A/N: YIPPEE! I'm back, and so soon! My God, I luv ya, scorpiosgirl! Same goes for you too, gothicdragon752! You guys are the best! Enjoy!
To gothicdragon752: Wow, you're pretty good! You're not exactly right with the whole miscarriage thing, but trust me; you're so on the right trail! BTW I feel it's quite an honor for you to be reading my story; I've read some of your Seph/Gen stories and I luv 'em! I'm a big fan! N e wayz, hope you enjoy what's to come! ;)
To scorpiosgirl: …I luv ya! Well, maybenotso much the wanting to go kung fu on me part, but…heheh (I laughed out loud when I read that, btw!) aww, you'd protect genny, too? Get in line! j/k! ;P but, seriously, I luv you and your awesome reviews! How 'bout another dedication, hm? Enjoy!
Dedicated to scorpiosgirl for all her kind and persistent support!
Chapter Six: "Some Things Can't Be Forgotten…"
No sooner than Genesis had seated himself up on the examination table—Sephiroth standing close at his side—Hollander came in through the back room. It was hard to determine whether his expression was anxious or irritated. Nonetheless, he put on the same forced pleasant expression he always wore when Genesis came to see him.
"Ah, Genesis!" the SOLDIER didn't move nor respond in anyway. "I'm relieved you've changed your mind and decided to come back. I'd say you made the right choice."
At that, Genesis slightly jumped, finally shifting his gaze to stare at Hollander. There was an odd light in Genesis's eyes that hadn't been seen in four years: Terror, suspicion, doubt, but terror more than anything. Those words…those cursed words—the same ones used that day. That day that changed everything. And its original speaker was right over there! Just a few meager yards on the other side of the labs! Just…acting like everything was so fucking normal! Like nothing so horrid or demented ever took place under his watch!
Unconsciously, Genesis crossed his legs rather tightly. His fingers dug into the underside of the table where his hands gripped the sides.
Who knows what helpless specimen that bastard was torturing now! Who knows--
"Genesis?"
This had to be repeated a few times before the copper-haired commander realized someone was talking to him. Barely moving at all, he quietly replied, "W-what?"
"Take it off for me."
This time, Genesis damn near fell off the table. He didn't just hear that! This had to be a nightmare—a vile replay of memories he wished he could forget. This wasn't happening! This can't be rea--
"What?!" thankfully, Sephiroth's arms held the younger SOLDIER up as he was scooting as far away from Hollander as possible.
Hollander, meanwhile, couldn't look more perplexed. Genesis was always uncomfortable during these tests, but this was…different. He was almost hysterical. He needed to calm him down, so he slowly repeated his request. "I…I need you to take off your coat for me, Genesis." He held up the needle he intended to draw blood with.
"H-huh?"
"Your coat, Genesis. I can't take a blood sample without you first taking off your coat."
Oh. Heheh, that…made sense. See? Nothing to worry about. Just a…blood sample. Yeah. That's all it is. Blood sample. Right.
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"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing to worry about; I just need to take a little blood from you."
"What for?"
"Just a little blood work, that's all."
"Why?"
"Oh, now, do you question Hollander this much? Why don't you just sit back and relax. You're in good hands, so let the good doctor do his work, hm?"
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"Genesis?"
He gasped. He turned to where the voice came from, which happened to be Sephiroth. Said general's green eyes were alight with worry. One of his hands held his friend's arm in a comforting hold. "Come on; we need to take off your jacket."
"Oh. O-okay."
Genesis tried his hardest to calm his nerves and racing thoughts while Sephiroth helped him out of his red trench, but his eyes kept wondering over to the other side of the room, where the head scientist was gleefully working. The copper-haired commander couldn't decide whether his blood boiled…or froze.
Before he realized it, Genesis's thoughts were getting kind of fuzzy and he felt a bit lightheaded. That sentiment was a little familiar, but it had a slightly stronger kick to it than usual; he had to grip Sephiroth's arm to keep from falling over.
"Easy, Genesis," his friend assured him as he eased his weight back to lie against the inclined table. "It's okay. Just relax."
"What's--why did--" his words were starting to slur. What the--?
"Nothing to worry over, my boy," he heard Hollander's voice say a little above him. "I just used a slightly stronger dose of the antibiotic to help you relax a little better."
