A/N1: I need to add a warning on this one. There is no blood and nothing graphic, but it is torture nonetheless. I have tried to keep it palatable, but I know some people may still have issues. With that in mind, I have marked the section where it is applicable with a break and the word BREAK since this site doesn't have a better formatting option. I will also add a brief summary at the end for any that want to skip. Thank you all.
Chapter 20– Machinations of a Madman
Despite how late it was when he finally got to sleep, Genesis was up not long after dawn. He had still been clutching the pillow when he woke. He placed it gently on the couch before he turned to get ready for the day. Once he was finished, he gave it one last look before he frowned and headed back to headquarters
He was gratified to see that Sephiroth was already in the office when he arrived. He ignored the slight frown the man wore when he came in without knocking and got straight to the point. "Has anyone contacted Godo yet?"
Sephiroth's frown fell into confusion. "I don't believe so. Why would we?"
Genesis growled in frustration as he started pacing. "It hasn't even been forty-eight hours since they left the city. It is doubtful that they have managed to leave this continent yet. Still, on the off chance that they slip through our search net, then it would be best to warn the Emperor before they can try to get into Wutai. Even if they aren't headed there, Godo will close the borders, which will make our jobs easier."
He paused long enough to turn another scowl at Sephiroth, even if it was easy for the General to see that it was little more than a veneer over the pain the man refused to show. Genesis's voice barely covered the rage he had leashed when he continued. "I have no doubt that Godo would even be willing to help with the search if he could spare any resources. Even if he doesn't, I can guarantee that if we let him know what happened, then he will ensure Wutai will not be a safe haven for them."
Sephiroth gave his friend a nod. "Let me call the President. From what I understand, he and Godo formed a mutual understanding. Rufus has made it clear that he will do what he can to help get her back. If he has not already thought of this, then he will make it happen before the hour is out."
Genesis then stopped to stare at Sephiroth. After several moments of silence, the General realized the man was waiting to see it done. He swallowed a sigh as he picked up the phone and dialed. He wasn't shocked to hear Tseng on the other end and didn't let it faze him as he got straight to the point. "Genesis brought up an excellent suggestion. Has Rufus considered reaching out to Godo yet?"
There was a moment of silence before a new voice was on the other end. Rufus was quick to answer. "No, I have not, but I can see how it would be beneficial. I will call now, as he should still be awake." Nothing else was said before he hung up.
As soon as the phone was down, Sephiroth turned to see Genesis already walking out. He frowned at the retreating man, but not out of censure. He knew his friend had to be going crazy and doubted he could have forced him to stand still for long. He wasn't prone to prayer, but after having met Minerva, he knew this was just the situation for it. He hoped she caught his thoughts and helped to keep Clarissa safe. Too many people would be devastated if anything happened to her. Himself included.
When he looked back to see the three boys reading in the corner, he knew they would be as well. Despite having only known her a month, those three had gotten close to her. It most likely had to do with the fact that she had been the first person to treat them like humans, like children even, and continued to do so until she had disappeared.
After Genesis left Sephiroth's office, he went to his own to try and drown himself in work. He had been gone long enough that there was plenty for him to do. Still, it was less than an hour before he was up and pacing once more.
That morning, when he had thought of Godo, it had given him drive and purpose. Unfortunately, that had not taken long to implement, and he was once again at a dead end. It drove him insane that there was nothing else he could do.
He started to storm out of his office to see if there was anything he could find to blow up but stopped when his computer dinged. He almost ignored it, but finally growled as he went to see what the message was. He sat immediately when he saw it was from Sephiroth with the subject line about Clarissa.
He skimmed through it to see there were two new pieces of information. First, Godo had not only agreed to close his borders, but he also promised to scour Wutai to ensure there was no place they could possibly have left to hide. Once that was finished, he would send any troops he could spare to make a coordinated effort with Shinra to do the same for the Western Continent.
