DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FF7 OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS

Chapter Thirteen

When Cloud awoke, the first thing that struck him was the blinding brightness in the room. After a few moments, however, he realised that the lighting was no brighter than normal, it was just his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden illumination, combined with his splitting headache. He shook his head to try and clear it, and sat up. Where was he? He found himself lying on a wooden table in a laboratory of some sort. At the far end of the room, leaning over a bench, engrossed in some experiment, was their arch-enemy: Hojo. He didn't seem to have noticed that Cloud had woken up, and Cloud hurriedly looked around the room for something that he might be able to use to knock Hojo out, and make his escape. On the bench nearest him was a heavy metal container. Cloud slipped off the table and padded over silently towards the container. Picking it up with both hands, he carefully tested its weight, then crept round the side of the bench to approach Hojo from behind and slightly to the left, where he was least likely to be seen. He looked around the room to check where the exits were, in case somebody happened to walk in while he was sneaking up on Hojo. Perfect, he thought, there was only one door and he would be able to see anybody approaching it from outside long before they saw him. He returned his attention to Hojo. The scientist still hadn't moved. Cloud crept closer. Suddenly Hojo looked up, and Cloud hastily ducked behind a bench, but Hojo didn't notice a thing, merely turning round to pick up a lab report from the table behind him. Cloud stayed still for a few more moments, to make sure Hojo's attention had fully returned to his work. When he was sure, he stood up once more, and stealthily crept the last few steps until he was standing directly behind Hojo. Raising the heavy container, Cloud brought it down on the scientist's head.

With astonishing speed, Hojo turned to grab the metal canister out of Cloud's hands, and casually throw it to one side.

"Idiot," the scientist snapped. "Did you think I couldn't hear your every move? You miserable failure."

Cloud, driven by a burst of uncontrollable anger, threw a punch at Hojo's chin, but his enemy blocked the blow easily, and hooked Cloud's legs from underneath him, causing the swordsman to land painfully on the floor.

"Fool," Hojo sneered. "Now sit down somewhere and don't make any noise. I will deal with you when I am finished this experiment."

Cloud got back to his feet. Hojo turned his attention back to the microscope in front of him, and Cloud automatically looked towards the tantalisingly open door. Could he make a break for it? Would Hojo be able to pursue him?

"If you're thinking about running, don't waste your energy or my time," Hojo sighed impatiently. "You really are so predictable. Four armed guards are waiting outside, just around the corner. Sit on that seat and be silent!"

Cloud's head still throbbed with pain, and he couldn't really bring himself to think too clearly at the moment. Certainly he was in no condition to concoct a brilliant escape plan, so he decided to play along with Hojo just now, and went to sit on the chair. If Hojo wanted to talk, Cloud might be able to coax some useful information out of him, if he played his cards cleverly enough. He sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair and tried to ease the pain in his head.

A couple of minutes later, Hojo raised his head from the microscope, muttered something to himself, and made a couple of notes on a pad of paper. Then he looked up, pushed his glasses up to stop them slipping down his nose, and faced Cloud.

"The only reason that I have kept you alive thus far is because I want to offer you a proposition."

This ought to be good, Cloud thought. He couldn't possibly imagine what deal Hojo was going to offer to his worst enemy, that he actually imagined Cloud might accept.

"And that would be?" was all he said.

"I want you to join me," Hojo said simply.

Cloud was sure he had misheard. He stared at Hojo for a good number of seconds, then burst out laughing. Even with his pounding headache, trapped without hope of escape inside his enemy's lair, he still managed to throw back his head and roar with laughter. He was brought back to normality as Hojo smacked him about the head.

"Take this seriously, you fool!" the scientist snapped.

"Hojo, if the only reason you were keeping me alive was to ask me that, you're even dumber than I gave you credit for!"

"Then you refuse?"

"Of course I refuse! There's nothing you could possibly offer that would make me even remotely consider joining you!"

"Don't be so sure," Hojo smirked.

"I'm not interested in money or power, Hojo, and there's precious little else you can offer me. You really are wasting your time."

"What about Aeris?"

Cloud's expression became serious at the mention of the dead Cetra who had so often been at the forefront of his thoughts over the last three months or so. He missed her with an intense, unbearable sorrow that at times threatened to overwhelm his happy existence with Tifa.

"What about Aeris?" he asked cautiously.

"What if I told you I could bring her back?"

Cloud sat bolt upright in his chair. How many times had he wished that he could have had Aeris back among his friends? How many times had he sat and wondered if he couldn't have done more to stop Sephiroth from killing her? How many times had he told himself that he'd give anything to have her alive again? He looked at Hojo, "You're lying. It's impossible."

