Chapter 29

The path which Cloud followed was full of twists and turns, and he noticed that the overhead light bulbs were getting spaced further and further apart, which meant some areas were being left in total darkness before the next curve revealed another dimmed lamp. Cloud began to feel uneasy, and a part of him wished the general was still there, just to cover his back. Then he licked at his cut bottom lip, a reminder of the brutal kiss the man had given, and he asked himself if he weren't safer alone.

A faint clicking sound from just behind him had Cloud spinning around, and his eyes opened wide in amazement as he saw a portion of the stone wall swing open, revealing a hidden passageway that was much more brightly lit… and Professor Hojo stepping out. Instinctively opening his mouth to speak, Cloud was silenced by the other man's urgent gestures to stay quiet. He furrowed his blond eyebrows in question, and didn't resist as the scientist came to him and placed a hand firmly over the communication device on Cloud's wrist.

"Good, good, good. I am so glad to see you. I need your help," Hojo whispered.

"Do you know how much trouble you are in?" Cloud hissed back, cautiously looking past the man, making sure that Sephiroth hadn't appeared.

"Yes, yes, yes… all a total misunderstanding."

"Do you have anything to do with the missing cadets? Did you take them? Where is Zack?" Cloud demanded.

"I needed the cadets," Hojo confessed after a moment's pause. "It was imperative that I obtained them, to assist me in my work. My research will be of vast benefit to all. But the general's friend got in the way, and has hampered my studies. He is here, but is incapacitated. I had to restrain him, for his own well-being."

The brighter light from the secret exit was falling on the facial features of the professor, and to Cloud it appeared as if Hojo had to seriously concentrate before he'd replied. Cloud debated over what to do, still believing that the man standing before him couldn't really be harmful, not intentionally. Hojo was a doctor, and doctor's saved lives, so he decided to try and talk the scientist into laying his case before Sephiroth, thinking that there was nothing so bad that it could not be fixed with a rational get-together. Plus, he told himself, the sooner he got Zack returned, the sooner he could make his own exit. "Come with me," he urged. "We can sort this out with the general's help."

Just the tiniest of hesitations, and then Hojo nodded, saying quietly, "After you."

Grateful that there would be a quick and easy solution to all the mess, Cloud turned around to begin the return journey to Sephiroth, and with his back to the professor he was unaware of the man reaching into his lab coat pocket and extracting a syringe. Only the stinging pain of the needle as it pricked into his neck warned him that something was terribly wrong, but the chemical that Hojo injected into him was instant acting, and Cloud slumped to the ground, alert but unable to move or talk. His blue eyes glared accusingly at his attacker.

"Don't look at me like that, boy," Hojo said, removing the communicator that Cloud wore and stomping his boot down on it, destroying the device. Kicking the broken pieces inside the brightly lit corridor, the man then proceeded to hoist Cloud under the armpits and, pulling him into the secret chamber, muttered to himself, "My prettiest specimen so far."

/\./\./\./\./\./\./\

Hearing a cascade of crackles in his ear, Sephiroth canted his head and listened. No other sound was heard, but he knew something was awry. Still walking forwards, moving ever deeper upon his chosen route, he spoke in to his communicator. "Party Two, report."

"Nothing to report, sir," came back the reply from the scout. "Just lots of bendy turns, and a couple of break-off passageways, all searched and revealing nothing of interest."

"Boy?" Sephiroth did not like it when there was no immediate response. "Cloud?" he called, this time a little louder, and more aggressive. But there was still no response.

"Trouble with the little blond, sir?" the scout asked. "Perhaps he got scared, and absconded."

"No he hasn't, and he wouldn't," Sephiroth replied strongly, although inside he wasn't so confident that Cloud might have taken the opportunity to escape from him once again. Ignoring his own route now, he returned to the place where he had separated from the boy and proceeded to walk that way instead, tracing Cloud's path and pacing himself, counting out the steps he took until he reasoned he'd gone far enough to counter with the number of steps Cloud would have taken. Then, using the hilt of his weapon, Sephiroth began tapping at the walls on both sides of himself, a probing thump with each new step he took.

His patience was rewarded when he heard a dull hollow thud from one of his blows. "Clever little bastard," he breathed, before raising Masamune's hilt again and smashing it down hard upon the wall several times, breaking open the hidden entrance easily. "But you're not clever enough, Hojo," he mused, his eyes immediately seeing the discarded and broken talking device that Cloud had been wearing, and which now clearly indicated that this was the way the boy had been taken.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I have found where our rat is hiding. Come."

"On our way, sir."

/\./\./\./\./\./\./\

Dumped ungraciously inside a musty smelling cell, Cloud could only lay there and wait helplessly, unable to even blink at the one soft glowing light bulb that did little to brighten the room. Eventually though, as the minutes ticked by, he felt the sensation of pins and needles in his feet and hands, and he knew that his body was starting to come back under his control. Bending his fingers and wiggling his toes in an effort to speed up the process, Cloud became heartened when he was able to begin moving his limbs further along each joint and he began vigorously rubbing at his arms and legs, stretching them, flexing them, feeling them regain strength. Finally he felt able enough to attempt standing, and after only a few wobbly starts he succeeded in getting up from his knees, and walked unsteadily to the closed metal door. It was locked, as Cloud had half expected, and in annoyance and frustration he banged at the door, yelling, "Professor, please, let me out before Sephiroth comes and takes this all the wrong way. Seriously, you do not want to make the man any madder than he already is!"