Genesis hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he had a feeling his desire was less than wishful thinking. Especially when he read the last part of the message. Two unmarked helicopters had been spotted by the residents of a tiny village that edged the swamp by the mythril mines. They had already been long gone by the time the Turks had arrived to investigate, and there was no further trail. Though they did get the direction. It seemed as though they were going to try to go over the mountains. A risky maneuver in a helo, but not impossible.
At that point, Genesis almost got up to leave. If they knew they were headed toward the southern part of the continent, then they could be going to Wutai. He froze when he realized it could also mean they were traveling to Junon. It was unconventional in a helicopter to go that way, but not impossible.
He sat back down with a growl. They needed a pattern—anything to give them a heading. He buried his face in his hands as he tried to pull himself together. This was the hardest thing he had ever had to endure, but he knew if he did not, then it was his wife that would likely suffer. For once in his life, he could not let his temper make his decisions. Not if he was to have any chance of getting back the one person that meant the most to him.
Clarissa had been missing for nearly a week, and the only thing that was keeping Genesis sane was the fact that much to everyone's shock, at least one of the boys had taken to following him around. Yazoo never spoke much to anyone, but he seemed to be the most comfortable around the temperamental Commander. None of them could explain it, but Genesis did not try to run him off.
That was a fact that Sephiroth was thankful for. Those boys did not need any of the stress they had to deal with on top of their previous lives. If there was anything they could do to help, then he was happy to try. Plus, he knew it was helping Genesis as much as it was Yazoo. He had a feeling that if the boys weren't there, then the Commander would have been gone already, despite their insistence that they need information first.
As for Genesis, he did not admit it to anyone, but he was glad for the boy's presence. It gave him something to focus on that did not immediately have him wanting to go kill something. He was also thankful that Yazoo did not need the coddling that Loz did. Not that he would not have tried, but he felt he was no good at that sort of thing. He was often surprised that Sephiroth was able to handle the other two. Though, after watching the other man several times, it didn't take long to figure out that it was mostly because he was emulating every interaction they had seen Clarissa have with children.
That thought sent a pang through him, but he once again pushed it aside as Yazoo approached him with a book in hand. This was the one thing that the boy did go out of his way to ask for—someone to read to him. Not that he was incapable of it, but he still liked to hear it aloud. Genesis took it without comment as he eyed which one it would be that day. It was another adventure.
Genesis wasn't shocked that those seemed to be the favorite for all the boys. They were stories that explored many vast worlds. That was something none of them had yet to experience. Despite his worry, Genesis vowed to himself that their adventures would not only come from books. When they got Clarissa back, they could all travel.
He relished the idea of traveling with his wife and the three boys for only a moment. It was too painful to think of for long. Instead, he gestured to the other chair and waited until Yazoo was comfortable before he started reading.
Clarissa could tell even before her eyes were open that something had changed. She couldn't place what it was through her drug-induced haze, but it didn't take her long to figure out when she rolled over with a groan. She froze as she tried to blink the blurriness from her eyes.
She hadn't imagined it. She was no longer bound to that abominable table. She tried to stifle a groan as she finally pushed herself into a sitting position. The clank of metal drew her eyes, and she saw that her limbs were all chained. Though there seemed to be several feet of slack.
She was curious about the change, but before she did anything else, she grabbed a length of the chain attached to one wrist and tried to see if she could break it. She had barely begun to yank on the links when she heard a voice behind her. "That will do you no good. Those chains were designed to hold even a First Class Soldier."
Despite how wobbly she still was, Clarissa jumped to her feet and spun around when she recognized the voice. She snarled as soon as she saw Fuhito and tried to lunge for him. She was jerked to a halt several feet away as she came to the end of the slack. She quit trying to yank on them when she realized he was telling the truth, but she still pinned him with a glare. "I don't know what you have planned, but I will not help you. The only thing I plan to do for you is to put you out of your misery."
Fuhito sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. He then gave her a longsuffering look. "I understand that you must believe many of the lies about me, but I promise I only want what is best for the planet. This would be less problematic for us both if you quit fighting."
