Chapter3
Changes
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me, Daitona does. (Good enough?)
A/N: Ok, I've also added some more to this chapter. I suggest, for anyone who's read it and didn't quite think it lived up to the other chapters, to read it again. I've added about a page of detail and dialog all through out the chapter. And as always, if anyone has any suggestions I always like to hear them. Anything to make the story better and more enjoyable to the reader.
~.~.~.~
Over the course of the next year Daitona started noticing the changes in her from the mako. Her eyes had begun to glow shortly after the first few infusions, and her strength grew tremendously. What disturbed her most was the over all changes in her appearance. At ten she was almost 5' now and her hair had grown considerably lighter. What use to be a light golden brown where brown dominated, was now gold dominated with the brow giving it highlight.
On very few rare occasions did she see Sephiroth and always he was unconscious. After a time she quit thinking of him and almost forgot about him.
Six months before her tenth birthday, Gast started acting strange. He had always been kind to Daitona, but when her birthday came around she had about had it with him. His treatments' had become very painful and she had the dark bruises to prove it. He had become careless and insensitive. Then, one day he just didn't show up.
* * * *
When Daitona woke in the morning, several days after her birthday, she found the door to her room locked; even though it was suppose to be locked most of the time it wasn't. No one came to the room to give her a meal until hours later. The rest of the day was spent alone in the silent room. Lunch was long forgotten and it was almost time for dinner when she got her next meal. At the time the Shinra employee brought her meal she found that it was nearly five o'clock.
She ate silently wondering what was going on.
'Why hadn't Gast at least make an appearance that day and what about the treatment?' She shrugged with a discussed snort. 'Who cares if she missed that accused infusion!?'
She brought her attention back to a calmer sense and was just finishing her meal when the 'red' light above the door flashed 'green' the door opened with a hiss. Daitona glared at the empty doorway until none other than Hojo stepped into her line of sight. He was leering at her and her expression immediately turned to apprehension; she gritted her teeth warily at his sudden and unexpected presence.
Hojo watched her carefully for any sudden movements, not wanting to give her another chance at an attack on him, as she stood and faced him. He smirked and stepped aside to allow two SOLDIERs in front of him when her apprehensive glare turned hateful.
"It's time for your.'treatment'," Hojo said in half mockery. "We must hurry along now. I'm a very busy man and I still have other things to attend to before the day is done."
"Where's Pr. Gast!?" Daitona demanded.
Hojo looked smug as he replied. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to see me. You know it's been a long time, more than a year."
"Not long enough! You leave me alone, or else.!"
"Or else what?" he challenged. "Are you insisting on playing with my guards again? One little girl won't cause them much of a problem; you remember what happened last time don't you?"
Daitona slowly backed into a defensive crouch, ready for any attack.
"Of course you do," he smirked, watching as she moved into the same position she had a year ago when facing his guards. "Face it girl!" He snarled suddenly becoming irritated by her constant disobedience. "Gast is gone, and he's not ever coming back! That idiot took off with MY specimen."
"Why do I care? Or am I not such a brainless idiot like you wanted? As for last time.where did those scars on your face come from? I'm sure that's a constant reminder to you and that's why you're not coming in here yourself!"
He growled. "You will never be given such a chance again."
One of the two SOLDIERs laughed softly; Daitona recognized him as the guard who had held onto Sephiroth the time before.
"What are you laughing at!? Get her, NOW!!" Hojo ordered angrily.
"Uh-oh." Daitona hummed and sat back in her crouched position until her knee threatened to give out on her.
She leaped swiftly forward/aside and kicked at the SOLDIER. Knowing she couldn't beat him she considered just giving up, but that was quickly pushed aside as the SOLDIER retaliated. With a quick blow to the side, the SOLDIER groaned in pain while clutching his side. The groan however, ever so slightly turned into a laugh.
Daitona looked upon him warily. "What are you laughing for.?"
"You, you're the bigger fool here. I wouldn't have left myself open to your attack like that if I hadn't know what you would do afterwards. You're caught!"
"Wha-.!"
