Dr. Hojo gave a maniacal laugh. He had Zack chained shirtless to the wall, and Sephiroth had been flung into a cage with a pair of fat, smelly men. Hojo leered at Zack and picked up a cattle prod and some dental floss. He held the prod mere millimeters above the teen's chest. Zack looked down at the weapon in fear. He never thought twice about the dental floss. Hojo had done something with it, what exactly that was Zack wasn't sure. "So," Hojo asked, leering his vile, lipless leer, "should I prod you or floss you?"
"Floss!" Zack replied with no forethought.
Hojo's leer widened. "I was hoping you were just as stupid as your father."
Zack opened his mouth to scream at Hojo, but the words never got out. Excruciating pain shoot through him. Hojo laughed. "You didn't think I wouldn't do both, did you?" He asked, waving the cattle prod. Then came the true pain. The floss ripped through his skin, stripping most it off. Zack shrieked in agony.
In his cage, Sephiroth winced as blood splattered the walls. The dark haired man laughed. The bald man tried to comfort the boy. Sephiroth drew away from the fat bald man.
"Palmer, trying to scare the child, are we?" Hojo leered at the bald man. "And you, Heiddeger, laughing at his discomfort. Shame on you both!" Hojo blew a whistle that hung about his neck. Both men were immediately set upon by four-winged, two-headed falcons.
"Now, my silver-haired beauty, it's your turn." Hojo smirked at Sephiroth, who shrunk back into the corner in fright, eyes fixed on Zack. "Don't worry, child. I would never ruin such perfect beauty. In fact, I intend to preserve it. Forever." He followed this with a particularly vile laugh. Sephiroth shrank further into the corner, but Hojo reached in and grabbed him, carrying him down the hall. Soon they reached double doors. The sign above read 'taxidermy'. Sephiroth wasn't sure what that meant, but he had the feeling it wasn't good. Hojo laughed and carried him inside. He set him down on a table amidst various unsterilized medical tools and jars of unidentified alien organs. The boy gulped. Hojo handed him a cup full of dark, steaming liquid. "Drink this."
Sephiroth looked doubtfully at the liquid and sniffed it. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. It smelled like bitter almonds. "What is this stuff?"
"Don't worry, it's just tea."
"I hate tea." Sephiroth flung the cup away.
Hojo ground his teeth together. "Fine." He walked away, returning with an open Coke in his hand. "Drink this then."
Sephiroth brought it to his lips to drink, but then he caught the scent of bitter almonds. He looked up at Hojo, complete innocence shining in his aquamarine eyes. "My mommy says I shouldn't drink from bottles other people have already opened."
"Screw this!" Hojo yelled. He grabbed a syringe, prepared to drive it into Sephiroth's arm.
"Honey, stop." Jenova glided in from the doorway, a strange blue aura around her. "Let the boy go."
"Excuse me?"
"Let the boy go."
"But-"
Gunshots interrupted the still air. Hojo crumpled to the floor, a myriad of red holes in his white labcoat. Lucrecia stood in the doorway, an Uzi in each hand.
"Mommy!" Sephiroth yelled. He ran and flung his arms around Lucrecia.
"Hojo!" Jenova wailed, flinging herself to the floor and holding Hojo's corpse in her tentacles. The blue aura had faded. She turned to Lucrecia. "How could you? Hojo will never talk again, never laugh...cry or get angry, and it's all your fault." She pulled her husband's body close.
"What?" Lucrecia asked. "Don't tell me you have feelings now."
"What do you think I am? A monster? Of course I have feelings!"
"No...You do not have feelings. There is no need to act sad or angry." Lucrecia bent to pick Sephiroth up, then left, walking quickly down the hallway.
"How dare you say I don't have feelings? Why wouldn't I?"
Lucrecia's voice echoed down the empty corridor. "Because, Jenova...you are...a puppet."