With a start, Genesis tilted his head to look at his left arm. Yes, the usual intravenous antibiotic was hooked up to his arm, but panic began to rise within him at the thought of a stronger dose being given to him. Stronger dose meant less control over his body due to the sedative effect. He didn't like not being in control; it left him vulnerable. It left him wide open. It--
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"Wh-what'd…d'you gimme? I feel funny…"
"Oh, just a little something to help you relax. I don't want my patient to be uncomfortable and on-edge, now."
"Bu-but…I don't…ne--"
"Oh, that's enough of that. The last time I checked, I am the doctor and you are the patient. Hollander entrusted you to my care during his absence, so I ask that you argue with me no further."
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"Ge-get that outta me!" Genesis immediately jerked up and would have ripped the I.V. tube from his arm had it not been for Sephiroth holding his arms still and laying him back down. The younger SOLDIER tried to fight back, but his movements were sloppy and inhibited already. This scared him even more, so he continued to wear himself down in his frantic attempts to escape.
"Genesis. Genesis, listen, it's okay," Sephiroth soothed, attempting to calm his friend. He held one of Genesis's red-gloved hands in his own and even began to pet the gorgeous copper hair with the other. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere and I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Bu…but, I--c-can't f…focus..!"
"Shh-shh, it's alright. Don't worry. It's just so you don't panic."
Uh-oh. Wrong thing to say…
"Pa-panic?! What--? Are you--? Le-let me up!" again, Genesis began to thrash and fight, desperately trying to get the hell off that table and out of that horrible place, but Sephiroth was stronger, even if Genesis hadn't been drugged.
"Genesis, listen! If you don't calm down, we're going to have to restrain you. I don't want to, but--"
Good going, Seph.
"Geh…the fuck offa me!"
The loud crash following would have surprised Genesis if he wasn't in his hysterical state. What would have surprised him even more was that the crash resulted from the SOLDIER sending his friend into a medicine shelf with the strength he shouldn't have had. The only thing he was focused on now was getting out of that lab room—which is just what he was aiming for when he leapt off the table.
The I.V. crashed to the floor, glass and liquid scattering and splattering everywhere. Genesis caught himself on his hands before he could fall down completely. Shards of glass stabbed through his red gloves, but he didn't care—he barely felt it even when he pushed himself, albeit unsteadily, to his feet.
His vision became worse: blurry and jumbled. It was as if he was staring up at the surface from under water. Nonetheless, he pushed for the door, but didn't make it three steps before a strong pair of arms encircled him from behind. His legs gave out, but he never hit the hard, white tiles. He heard faint laughter. Like it was being contained. Who was laughing..?
A gentle pair of hands held his face to stare at another. All he could make out were two green blurs. Genesis shut his eyes tight. Someone spoke.
"Genesis, look at me. Calm down. Please calm down." Shut up. Go away. Leave me alone! "It's alright; I'm here. Right here. Nothing's going to hurt you. I promi…"
The voice steadily became quiet. Then…nothing. It's dark…
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There was a bounce in his step, out of both slight giddiness and irritation. Eighteen. He was finally eighteen. He could at last be called an official adult, just like Sephiroth and Angeal. Sure, he turned eighteen on Tuesday, but it was at last the weekend; Angeal had been planning to take him out for his birthday. Sephiroth too, of course, but Angeal had insisted it was all on him that weekend. He wasn't sure what Angeal had planned starting tonight, but he couldn't wait to find out. Hence the irritation part.
He'd been called down to the labs briefly before he could go. Some kind of routine check up. Apparently, he needed a few procedural tests done. Nothing too major, he was told, so hopefully this would be over with before too long.
He's special, Hollander always told him. Sometimes he needed special care. Okay, fine. But now? Come on, couldn't Hollander wait until after the weekend? Hmph. Apparently not.
Upon entering the labs, however, he wasn't met with Hollander. Instead, the scientist's only superior was in his place, along with a few of his personal assistants. He was confused, but he remembered his manners and pleasantly greeted the head scientist.
"Good evening, Professor Hojo. Working a little late this evening?"
The scientist looked up from behind his glasses. A smile crept onto his face. Not necessarily a welcoming smile, but…rather a creepy, menacing grin. But, hey, naïvity causes a bit of paranoia, right? "Good evening to you, little Genny. And, yes, I'm taking over for Hollander the next couple of days while he is away."