Clarissa wanted to punch that condescending look off his face but settled for glaring. "We both know they aren't lies."
Fuhito frowned at her insistence but didn't respond again as he moved to a panel a little further away. It was at that point that she realized they weren't alone in the room. There were several other men that looked like scientists, including Hollander and a troubled looking Shears. She ignored the latter and gave the former a look to rival the one she shot to Fuhito. Though she didn't have time to say more before she heard a beep and felt a chill enter her veins.
Her glare shot to the mad scientist as she reached around to try and yank out whatever line he still had attached to her. Her hands encountered nothing but her gown and a small lump. Despite her rising horror at her predicament, she still had to rein herself in to keep from yelling. "Will you stop drugging me!"
He tsked at her before he came around the panel and a little closer. Still not close enough for her to reach him. His eyes had taken on an excited look that had her worried. Especially when she realized she wasn't asleep yet, even if it was getting harder to concentrate.
It was several minutes later that Clarissa found herself on her knees with her head in her hands. She wasn't out of it, but she almost felt like she was floating. The room around her had started to warp, and her eyes couldn't focus properly. It was only a few moments after she hit the ground that Fuhito spoke again. "Have no fear. That drug is not meant to put you back to sleep. It is a modified version of the 'truth serum.' It should not make you drowsy, but it will hopefully enable us to come to some form of agreement."
He then stepped a little closer. Clarissa wasn't sure if it was close enough to grab him, but she couldn't have managed it anyway. She was having a hard enough time concentrating on his words. "I'm sure you noticed that we have removed your IV. Instead, I have installed an easily refillable auto-injector just under the skin in your back. Hopefully, that will make this process easier for us both."
She managed to glare up at him, but he ignored it as he focused on her. "Now, let us see how amiable you can be. Please stand."
It wasn't until Clarissa was on her feet that she realized she barely thought about obeying before her body was responding. Her jaw clenched at that thought. Though she wasn't given long to think about it before he continued. "Now, please touch your nose with your right forefinger."
Clarissa's hand was halfway to her face when her conscious thought caught up, and she clenched her fist and brought it back to her side. She somehow managed to push her response through the nonsense filling her head. "Go to hell. I'm not a circus act."
Fuhito clicked his tongue at her refusal before he moved back to the panel. "I had hoped we didn't have to resort to this." He then caught her eye, as he explained. "I didn't mention it before, but I also took the liberty of implanting a microchip directly into your spine. You see, that now allows me to control what you feel. To enhance or detract from external stimuli. I can also make you feel things that aren't even there."
BREAK
Suddenly Clarissa felt that her legs from the knee down had been set on fire. She didn't have the mental capacity to even try to stifle her scream as she dropped and tried to put it out, only to find that there was nothing there. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to handle the constant pain.
The few moments it continued seemed to take forever to Clarissa before Fuhito finally hit another button, and the pain suddenly cut off. Thankfully it had helped with her focus, so she was able to shakily get back to her feet. When she stood, she gave Fuhito a glare so heated that several of the other scientists took a step back. Hollander walked all the way to the door.
Clarissa's voice was tremulous but intense when her eyes found Fuhito again. "I'm going to kill you. Slowly."
The scientist only shook his head at her threat before his hand moved to hover over another button. "You should be more cooperative. This allows me to not only bring you pain, but it can help you shrug off injuries. I can even reward you with pleasure when you cooperate."
With that, he pressed another button, and Clarissa was suddenly inundated with a rush of endorphins. It wasn't precisely like being touched, but several points across her body were simultaneously stimulated. She couldn't hold back her initial gasp, but she clenched her jaw to keep the rest in. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and hold it all in as she closed her eyes.
Finally, she dropped to her knees before she curled into a ball and screamed out as her tears started again. "Stop! Please stop!" She had never felt more violated than she did at that moment. He may not have touched her, but this was just as bad. She could barely hold in her nausea as she sobbed.