Realizing too late, she had turned her back on the other SOLDIER. Just as she was to spin on her heels he bare hugged her, pinning her arms down to her sides and completely immobilizing her.
"YOU, let GO of ME you big OFE!!!"
Hojo sneered in triumph as she was carried out into the hallway. "Didn't put up too much of a fight this time; do tell why?" he taunted making her struggle all the more; she wanted to hit, there was no doubt about that. "Have you gone soft over the year?" he continued to taunt enjoying the fact that she couldn't do a thing to him at that point. "Gast could never understand your importance. He didn't even properly tend to your needs."
"You're one to be talking!" Daitona screamed and kicked her feet at him, completely missing.
"Oh? Then explain to my why it is you as weaker than you were an a nine year-old?"
When she didn't answer he laughed, that cackle laugh of his; it was very annoying to say the least.
The dread from a year ago, that Daitona had so desperately buried, resurfaced with vengeance as she was forced into Hojo's lab once more.
* * * *
7:30 P.M.
Sephiroth glared at Hojo through his glass confidence as he moved about the lab paying scat attention to him. Sephiroth knew well that Hojo had gotten something he's wanted for some time, but he wasn't sure as to what 'it' was. He knew all this from the fact that everything was running about two hours late that day and that Hojo kept checking and rechecking the note books that sat on his cluttered desk.
"What are you doing?" he finally asked coolly.
Hojo looked over at him, but ignored the question in finding something he had apparently missed in one of the files that also sat amongst the stuff on the desk.
"I'm almost ready boy," Hojo said, never looking up from the file and where he wrote in his own notebook, "so keep your trap shut or I'll shut it for ya!"
"Don't have to be a jerk about it; I only asked a question," Sephiroth said indifferently and paced the small cell once more in his long wait. It wasn't like he was in any hurry or anything. "So, what did you get to throw you so far off schedule, this time? And don't give me any of your tough crap because you and I both know you can't back it up."
"You're just as bad as that girl." Hojo snarled at him, slamming his notes down onto the desk.
"What girl?"
"The one, you know.you met her a year of so ago."
"You mean that girl who attacked you and put that nice set of scars on you? I thought Pr. Gast was her keeper?" A sudden thought occurred to him, ".what happened to Gast?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the thought of what might have happened.
He liked Gast; he was the only one who had ever treated him as if he were worth something more than a lab rat. He envied the girl for have been raised under him.but if Hojo had her now....lots of things would change for her. He would never wish Hojo onto anyone.
"You seem pretty sharp today, so tell me, what was her name?"
"Why are you asking me?" Sephiroth retorted and turned his back momentarily on Hojo. Turning back around he continued, "You only said her name once and that was over a year ago. Besides, shouldn't you have that sort of information in those files of yours?"
"I asked you a question, and you will answer me!"
Sephiroth snorted. "I'd love to see you just to try and make me. I dare you come in here without those mugs of your."
"You won't talk like that for long!"
"Why, are you going to knock me out again? *pshh* It's not like it'd be the first time. Why are you so afraid of me, I'm only twelve, and it's not like I've ever hit you hard enough to amount to what that girl accomplished?"
"You're pushing your luck with me Sephiroth."
"I am? Some patience you have today or is it. that girl took her temper out on you again? You ought not let her do that to you so easily. Otherwise you're liable to go mad, oh wait, you're already a crazy old man aren't you?" Sephiroth marveled with a mocking grin. "In that case you might want to be careful because you might end up breaking a hip or two. I'd love to see that, ya know?"
"I'm sure you would and I bet you'd tickled-pink if you were the one doing the breaking, wouldn't you?"
Sephiroth looked innocent. "And what makes you think that?" Sephiroth's face told of nothing, but his eyes were murderous. "I just love the pain you inflict on me every day of my life and what better way to repay you than to give it back? No, I wouldn't break you hip.more like remove it. And you know what the best part is? That would only be the beginning. You know how it is; first you immobilize the subject at hand so they can't get away. Removing one's hip is difficult with out taking the pelvis and breaking the back, after that I pretty sure the subject is well immobilized. Only then would you have the chance to inflict all the pain you want and the subject wouldn't be able to do a thing about it."
