The next time Eloise woke up was in hospital. She groaned and tried to move but her head was spinning. That was the price she had to pay for saving herself and her fellow SOLDIER mates.

"You woke up."

That voice wasn't Zack's. The man standing on a chair had a red book on his lap and was watching her thoughtfully.

"How long was I out for?"

"Three days."

Her eyes widened and quickly rose on her bottom. Her head was still hurting but her vision was getting back to normal.

The redhead sighed and walked closer to her bed, placing the book aside.

"You used too much energy. What happened in Nibelheim?"

She rubbed her forehead and groaned. "It was a trap. We had to take an important document from some secret source but it never came. We were attacked by three creatures. Karr died, Sky and Matt were badly injured and I-"

"You're fine. The mako energy in your body already healed your arm."

She swayed her arm around, inspecting it before leaning back.

"I failed my first mission."

Genesis raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to her. "It was a trap. Those guys were lucky to have you there."

Eloise could hardly believe Genesis said something nice about her and he could see it in her eyes that she was still registering what he said.

"Tonight, after everyone leaves you alone, come to that lab you tried to sneak into." He added quickly.

"Why?"

Genesis scowled. "We have to talk to Hollander "

That reminded her of the file. She wasn't supposed to read it yet curiosity got the best of her. Hollander and Hojo were acclaimed scientists in Shinra and they worked on Jenova Project.

After Genesis left the hospital room, Eloise remained all alone. She didn't dare ask where the others were, afraid that they might magically appear on the spot.

She had enough time to think about Nibelheim. It wasn't only the summoning of three dangerous monsters that bothered her but the thought that someone went through all that mess to kill them. But what for? The file about Jenova Project was still in her possession.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she tilted her head to the side to see who entered. Two mischievous green eyes looked around before falling on the patient. He smiled boyishly and entered without a problem.

"Good to see you awake! You scared me to death when you fainted in my arms."

She rubbed her eye sheepishly, "Sorry?"

Reno's smile widened and grabbed her hand. She blushed at the sudden contact.

"You know, maybe I can pull some strings and take you with me on the next mission."

She blinked. "Aren't you the connection pilot for SOLDIERs?" Reno nodded his head furiously. "I guess we will see each other a lot, anyway."

For the remaining time, she listened to Reno's stories about his missions, the turks and Shinra's youngest son.

"He's a pest sometimes but he can be likable. He has potential."

Eloise tried not to laugh too loudly but Reno was making it impossible. He even impersonated his boss.

The fun ended when Sephiroth decided to pay her a visit. He had never heard Eloise have so much fun before; it sounded so happy and warm. He opened the door silently and walked in. Her smile cracked when she noticed him.

"Sephiroth,"

Reno glanced over his shoulder at the new visitor. He could feel the tension rising so he left; of course, not before he reminded Eloise to call him if she wanted to have fun. Reno's offer sounded worse than he intended but Eloise laughed it off.

"I see you feel better already."

She nodded. "Where is everyone?"

Sephiroth walked closer to her and checked her arm. The burning signs vanished.

"Angeal and Zack had to leave for an urgent mission. Genesis is in the simulation room, reading."

His eyes traveled to hers and stared into them. He could see the mako in her eyes even if she originally believed she had none. Her eyes were blue, exactly like Zack's but hers were giving off a mysterious and cold aura.

"I see you made a new friend," Sephiroth changed the subject swiftly.

Eloise chuckled and looked down at her hands. "Yes. It seems turks aren't that bad."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He was curious where she got such a rare optimism regarding everything but most of all, he wanted to know one tiny detail.

"What happened in Nibelheim? What triggered the attention on you?"

She sighed. Everyone wanted to know the same thing.

"I guess people just don't like Shinra army men. That was all."

"That's not all, is it?" Sephiroth could sense she was hiding something.

She raised her eyes shyly to her mentor and bit her lip.

"I think someone tried to sneak into my room. They failed but I heard something crash and I saw a shadow. I don't know who it was. I'm sorry."

Sephiroth's gaze softened when he heard her apology. She was blaming herself when it wasn't even her fault. He wasn't a master at showing his emotions but he tried to assure her that everything was going to be alright in the only way he could: he patted her head. Eloise felt like a puppy, waiting for her master to take her for a walk.

Later that night, Eloise sneaked out of the hospital wing in only the hospital gown. The floor was cold and it made her feel like she was evading from an asylum.

