes. "You'd make a good SOLDIER, Cloud." Genesis offered him with a nod of his head. "Especially if you can retain your spirit until we get out of this mess. What do you say, Zack Fair? Do you agree?"

"Heck yeah." The dark haired apprentice of his friend exclaimed. A moment passed when a creak echoed dully in the room and suddenly, with a wrench of his upper body muscles, the Third's arm tore free of it's binding and attacked the bolt holding down his left.

Almost as if they were expecting it, the Turks reacted. Moving in first, Reno snapped his electromag rod into full extension and bludgeoned it against the teens left shoulder. A short shout followed the explosive action and a faint click pounded in his veins as his head came up to stare down the barrel of Elena's favored hand gun.

"I think you should pack in your resistance, Zack Fair. We don't want to ruin your good looks too soon." Rufus' voice floated down to him. "Any further resistance and we will place a bullet in the head of your comrade Angeal Hewley."

"Bastard." The 'Puppy' growled from between clenched teeth. "Leave him out of this."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Soldier Third Class. Nor can we leave Sephiroth out of this by extension or the others that have been involved since the very beginning. Everything you've experienced so far is only the beginning. I suggest making yourselves comfortable. Commander Rhapsodos, these boys are now under your command. Keep them in line."

"Who else do you have in here with us? Now that Hojo and Hollander have been found, I'm assuming you've collected other Shin-Ra personnel to assure your aims." Genesis drawled, ignoring the suggestion to take control of the two teens.

A laugh trailed down to him as a light suddenly flicked on. Restrained much like they were was a man shrouded in red and black from head to toe. His eyes had snapped closed with the sudden intense lights finally being turned on him and a warning growl shook through the atmosphere. It was almost enough to create a tremble of fear in the Red Commander if not for his own degradation into something a little less then human.

"Amusing is he not? Vincent Valentine. He was once convinced I wanted to save the world and so he trained me. When I learned all I could I found another use for the man. Not that he can be considered even that any more. I do wonder though about how the last two will be holding up when it comes time to release the four of you." There was no question to it. Genesis seethed with the implications that Rufus had levied on them all.

"This is why you wanted me to assume command? To turn on my friends and allies? You torture a civilian just to create a new form of Soldier. You are less then I thought, Rufus Shin-Ra. You have no honor." Genesis bit off the rest of what he wanted to say. "When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the Goddess descends from the sky. With wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

"Quaint of you to say so." Rufus answered him. With a final whine of protest, the conversation died away and the three conscious prisoners were forced to watch the continued assault on Cloud's remaining sanity. Each with a knowledge that Zack Fair was being preserved for something beyond the current obvious experiments. A final moment passed when Genesis heard the rumble of another's voice answer his quote of Loveless.

"The entirety of the prolog from Loveless. Lucrecia once loved that book too until she died." The voice was gravely from disuse and pain, softened by years of training and torture. Blue eyes slid towards the speaker, meeting a frightening pair of crimson orbs glowing with the heat of mako and something entirely different.