"It's not impossible. I have done extensive research into cloning. You yourself were part of the Sephiroth cloning project. I even managed to clone myself. Remember your battle on top of the Sister Ray? You all thought I had been defeated, when I had succeeded in utterly deceiving you."

"So that was your clone," Cloud realised. "But that doesn't mean you can bring Aeris back. I don't know as much about cloning as you do, but I know that a clone would only be a replica of her physical body. It wouldn't have any of her memories or feelings, anything of what made her Aeris."

"That's where you're wrong," Hojo said triumphantly. "A clone of an ordinary person, like you, would indeed be merely a physical copy. But the clone of an Ancient, like Aeris or Sephiroth, would retain the memories and personality of the original. The research would take longer than my lifetime, but it's something to do with the Ancients' blood. Their DNA – well, their version of DNA – carries so much more than just physical makeup. That's why the Sephiroth cloning project was started, and why we wanted to capture Aeris."

"How do I know you're telling the truth about this? Prove it. Bring her back."

"I will. All I require in return is a little co-operation from you."

Cloud looked at him warily, "What do you mean?"

"A sharing of interests," Hojo said smoothly. "I will give you command of my military forces. You can employ them as you see fit, as long as you obey my orders."

"Why should I trust you? How do I know you won't just have us all killed?"

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already! Why else would I have kept you alive? I just want you out of my way!"

"I don't believe you," Cloud said stubbornly. "You've deceived us in the past, Hojo. I can't trust you."

Hojo narrowed his eyes at him, then said, "Very well. I will come back later and see if you have changed your mind."

He reached over to the bench behind him to pick up a length of rope which he'd obviously kept there for this express purpose. He walked over to stand behind Cloud's chair, and tied the swordsman's arms and legs tightly to the chair's limbs. Cloud could have resisted, but he knew it would be pointless. Hojo was too strong. He'd have to wait until he was alone to try and make his escape. He tested his bonds; they were too tight to afford any movement. He looked up at the sound of the door slamming. Hojo had left the laboratory and Cloud was alone.

* * *

Cid booted the wall with frustration, and took a long draw on his cigarette.

"We've searched this entire building from top to bottom and we haven't seen a single ^%&$ing sign of Cloud!" he announced to the rest of the group.

"That is so," Red concurred. "I cannot think of anywhere else in the building to search. Rude?"

Rude shrugged, "…"

"He may not even be here," Vincent said. "Hojo may have taken him elsewhere."

"Where?"

"He could have gone anywhere, since I don't know how long ago they left."

Yuffie sighed impatiently, "What we gonna do?"

"I think we should go to the Nibel reactor," said Cid. "We haven't a clue where Cloud is, but Tifa and Barret won't answer their PHS. They might be in danger. We can take the Highwind and leave immediately."

"I will stay here," Red decided. "And continue to look for Cloud."

"I'll join you," said Vincent.

"And me!" Yuffie added. "I hate flying!"

"Great," Cid muttered under his breath. "I get to hang around with the Shinra monkeys."

"What was that?" asked Elena.

"Nothing. Let's go."

They headed for the elevator, and Yuffie said to Red, "Okay, where do we start looking? I thought we'd checked the whole place!"

"I want to log into Hojo's computer system," Red told her. "We might find something there."

"The computer room is upstairs. I will lead the way," said Vincent.

* * *

Hojo strode impatiently down the corridor, wishing there was some way he could speed up the process. How he despised that fool Strife. For a moment he considered whether or not he should just kill the idiot, and proceed without him? No. He decided it was too risky.

"If I kill Strife, it will only make his friends double their efforts to stop me," he muttered to himself. "I need the fool to join me. Then I will be invincible. And he will join me. It's only a matter of time."

Back in the office Cloud closed his eyes and tried to sleep. His headache was still agonising, and he just wanted it to go away. He pondered what Hojo had said. Bring back Aeris? If it were possible, Cloud would have given anything to have her back. But was Hojo lying? Did he really have the ability to resurrect her? If there was one thing certain about Hojo, it was that he was far from trustworthy. But even so…if there was the chance of having Aeris back, was it worth taking the risk and trusting Hojo? He had to admit, Hojo's request had puzzled him. If anything, he had expected Hojo to ask him to betray his friends and lead them into a trap. Why would Hojo want to give Cloud command of his military forces? Besides the fact that Hojo was a useless military leader? It was strange. Why would Hojo ask his worst enemy to join him? Putting Cloud in such a position of power would simply put Hojo in danger, since Cloud could betray him at any moment. It didn't make any sense. Maybe Hojo had just lost his marbles? No, he had to be planning something. But Cloud couldn't see for the life of him what it was. One thing was for sure, though: Cloud knew he'd do anything to have Aeris back.