Thankfully, the elevator moved quickly and she arrived at the lab in record time. Since she didn't have the chance to enter the lab the last time, she had to take advantage of that opportunity. She walked closer to the metallic door and leaned closer to the lock. It was advanced technology and she needed a code and a retina examination. Eloise sighed and leaned against the wall. Maybe it wasn't as easy as she originally thought.

"Are you trying to break in again?"

She jumped in surprise when she heard his voice. Genesis smirked cockily and walked past her. He sent a message and the door opened.

She was shy. That laboratory was creepy and cold. There were many machines working silently and there were definitely people in tubs. She walked closer to one of them and tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside when the tub moved. Scared and freaked out, Eloise ran to Genesis. It was safer around him.

"Ah, Genesis,"

Hollander looked exactly like she remembered. She moved closer to Genesis when his eyes trailed to her. The scientist smiled and that itself was freaking her out.

"Eloise. I see you made it to SOLDIER."

"Should she thank you for that?" Genesis asked curtly.

Hollander chuckled and approached a table with different solutions on it. There were papers scrawled over the whole table and tubs of different dimensions. It was very messy.

"She might." He answered, eyes searching for something.

Eloise's eyes, "You made me your experiment?!"

Hollander scowled.

"Not exactly. I helped you improve faster, didn't I? Not everyone has such an opportunity."

"You made me a monster!" Eloise screamed, leaving aside her shyness. She was dangerous because she wasn't able to control herself all the time. "I am a killer!"

"You are definitely not a killer. I injected mako energy into your body because I saw potential in it."

"What is that supposed to mean? I had 50% chances to die!"

Hollander nodded. "But you didn't. You survived." He smiled out of nowhere and walked to her. "I injected pure mako energy into you. Not many are able to survive. Moreover, you had an allergic reaction to it and that is rarely seen."

"So what? Did you inject me with Jenova cells so that my body would be able to accept mako?"

"I need your help. That's why I helped you in the first place."

That was to be expected. She knew he wouldn't have given her such power for nothing.

"I will help you as long as you help me."

"Isn't that more of a deal than anything?" She mumbled, "What do you want from me?"

"I need you to help me with Project G. Your blood, I want it. You see, lately my experiment came to a halt. Not many people have Jenova cells in their bodies. Those who have it either die because their bodies can't accept it, either survive miraculously."

While Eloise was thinking about Hollander's deal, Genesis's vision darkened. Hollander was focused on getting something from the young puppy.

"It would benefit me if you could let me get a sample right now."

Eloise's eyes widened when Hollander grabbed a syringe and a container off the table. She froze when she saw how long was the needle and intended to hide behind the redhead but Genesis stopped her.

"It's alright. If you don't want to, you don't have to give it to him."

"If she doesn't give me a sample, I won't give her a sere to stabilize the mako energy."

Eloise's eyes widened and looked up at the redhead, swallowing nervously.

"That's not what we discussed about, Hollander."

The scientist laughed before looking at the SOLDIER with a sly smirk, "How are you feeling lately, Genesis?"

The older SOLDIER glared at the scientist. "My body became weak."

Hollander hummed and searched for something in his pockets. When he found it, he smiled wickedly: it was a small tub with bright yellow substance in it.

"This should help. But Genesis, I am afraid that with the pollution of Shinra going on, you will get more and more affected." The scientist added. "Of course, if Eloise here would give us a sample of her blood, I might find a way to stabilize your condition as well."

Eloise frowned. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Hollander scowled. "Think about it as a way to save Genesis. You wouldn't want him to die, would you?"

For a moment, that terrible thought didn't sound bad. Genesis dying didn't seem to make a difference.

"What are you going to do with her blood?"

Hollander raised an eyebrow and turned his back on them, walking towards a tub filed with blue substance.

"I'm going to continue my experiment, of course. The Jenova Project," Genesis's eyes narrowed as he listened to Hollander continue. "Just because Project G had met troubles doesn't mean Jenova Project failed as well."

Eloise's eyes widened and she took a few steps back. If what she read in that file was right, the principle subject for Jenova Project was very much alive.

"This meeting might have been a mistake." Genesis mumbled coldly before turning his back to the scientist.

After Genesis was called a failure, his whole behavior seemed to darken both visibly and emotionally.

On the other side, Eloise felt empty. She was only another puppet for the scientist and was lucky enough to survive the first set of tests before gradually becoming an important part of his experiments.