Genesis tried not to wrinkle his nose at the scientist's nickname for him. It annoyed him. A lot. Hojo had continuously mocked it (indirectly, of course) ever since he discovered that Sephiroth called him Genny when they were young. He didn't mind when Sephiroth called him 'Genny', but Hojo…it was scary. Nonetheless, he pushed his irritation aside and instead voiced his confusion.
"Taking over? I don't understand, Professor. I thought--"
"Ah, tsk, tsk," Hojo cut in, shaking his head as if berating a young child, which Genesis was NOT, thank you very much! "You certainly assume so much. As head scientist, I will be covering Hollander's duties during his stay in Banora. He has left yourself and Hewley in my charge until he returns. Now, shall we?" he turned away, gesturing to a med table nearby him.
Ah, great. Just perfect! A medical examination, and he gets stuck with Hojo! Yeech, so this is what Sephiroth feels like…
The teenaged Genesis took a few tentative steps further into the lab, automatic door sliding shut behind him. He stopped a few paces away from the medical equipment. "Um, excuse me, Professor." Hojo didn't turn away from the tray of medical necessities he was focused on. Um, okay. "But what does this examination consist of? I've just received my monthly mako injection last week and I haven't had any abnormal occurrences lately."
"My, my, you certainly do ask a lot of questions, don't you, little Genny?" at last, Hojo turned to him. He held a sphygmomanometer in his hand. "But to answer your question, Hollander requested a basic check-up and physical be done. You'd just recently changed age, yes?"
"Wha--yeah. But why--?"
"Oh, come. Don't be difficult. Now, up on the table and remove your coat so that I may take your blood pressure."
Genesis complied automatically. As soon as his coat was off, he tried again, "But Professor, why is all of this necessary? Especially now of all days? I've got to meet Ange--" he was cut off when Hojo shoved a thermometer into his mouth.
"Yes, yes, you boys and your festivities," Hojo acknowledged idly while he measured Genesis's blood pressure. It was as if Genesis was fussing over nothing. "But I do believe your health and well-being is of more importance than celebrating a mere age-change."
"Buh, Profesher, we--"
Hojo interrupted Genesis's protest by practically shrieking and removing the thermometer to reset it, "Ah! Do NOT speak while your temperature is being taken! It will invalidate the reading!" he scolded before thrusting a fresh thermometer back under the young SOLDIER's tongue. "There. Now keep quiet until I get your proper vitals."
This time, it took all of Genesis's will to not roll his eyes. Was this ridiculous or…was this completely and utterly RIDICULOUS?! A complete physical? And now? What the hell was so important about this that it couldn't wait just two measly days? He wasn't sick. He wasn't injured. He hadn't reacted to anything Hollander had given recently, so what the--
"Oww!" Genesis involuntarily cried out under the thermometer just before it was removed again. A sharp prick jabbed his arm and he realized Hojo had inserted a needle into his arm. He hadn't repeatedly tapped the area nor instructed him to flex a fist a few times like any other doctor would have when drawing blood; just tied a band around it and--he was drawing blood? "What's that?"
Hojo didn't look up from his work—he merely replaced the now-full vial with another empty one under the syringe, "Oh, nothing to worry about; I just need to take a little blood from you."
"What for?"
"Just a little blood work, that's all."
"Why?"
This time, Hojo did meet his eyes, snapping up a stern scowl at the young SOLDIER with disapproval and obvious annoyance, "Oh, now, do you question Hollander this much? Why don't you just sit back and relax. You're in good hands, so let the good doctor do his work, hm?" Somehow, Genesis found it hard to comply—especially since the withdrawal of the needle wasn't any more pleasant than the intrusion. Sure, the cotton and bandage stopped the bleeding, but that still hurt, dammit!
The copper-haired teen forced a tiny pout from his expression while listening to Hojo's absent muses as he recorded data on a clipboard. "Blood pressure: one-fifty over ninety—slightly abnormal. Temperature: ninety-nine point eight degrees Fahrenheit—almost feverish. As for behavioral patterns, impatient for the most part; Anticipation, anxiousness, slight irritability. Possibly due to rise in hormone levels."
That does it! Screw being creeped-out by this guy; How Genesis kept himself from whacking the scientist over the head with a nearby beaker or strangling him with that stethoscope was a mystery. Gaia, why didn't he just go back to examining interesting test subjects with his microscope or whatever and let Genesis enjoy what was left of his ruined day?!