BREAK
Fuhito watched the whole thing with an interested gleam in his eyes. He had not expected her to respond worse to the pleasure. It had potential. However, his thoughts on the idea were cut off when a hand reached around him to slam down on the stop button. He ignored the still sobbing woman as he turned to see Shears standing behind him with a scowl.
The Second in Command didn't wait for Fuhito to respond before he pointed to the crying woman and practically yelled. "What are you doing!? She is supposed to be our ally. You cannot treat allies like experiments."
Fuhito brushed off the statement. "Of course she is, but as you have already seen, she is rather recalcitrant. We are only working to persuade her."
Shears looked like he wanted to punch his superior for a moment before he finally reeled in the urge and responded. "That isn't persuasion. Persuasion would be trying to show her your plans so she could see that you only want what's best. This is the worst kind of torture."
Fuhito's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Torture? Of course not. There will be no lasting damage. It is only a motivational tool. Plus, it will make her a much more efficient fighter without losing her mind like so many of the others have."
Shears glared at Fuhito for another moment before he looked over at the woman that had finally stopped crying but had not yet uncurled. He wondered for a moment if he could take her and escape, but he also saw the many Ravens around the room. There was no way he could get them both out. He finally grimaced as he looked back at the man he had once admired. "I can't condone this." He didn't say another word before he walked out.
Once he was gone, Fuhito turned to see Clarissa was finally pushing herself back up. He could already tell that the drugs he had given her were wearing off. Likely as a response to the increased adrenalin the other part released. Still, this was only the experimental stage. He had not expected to make the perfect formula on the first try. At least he had useful data about what needed to change. Though he was far from done for the day.
When he caught her eye, he could already see the stubborn set of her jaw. He sighed as he preempted her next threat. "Please, I would rather not continue this. If you would be willing to do as I ask."
Instead of answering right away, she walked as far as the chains would allow before she finally spoke. "You are the worst kind of monster, and monsters never have a happy fate."
He only shook his head at her. He was a scientist, not a monster. Something had to be done, or the whole planet would die. A few sacrifices along the way were negligible. He gave her a pitying look as he moved to press the first button again. "You will come around. Eventually."
He was shocked that she didn't immediately fall once again, as he knew her legs had to be excruciating. He watched in fascination as tears streamed down her face, but she kept trying to pull at her chains instead of submitting. Perhaps it was just the specimen.
He had been so distracted by her reactions that he did not immediately notice when her skin started to glow a pale blue. It wasn't until he heard one of the scientists whispering about it that he realized what was happening. His eyes widened as he watched the blue suddenly flash out from her and the chains around her wrists and ankles suddenly became covered in ice.
Clarissa was able to snap them once they were flash frozen and took a step toward the closest scientist. Fuhito was already calling out to the man nearest to the emergency button. "It is her limit! Push the button, push the damn button!"
Unfortunately, the man pushed the button at the same moment Clarissa reached the scientist. He was frozen before he even had a chance to run, and his body shattered when she pushed him down. She then turned to follow the others that had run. Before she could make it more than a few steps, the drugs injected as an emergency measure finally kicked in, and she fell to her knees before she fell on her face.
Everything was silent for a few moments as they all tried to assimilate what had just happened. Fuhito was the first to break it. "Note to self. Make sure to add a limit inhibitor as well. That is far too dangerous to risk again."
His voice seemed to shock the others into action. Most of them rushed to leave the gruesome sight that remained. They were only stopped when Fuhito called out to the last of them to stay and clean up the fallen man and unconscious woman. His mind was already filled with the modifications that would be needed for the next trial as he walked out.
A/N2: So now you see why I added the disclaimer. I know this is downright scary compared to most of my stuff, but have faith. Circumstances can't keep them apart forever, so look forward to the rest.
Summary: The quick explanation of the skipped section if that Fuhito implanted a chip that controls what Clarissa physically feels, both good and bad and he uses both to try and make her submit.
Feel free to PM me if you want any further clarification, and I hope you all found the chapter intriguing at least. Thanks for reading and cheers.