A small panel opened in the top part of the door and the beady, glass covered eyes of the scientist peered into the room. "Ah, you recovered extraordinarily quickly from my little paralyzing serum, which is very good indeed. Now to test you with another drug."

"No! No drugs," Cloud gasped, moving away from the door as if he feared being injected or infected somehow through the solid object, and looking around the cell to see if he could find the weapon he'd been carrying and which was now missing. "I'm warning you, professor, if you try to…"

"Calm down boy, calm down," Hojo placated. "I really do want to co-operate with you and return you to the general but, you see, the cadets…" He shook his head and gave an exaggerated sigh. "They haven't recovered in the same way that you have. In fact, they are still led out on the floor, and I don't know how to revive them."

Encouraged by the man's seemingly despondent tone, and the fact that he expressed the apparent need for help, Cloud approached the door again. "Let me out, and take me to them," he urged. "Perhaps I can aid them in some way. I can try getting them to stand up, and hold them while I make them walk. That might stimulate them enough to rouse them."

"That sounds like a marvellous plan!" Hojo exclaimed with a smile on his face. He unlocked the door and, pushing it open wide, he stepped aside.

"Where is my weapon?" Cloud asked as he strode out through the doorway, his eyes quickly taking in the details of the larger, brighter lit, room. He was amazed to see it was filled with computers, all of which were whirling and buzzing busily, each with unrecognisable data which was constantly loading across the screens. He wanted to go closer to the monitor's, to study what was being shown, but the professor was talking to him, tugging at his arm.

"You won't need a weapon, just to check on the casualties. I promise to hand it back to you once you've taken a look at them," Hojo answered, and he then shuffled off, leading the way.

/\./\./\./\./\./\./\

"The boy was unconscious and dragged away. You can tell by the scuff marks his boots have left," the scout observed.

"I could have told you that, without the aid of the scuff mark clue," Sephiroth replied dryly.

"Yes well, I guess it also goes to show that he didn't go willingly."

"I could have told you that as well."

The pair of Shin-Ra Soldiers looked nervously at one another. Ever since the blond boy had gone missing, the general had been snappy and his whole demeanour had changed to one of intense unpredictably. The poor scout seemed to be the one taking the brunt of the man's bad attitude, and neither of the Soldiers planned on doing anything untoward to change that. Now, with this latest icy interchange, they hung back a few steps more in the brightly lit corridor, and decided to let the two bicker alone.

"What was that?"

The scout tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, but he couldn't hear or detect the same thing which the general obviously had. "What was what?" he ended up asking.

"A muffled sound… There it is again!"

The three men watched in silenced awe as Sephiroth approached what looked like a solid piece of wall and ran his hands over it, his fingers exploring the surface closely. Then, with a triumphant, "Ahha," they saw him dig the tip of his sword deep into the stone, and probe until a secret door sprang open, leading into yet another hidden area.

"I need to retake my pathfinder tests," the scout said glumly, following quickly behind the general as the man strode purposefully in through the new entrance.

/\./\./\./\./\./\./\

Cloud waited cautiously outside of the room that the professor took him to, and only entered after the other went in first. It was dimly lit like the one he had been locked in just moments earlier, though a lot bigger in size, and most of it was obscured in darkness. There was also a smell in the room, a scent that Cloud both knew and hated; the aroma of death.

Huddled on the floor, apparently sleeping, was a body dressed in Shin-Ra cadet uniform, curled up in the foetal position, with his back to the doorway. Cloud watched as the professor approached and bent down low over the prone figure, seemingly patting him softly on the face as he spoke soothingly to him.

"Come, come now. It's time to wake up. Eh? What's that? Water? You need a drink of water?" Hojo stood up and, pointing down at the disabled cadet he said to Cloud, "He wants a drink. Wait with him while I fetch it, please."

Walking over to take the scientist's place at the stricken man's side, Cloud knelt down and gently turned him around, and was confused to see that the cadet wasn't conscious. His eyes were closed, and his body was limp. Alarm ran through Cloud's body, and he sprang instantly to his feet, but he was just seconds too late. The metal door to the room slammed shut, and a giggling Hojo peered through the small grill opening at him. "What's really going on here?" Cloud demanded.

"You'll see, you'll see," the professor answered gleefully. "Your little friend in there will be waking up shortly, never fear. I've just rubbed some of my best ever invention in to his skin. It's called PX-3, and I have finally perfected the formula. It takes a few minutes to activate, but once it does, you had best be prepared. He's not happy when he's awoken."

Behind Cloud came the sound of slow, sluggish movement, accompanied with the intake of ragged, laboured breathing. Ignoring the delighted chuckles of the professor, Cloud turned around wearily, and watched as the awakening man pushed himself to his knees, the effort seemingly immense and painful for all the low guttering moans that came from his throat. Cloud wondered if perhaps the boy was injured, and momentarily considered stepping towards him and offering help. It was only the continued chuckling of the man outside the door that made Cloud keep his distance. "What's wrong with him?" he called out to the professor, not taking his eyes off the other youth.

"Nothing is wrong with him. He is perfect… simply perfect."

At hearing voices the cadet faced his audience and then, with a snarl, he charged at Cloud.

/\./\./\./\./\./\./\

Author's Note; Jean, you guessed right! Sorry if this next chapter has kept you waiting.