Eloise didn't know where to go or who to talk to. There was only one person who knew about her and he didn't seem available for the moment. She didn't have enough courage to go to her mentor because he was probably going to ask her details; details that she didn't know yet. Angeal didn't seem to know about his real purpose in Shinra and Zack didn't know anything at all.

"Are you going to talk to me about what you feel? Or do you want to fight? Something?" She wasn't going to give up anytime soon, Genesis was aware of that. She was a little persuasive pup.

Without speaking another word, Eloise followed Genesis around. He took the elevator and went to his room first. He grabbed his rapier and took the elevator again. They ended up in the simulation room. It was different than the training room she had been in before. Firstly, it was larger and had a second level, where the whole machinery was. Genesis unlocked the room easily and turned on the computers. Once the simulation was activated, he jumped into the battle while Eloise remained upstairs, watching him fight with a behemoth. She sighed and leaned against the glass window.

It took Genesis almost three hours to calm down. He fought with six different creatures from the highest level, got scratched, pushed around, hit and overly beaten up. He had thrown fire from his hands only to get burnt later on but after he calmed down, mostly because he had no choice, he changed the simulation. At that point, Eloise walked downstairs and sat beside him.

"From the maniacal surrounding of a truly deranged man, you suddenly went to zen mode." He ignored her. "You need to talk about it." Eloise pressed on.

"There is nothing to talk about, newbie. Now, excuse me, I want to read in silence."

"You never read in silence, not that book. You need to talk to people, Genesis."

He opened his book and hid his face behind it.

"I talk to Angeal and Sephiroth." The redhead mumbled.

She scoffed. "No, you don't. Did you tell Angeal about your condition?" Silence. "Did you tell him that he has the same condition as you?" Silence again. "You don-"

"Eloise, my life doesn't concern you. You should go and think about your own life." The redhead snapped. She wasn't an adult, she was only a child and he said that but he was angry and she was pestering.

It didn't necessarily hurt her. She wasn't going to pout and leave that easily. Next to what she went through as an officer, Genesis's words meant nothing.

Since he wasn't going to cooperate, she decided to take the matters in her own hands. The girl grabbed the book from his hands and read the first few lines.

"Act IV. My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left, the bow of the goddess" She raised an eyebrow and continued. "My soul, corrupted by vengeance. Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey. In my own salvation. And your eternal slumber. Legend shall speak. Of sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface. Quietly, but surely."

She placed the book on her lap and looked up at the sun. The simulation was beautiful: sunset in some village.

Genesis's eyes were constantly watching her. In some twisted way, he needed her; her blood more exactly. Her blood was going to stabilize or even neutralize his condition and he was growing weaker with each passing day.

"You know, when Hollander asked me for a blood sample, I got scared. When he told me I should give it to him because he gave me power, I felt disappointed in myself. But when he told me I have the chance to save you, I didn't need to think much. You're a narcissistic jerk who looks at other people from his pedestal. I wasn't going to accept his deal." She turned her head to him and added, "You don't deserve my help."

Genesis scoffed, "I don't need your blood."

"I believe you do. I believe Hollander. When you work with humans, you never know if their bodies will react according to your theories. Your body reacted badly while mine reacted well. Are you jealous?"

Her sentence didn't make much sense for Genesis because he had no reasons to be jealous of her.

"No. I'm not jealous of anything."

She raised an eyebrow and leaned on her elbows. "What about Sephiroth?"

Genesis's eyes shifted to the scenery. "I'm not jealous of my friend."

"I don't believe you. I don't believe it when you say you don't need my blood and I certainly don't believe it when you say you're not jealous."

"Noble," Genesis started out of nowhere, "You asked me what kind of childhood I had. I was the son of the mayor. Angeal is my childhood friend. I've always dreamed to become a hero and save the ones in need and I've been living with that dream until recently."

"Because you found out you have been experimented on?" Eloise asked, a bit taken aback, "You really believe you are a monster, don't you?" She took one look at his face before she asked, "Are you lonely, Genesis?"

Genesis threw her a look that could have been a mix of melancholy and annoyance before he turned off the simulation. He left without another word.

Left alone in the room, Eloise hummed to herself and nodded, "Definitely lonely."

The room didn't look comfortable and sunny anymore. It was cold and her butt was freezing; she completely forgot she was still dressed in the hospital gown.

While she was getting up, Eloise noticed the pink book Genesis used to carry around. He forgot it there so she took it for him.