[a/n]: I had real life get in the way. Work mostly didn't give me any free time. But I'm here. Hope you enjoy it!
I had no one to report to in the morning. Sephiroth's note still lay on his pillow. I sat in bed reading Sephiroth's copy of The Art of War. I reached for the healing materia on the bedside as yet another splitting headache overtook me. My head pounded so hard I almost didn't notice someone knocking at the door.
I opened the door to someone I had never met before. A man in blond with glasses and a blazer. And gloves. Very unusual, indeed. He made to offer me a hand.
"Greetings, Lieutenant Asher. May I come in?" I thought about shutting the door in his face before becoming curious about his motives. Why was he here and what did he want?" I opened the door and motioned inside. Lazard sat down in the chair and I on my bed.
"My name is Lazard Deusericus. I am a secretary in the Department of Public Safety." Ah. He must want to know something. 'Public Safety' was the departmental code name for Shinra's private military. I wondered if I should even let him keep talking.
"What do you want?" I really wanted cut right to the point. Lazard brought his hands together before speaking.
"One of my many responsibilities is the management of many special cases within Shinra's military. Including Sephiroth." I nodded.
"By extension, of course, I also manage you. Your registry paper were unusually… correct for a boy entering the army, and yet, according to your file, you are from under plate?"
"Why do you want to know about that?" I was more than a little nervous having another official watching me.
"I don't technically need a reason for someone in my position, but to tell you the truth, I just wanted to ask if you're okay." The question completely threw me off balance, if the headache hadn't done so already. Why that question? I realized I had said that last part out loud when Lazard's shifted sharply. "A boy from the slums, completely off Shinra's radar, gets scooped by Hojo's pet project, and declared his Lieutenant from then on? Very strange looking on from the sidelines. I just want to make sure you are okay."
"I'm fine." I swallowed. "Everything great. Really, this is the best my life has ever been. Who are you to say otherwise?" I didn't mean it to sound so accusatory.
"Alright. Where is Sephiroth? I will admit I've wanted to talk to you since you arrived, but I came down because Sephiroth has not filed a formal report in 36 hours. Sephiroth always files a short report, very short in fact, but one nonetheless every morning and every evening. The only exception to this before was the night you showed up. He's not scheduled for any long range missions, and he hasn't left Shinra, at least I don't believe he has. The Turks always refuse my requests for information on matters concerning Sephiroth. So you are my only option."
After a moment of consideration, I nodded to the note on the opposite bed. Lazard walked over and picked it up, reading it intensely. He set it down then turned back to me. "He has not returned."
I shook my head no. "And I tried to get into the Science Department to check up on him. I couldn't get through." Lazard stood.
"Hojo left on official Shinra business for Wutai last night. If Sephiroth is still in the Science Department and has not returned, he may be there indefinitely." Lazard walked to the door. "Come. I can get us into the Science Department. Let's get Sephiroth.
####
I got thrown another curveball question on my way up the elevator with Lazard.
"When is your birthday?" I turned to him.
"What?" What fucking kind of question is that?" Lazard gave me a strange look.
"Asher, do you know how long you've been at Shinra?"
I suppose I'd never really thought about it recently, but I'd only just gotten here, what was the point in thinking about that. Right?
"I don't know, several weeks?"
"One hundred thirteen days. Just under four months. I know that because Sephiroth notes it on his report. This is his report from last Sunday. Lazard pulled a scrap on paper out and passed it to me. It couldn't' have been more than half a page.
SEPHIROTH, MAJOR
22 NOVEMBER 1992
Evening Report
Active Assignments - Personal Training of Lieutenant Asher continues as normal. This was his thirty-third session in the 110 days since I began to train him. I am confident I am approaching diminishing returns with regard to improving his mechanical skills. I intend to graduate to more abstract methods of improvement.
Commendations / Reprimands - Lieutenant Asher is able to carry out all basic duty assignments with exemplary efficiency. Also remains an effective XO for all mission assignments given.
I was a bit taken aback with reading Sephiroth's comments about me. I wondered why Lazard was telling me. I clutched the paper in my hand.