* * *

Tifa regained consciousness. She lay on her back in pitch blackness. Where was she? Her mind was fogged with weariness and confusion, as she tried to piece together her thoughts to remember what had happened. Cloud? Where was Cloud? Had she been with him? Her entire body was racked with fatigue, and she could barely move. Something strange was going on. Then she remembered. The poisoned dart. The flower of vengeance. She was once again infected with the deadly toxin. But that didn't make any sense. Why was she awake? It had sent her into a deep coma last time. She tried to sit up and get her bearings, but the effort was too much, and she collapsed back on to the floor, blacking out once more.

* * *

From the entrance of the Nibel reactor strode a solitary figure, wrapped in a thick grey travelling cloak, a few wisps of grey hair protruding from beneath the hood. Ignoring the five soldiers lying unconscious by the stairs, the figure walked on towards the mountain pass.

"So he has discovered the Flower," the cloaked figure muttered. "He has become too powerful. His crude methods will not last. I must journey east and stop my son from destroying the world."

The figure walked on. From their belt hung a blowpipe, and beside that a thick bag of poisoned darts bounced gently against the figure's thigh with each step.

* * *

Deep in the Junon mountains south of Midgar, the Highwind lay safely hidden under the partial cover of a rocky outcropping. On the deck Marlene Wallace sat alone, bored. Daddy and the others had been gone for ages and there was nothing to do on the Highwind. She wasn't allowed to leave the ship; Daddy had said it was too dangerous. He'd argued with Uncle Cid for a long time about something, but Marlene hadn't been listening; she'd been too busy keeping an eye on that scary lion in case it tried to eat her. She'd had a bad dream about lions the night before, and lions weren't supposed to talk. It was too weird.

But now she was on her own, and she was very bored. She made a mental note to tell Uncle Cid that there wasn't enough to do on his ship. Maybe she should ask him to get some more books, or a TV. Sitting on the deck watching the scenery wasn't much fun, because nothing was moving. A ship had flown by overhead a few hours ago, but that was the most exciting thing that had happened. It had been quite a big ship; not as big as the Highwind though. It had been silver and had 'Hojo' written on the side. Maybe it was the same Hojo that Daddy and the others had been talking about non-stop. Marlene wasn't interested in any of that; she just wanted something to play with. Maybe she'd ask Daddy to get her a kitten.

It was getting very late by the time that Cid and the two Turks got back to the Highwind. They found Marlene sitting in the Operations room, drawing on a pad of paper she'd found in the cupboard.

"Uncle Cid!" she exclaimed when she saw them. "Are you all right? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"I'm fine, sweetie," said Cid. "Did you look after the Highwind for me?"

"Yup. I was a bit bored, though. I think you need some more books."

"Tell you what, I'll go to the Midgar library first chance I get."

She smiled and Cid reached into his pocket for a cigarette, then remembered that he wasn't allowed to smoke when he was around Marlene. He nearly swore, then remembered he wasn't around to curse when she was around either. He managed to keep his cool, and headed for the door, planning to sneak down to the lower deck for a quick smoke. In the doorway he bumped into Rude.

"Hey," said Cid uneasily, still not 100% happy about the presence of the Turks on his ship. "What's on your mind?"

"…" said Rude. "Reno and the others. Do you think Hojo has captured them?"

Cid shrugged, "Dunno. Wish we knew where Hojo was. He's just vanished into thin air and taken Cloud with him."

"Who's Hojo?" Marlene asked brightly.

"He's the guy who made you sick," said Cid. "He's trying to conquer the Planet and we have to stop him."

Congratulating himself on his clichéd response, he was only half-listening when Marlene said, "I saw a ship that said Hojo on it. D'you think it's the same guy?"

"You what?" said Cid. "When was that, honey?"

"Dunno. Few hours ago."

"Which way was it headed?"

"South-west. Daddy taught me how to tell the compass points from the stars," she said proudly.

Cid and Rude exchanged glances and the stoic Turk said, "…south-west?"

"Junon, maybe?" Cid guessed. "Hell – I mean heck – knows why he'd be heading there. Does he have a facility in Junon?"

"…the underwater reactor?" Rude suggested. "There was a small research department there, but I don't know if Hojo ever worked in it."

"Must be where he's taken Cloud," Cid decided. "We'd better get down there and see if we can find them."

"…are you sure? We don't know for certain that they'll be there. And we said we'd go and help Reno and Tifa."

Cid cursed under his breath as he was faced by the dilemma. With only one ship, they couldn't do both. He had to make the decision quickly, and he had to make it the right one.

"…I'll be up top with Elena," said Rude. "You must decide soon."

The Turk left the room and Cid once again felt the need for a smoke to calm himself down. He forced himself to wait until he was alone.

"What the hell should we do?!?" he muttered to himself.