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The man paced in front of Cloud. "First of all, I should tell you that my name is Thomas Hojo." He said, reading one of the monitors.
Cloud waited.
"I worked for Shinra under a different name for many years, with only one ambition. Experimentation." His eyes flashed, and he continued,
"President Shinra wanted me to create the most powerful army of first Class SOLDIERS on Gaia, and have them be at his every command."
Hojo chuckled, "He and I have been working on this project for many years, but in my work, I found a solution. An answer to
how we would be able to complete this task, to inject such a large quantity of Mako into one person without them dying. We began implanting Mako to our first Subjects when they first
joined SOLDIER, at their youngest point. It only made sense to inject the Mako cells when the rest of the SOLDIER's body was still developing, and the cells could aid the development,
tainting the entire body, not just the bloodstream, with Mako. Unfortunately, out of the thirty-some SOLDIERS we tried, only two survived."
He looked directly at Cloud, "One, was the great Sephiroth." he paused- "The other, was Zack Fair." Cloud waited.
"We were confounded- why would these two SOLDIERS survive, when the others did not?- but then, we noticed a similarity between the two specimens."
He paused for dramatic effect- "Blood. It was their blood, that was able to sustain the mako without being killed, but unfortunately it was a very rare blood type. Only a couple of their kind
are produced each generation, and to track them is a difficult task. At first, we thought Zack and Sephiroth were the only ones." Hojo grew a sickening smile. "And then we found you,
Cloud."
The only reason your blood is tested when you join SOLDIER is not for the drug screening. It is to see if we can find any more of the rare blood that we yearn for so desperately. When we
found you Cloud, we were very excited." He paced slower, "You see, another thing I developed during my research, was a purified Mako substance infused with special Jenova cells. It was
called Black Mako." He looked at his feet as he paced, seeming to talk more to himself than Cloud. "Unfortunately, I was only able to produce a small amount with the remaining cells. This
substance would make whoever had been given the full Mako injection at a young age, the only ones being Zack and Sephiroth, incredible strength, a possible chance of immortality and
nearly endless stamina. They would be unstoppable." Hojo had a crazed look in his eyes. "If only I had created it when Sephiroth and Zack were still in my grasp- but no. I developed it
shortly after they regained strength and broke out of the containment facility. But now, I have you." Hojo looked into Cloud's glowing eyes. "I see. You wonder why I have not given you
the injection of Black Mako yet." Cloud blinked. "Ah yes, that is where the problem lies." Hojo growled. "I feared the protection of the substance, so I stored it in the president's vault. He
soon realized what it was, and refused to return it to me, wanting to profit of my genius as much as he could. A couple of weeks ago, I sent someone to retrieve it for me. It is someone
you know well, I believe." Cloud stared through half lidded eyes; he wasn't feeling so well... "Flint Furrows. I knew he resented you, and offered him a great deal of money if he quit
SOLDIER and aided me. And so, he did. He worked with my assassins, the Crimson Band to aid me in your capture." Hojo sneered, "But hate can only go so far- He brought me the Black
Mako, but refused it to me once he saw what I'd done to you... But no matter- I suspect he will be returning shortly- and one way or another, he will come with something I want." He
looked revolted, "Remorse and friendship are sickening." Cloud suddenly felt nauseous. How could this man possibly risk the deaths of more than thirty young men, just in the hopes of
creating a superhuman? Whether it was these thoughts that made him nauseous or the sudden lurch that the heart monitor gave as the beeps began to escalate. Hojo's eyes switched
from Cloud, to the monitor. He quickly read one of the scans and frowned annoyed. He fed another dosage of mako through his i.v tube and Cloud felt as if he were sinking. The room
began to shrink around him, and he happily let the darkness claim him. Away from the mako, away from the frantic beeping of machines- away from Hojo.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Flint watched Zack's silhouette from his cot. He was pacing, back and forth in the icy bunkroom, rendering a path of hard packed snow as his boots squished it deeper into the earth. Zack
had explained the situation to the rest of the SOLDIERS, and reluctantly they had let him into the camp, feeding him and Fenrir, and giving them a place in the bunkroom. Fenrir slept
beneath his suspended cot on a pile of blankets, the Chocobo's body heat warming his bed. Zack paced continuously, checking every few minutes out the peep hole in the wall for signs of
dawn. Flint wondered if the man ever slept. He buried himself in the blankets, knowing he wouldn't be free for long. As soon as they rescued Cloud- he would be sent to jail. He stole the
Black Mako and had Hojo and President Shinra against him. There was no way out. He sighed, closing his eyes. Oh well, could be worse I suppose.
Hope you enjoyed Fire and Ice Pt 3, keep a look out for another chapter soon!
Lucifer