"Why did you show me this?" I handed the paper back to him. Lazard fixed me with an intent look.
"Don't you dare let anyone tell you you don't deserve to be here. Hell, if only for keeping Sephiroth in check. Before you arrived, he would often be prone to damaging equipment, property, and others." Lazard stared up at the floor indicator gradually increasing. 35… 36… "But you seem to have changed that somehow. I haven't had any memos regarding Sephiroth for a long while now. Keep being you and everything will be fine." He nodded. "You don't have a birthday." It seemed like Lazard knew the answer. I clenched my fist and turned away.
"Why does my birthday matter? It's just a date." There was a short silence.
"When I lived in the slums, I would convince myself my birthday was the winter solstice, whenever above and below the plate would give gifts to each other. My birthday's been the 21st of December ever since. You got something like that?" I thought about it some.
"The first of December is when Midgar switches to full heating mode for the winter. The pipes in lived in would burn from the liters of mako-heated boiling water running through them. It would be warmer than it ever got in the summer. I guess that's a date I like." Lazard raised an eyebrow.
"The first is in a week." I shrugged.
"I guess it is." We sat in silence until the elevator finally hummed its way to the top. Once again, I found myself at the security checkpoint manned by three guards. But this time, I had a secret weapon. Lazard strode right up to the table.
"I am Secretary Deusericus on official business for Public Safety. This is my escort." Lazard gestured to me.
"Name," the guard said blandly.
"Lieutenant Asher."
"Full name," he went on.
"That is my full name." The guard looked up from his entry sheet.
"Shinra employee ID, then."
"028-9214," I recited. My head throbbed with the recall. I pushed it away, I couldn't afford to let myself be distracted right now. The guard waved us through and Lazard and I proceeded to the secure elevator and. beyond the range of my previous experiences. I didn't know what to expect going forward.
The Shinra Science Department turned out to be a series of white hallways. They were so much alike I wondered how Lazard knew where he was going. "It is likely that Sephiroth is currently housed somewhere in Biolab 4 - Hojo's personal wing. I can't imagine he's anywhere else." We came to another door, one with a giant '4' emblazoned on the right half. Lazard went to a keypad and punched in a few numbers. The keypad flashed red and wailed softly. "Damn." Lazard turned to me. "That passcode worked the last time I saw a lab tech use it." I nodded.
"They must change codes regularly. Is there no other way in?"
"Not unless you want blasted against a wall." A voice down the hall. Two men in suits stood, one of them Tseng. The other was a tall, severe man with his hand holding a gun close to his body. But not at us, I noticed.
"I hoped the Turks would be so kind as to let us do this, but I guess that would be naive," Lazard spat behind me.
"Oh Lazard, calm yourself. We cannot allow you into Hojo's private lab. You are not cleared for what's in there."
"So Sephiroth is in there? I've read enough Science Department reports to know what goes on. What Sephiroth is. I may as well be cleared."
"I am not at liberty to discuss the content and activities of Biolab 4. What you think you know is irrelevant. We will not let you get in. Don't think manipulating this boy will do anything for your case either." What?
"Lazard isn't manipulating me. I want to make sure Sephiroth is safe. He disappeared and last I know he was here."
Tseng's Turk friend looked bemused. "Really? Why would you think he would be here? There are many places he could be."
I clenched my fists. "He told me himself."
The man grinned. "That would be a breach in protocol, my boy. Sephiroth wasn't made to break rules like that so easily." Something seized in my heart at that.
"How he was made he no bearing on the type of person he is now. He and I are friends; he would tell me where he was going. I have the note in our room to prove it."
The man tilted his head and nodded to Lazard. "How did you manage that anyway, Lazard? Getting this boy close to one of Hojo's projects like that? What kind of control were you hoping to achieve with the boy?"
Lazard bared his teeth. "I may be ambitious, but I would never stoop to such a Turk tactic for control. You're out of your mind with that accusation."