"Are you finished, Professor?" Genesis inquired through gritted teeth.
"How are your eating habits?"
"Wai--what?"
"Your eating habits. How are you eating?" okay, this was getting fairly annoying…
"Enough to keep from starving. Can I go now?"
Hojo scribbled on the clipboard some more, "Ah. The food hasn't been satisfactory to you lately, then?"
"I doubt it's been satisfactory to anyone at all. Professor, please, can I--"
"What about abdominal issues? Have you had any pains in your abdomen as of late?"
What the hell was with this guy? Gaia, it's not as if he was a hormonal teenaged girl about to give birth! Nevertheless, "N--well, yeah; every few weeks or so. Bu-but Hollander said that's perfectly normal. It's nothing too bad or anything."
This seemed to please Hojo a bit. He gestured for one of his assistants to make his way over before turning back to Genesis, "Ah, yes. The degenerate always felt you were 'special', correct?"
Genesis furrowed his brow a bit. This situation was starting to smell funny. "I never quite understood why he said such things, Professor. But we all know how out-of-the-ordinary Doctor Hollander can be at times." He winced upon feeling another prick, this time in his right arm. Hojo's assistant had jabbed him with another needle, injecting a clear liquid into his bloodstream.
"Estimate for me how long it's been since your last abdominal pains?" Hojo continued.
Genesis held back a growl; he'd never heard of a physical being this-- "About two weeks. Are we done yet?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid," the scientist answered matter-of-factly, turning away to examine some files handed to him by another assistant. "We still have some rather crucial things to attend to."
"Things?" Genesis repeated incredulously. He roughly shook his head; perhaps he'd heard wrong? "Professor, can it not wait? I have 'things to attend to' this weekend!"
Hojo didn't so much as spare him a glance, "Would you rather be taken care of incase of any complications or face the possibility of keeling over before midnight?"
Genesis brought a hand up to rub a bit of weariness from his eyes before protesting, "There's nothing wrong with me." He moved to hop off the table, "Please, Professor, you're wasting your time, here. I'm sure you have…more important…" Genesis's attempt to take a step nearly resulted in him falling flat on his face. His body felt completely out of balance. What..?
"Ah, Suzuki, would you mind helping our patient back onto the table before he hurts himself?" he heard Hojo almost giggle. Then he felt his feet leave the ground. Had someone picked him up?
Genesis could see everything around him, but his thoughts were foggy-like. He felt heavy. He felt physically fatigued, like he'd run a marathon out of the blue without preparing or training for it. His brain didn't seem to want to send proper messages throughout his body; he couldn't even pull himself up once he'd been set to lie down on the examination table. This definitely wasn't normal.
"Wh-what'd…d'you gimme?" Genesis attempted to push passed his lips, but his speech became quite distorted. "I feel funny…"
"Oh, just a little something to help you relax. I don't want my patient to be uncomfortable and on-edge, now."
"F-for what?"
"I did say we have things to attend to, did I not?"
Was it just him, or was this conversation going nowhere? "Bu-but…I don't…ne--"
"Oh, that's enough of that," Genesis would have jumped when the head scientist irritably snapped at him, if only he was allowed the physical capability to do so. "The last time I checked, I am the doctor and you are the patient. Hollander entrusted you to my care during his absence, so I ask that you argue with me no further."
Genesis didn't like this. At all. He was even becoming slightly scared, if you would. If there was one thing that scared Genesis more than anything, it would be not being in control over his own body. Right now, he probably couldn't tell someone how many fingers were in front of his face.
These thoughts sent off panic neurons to the young SOLDIER's brain. He tried to get up and escape the table again, but a hand roughly pushed him back down. "You'll stay there or I will be forced to use restraints on you."
Restraints. If there was one thing that Genesis hated more than anything, it was the idea or feeling of imprisonment. Could this get any worse?
Sephiroth…
A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Sorry, I couldn't help myself! #cowers# please don't pull a scorpiosgirl and kung fu! I know street fighting, y'know! Lol but really…don't kill me? #puppy eyes# review and I'll bring the next installment! Next chapt you all get to find out what capsized Genesis's life…maybe. If it's not the next chapt, then the chapt after that, promise!