I followed up. "No one's controlling anyone! I just want to know he's alright! Is that such a difficult concept?!" My voice broke in the last sentence. The man was silent. Tseng chose this moment to step forward.
"Sir, if I may." The man glared at Tseng. "I wish to vouch for Asher. I believe he is in earnest. I also believe that he will allow us to interrogate him in the adjacent corridor to verify his claims." The man glared at me. I nodded and began to walk toward the men, leaving Lazard exasperated but rooted to his spot by the door. The three of us rounded the corner and the man crossed his arms.
"I am Veld, leader of the Turks. Do you understand?" I swallowed and nodded. Veld continued.
"Answer these questions as immediately and honestly as possible. We can tell if you lie. Do you understand?" I nodded.
"Name."
"Asher."
"Real name."
"It is."
"Why did your parents name you Asher."
"I received the name in an orphanage, sit. Never knew parents."
"Elaborate."
"Burned things with a fire materia."
"Which orphanage?"
"Angel's Rest, Sector 4 below plate."
"When did you first meet Lazard?"
"Just now, when he came to see me in my room."
"Sephiroth's room." I looked him in the eye.
"Our room."
"Any previous attempt to reach Sephiroth?"
"Yes, but the checkpoint didn't let me through."
"Then what?" I realized the question might be a trap, but decided to be truthful. "Tseng showed up, I asked him to help."
"In Wutaian?"
"Yes."
"How's that?" I shrugged."
"There are Wutai immigrants in the slums, sir. They make great chicken."
"Hm. Yes. Why does Sephiroth interest you?"
"He's my friend."
"Try again." I stiffened.
"He's my first real friend, sir, I mean that. In the slums, I knew quite a few people, but none of them were my friends. The feeling of being at ease is… unreal when you've been on edge your whole life, you know. You're a Turk, right?" Veld seemed to be digesting my answer.
"Why do you interest Sephiroth."
"The same reason, I believe."
"Explain."
"Sephiroth needs a friend. From what I know about his life, a true friend is what he needs. And he needs me now. Let me into the lab." I stared down Veld with as much determination and desperation as I could muster.
"Tseng says you would make a good Turk, and I'm inclined to agree. But if I believe you, then you need to stay right where you are. I don't believe Sephiroth isn't a person, but he's a product of Hojo, and nothing that man has his hands in should ever be trusted, especially when they're supposed to be an unstoppable super soldier. Last question, what are your goals for the future?"
I thought for a moment. "I suppose I just want to see where this life takes me since it's so much better than my old one. I'd like to be there for Sephiroth wherever possible. Like you said, where I am now is best for everyone anyway." Veld nodded, shoulders sagging.
"What I am about to do is a violation of my given orders. But, it is for the greater good of Sephiroth, a person who gives us no quarter for concern." Veld turned and walked back, me and Tseng following.
"This is off-the-record. The Turks want to know what goes on in there just as much as you and Lazard do. Lazard, by the way, is being escorted downstairs by other Turks." Veld smiled sadly at me. "I suppose that means you're working with the Turks now, anyway." Veld walked up to the keypad and punched in a code. It hummed and glowed green. The door hissed open quietly, darkness yawning within.
The labs made my headache return in full force. I tried to keep myself from noticing any details as I continued ahead of the Turks in blind search of Sephiroth. I didn't pay any mind to the obsessiveness of it until I was over Sephiroth's unconscious body strapped to a table, a dozen different tubes carrying glowing substances into his body, his face contorted in pain. Real pain like I had never seen. Always, his face had been serene or at worst, impassively blank. He was screaming. I worked frantically to revive him, working control panels until I couldn't and I was on the ground vomiting and my head felt like it was going to explode and I realized it wasn't him screaming. Turks were there with guns pointed at me but Sephiroth was there, glowing green that made my eyes sear dripping onto the floor. I felt so warm as Sephiroth picked me up. The table was so cold but Sephiroth was there.
Sephiroth, Sephiroth's…, Sephiroth. Sephiroth. Sephiroth.
[a/n]: definitely didn't plan on ending it that way but what can i do