"Is that what you have planed for me, Sephiroth?
"Why, of course not. Why would I be so kind to you after all the things you've done to me? I'm not so stupid to sit here and tell you how I'm going to kill you."
"So you still think you can kill me?"
"Why wouldn't I? The only thing standing in my way are you're brainless idiots. How much longer are they going to be able to over power me? Not very from the looks from where I stand. What'll you do then, you won't have anyone to stand behind to protect you?"
"You won't kill me." Hojo stated firmly.
"You're crazier than I thought old man. I've tried to get at you every chance I had. I could have laughed when that girl did what I couldn't. That just made my day, ya know? Every time I think about that I laugh. If only you could have seen what I seen."
"You're not amusing me. That girl will possibly be as strong or stronger than you could ever be. With the proper handling, discipline, and training I think she could very well make the perfect SOLDIER that I've been striving to create."
"Bla bla bla. From what I observed, that girl wants nothing to do with you, not that that matters to you. You know none of you experiments can even come near the greatness of Pr. Gast's. I think I was just a fluke, or maybe Gast was he one in charge to begin with as you simply got him expelled off the project when the hard part was done. But then he out did you again, didn't he? He created Daitona, didn't he? She can top me and you knew it, that's why you tried to kill her last year. When she didn't die from such treatment you decided you wanted her for your own. Now steeling me wasn't good enough because Gast had something better. What was it, the president not give you what you wanted so the next best thing was getting rid of him?"
"*humph* For the most part, you are correct. The president however only left her with Gast because of the injury by the first mako infusion; I wanted her dead remember? So, I let Gast do the job of regulating the new substance in the system. Now, I didn't do a thing to him, but when I see him next I will. That idiot ran off with my Ancient!"
"Your Ancient? I thought Gast found her? Oh, I understand. Another stolen project and he didn't put up with it this time," Sephiroth resolved with a half satisfied nod. "I hope you never find them, and I hope that girl gives you a beating you'll never forget. If she's lucky, she might even kill you."
Sephiroth inhaled deeply as a wave of disorientation swept through him.
"Sleeping gas?..oh- well....It's......no.t...t..h.e..firs..t..iiiimeeeee...."
Sephiroth fell to the cold cell floor with a dull thud, out cold for the moment from the sleeping gas that was being fed into the small holding cell.
"It's about time!" Hojo sneered, stalking up the cell door. He glared down at Sephiroth's still form on the floor. "I was beginning to wonder if that gas would ever kick in.I'll have to use something else next time or risk him gaining an immunity to sleeping agents."
-End chapter 3-
A/N: Ok, I try to post as often as possible. This chapter took me a bit longer because most of it I just came up with and I had to study for a stupid anatomy test, which I probably failed miserably. If you have any ideas feel free to speak your mind. Everything will be taken into consideration. If you think something is missing say something and I'll add more and update the chapters. I should -no guarantees because school comes first- have the next chapter up by Wednesday, May14, or earlier.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me, Daitona does. (Good enough?)
A/N: Ok, I've also added some more to this chapter. I suggest, for anyone who's read it and didn't quite think it lived up to the other chapters, to read it again. I've added about a page of detail and dialog all through out the chapter. And as always, if anyone has any suggestions I always like to hear them. Anything to make the story better and more enjoyable to the reader.
~.~.~.~
Over the course of the next year Daitona started noticing the changes in her from the mako. Her eyes had begun to glow shortly after the first few infusions, and her strength grew tremendously. What disturbed her most was the over all changes in her appearance. At ten she was almost 5' now and her hair had grown considerably lighter. What use to be a light golden brown where brown dominated, was now gold dominated with the brow giving it highlight.
On very few rare occasions did she see Sephiroth and always he was unconscious. After a time she quit thinking of him and almost forgot about him.
Six months before her tenth birthday, Gast started acting strange. He had always been kind to Daitona, but when her birthday came around she had about had it with him. His treatments' had become very painful and she had the dark bruises to prove it. He had become careless and insensitive. Then, one day he just didn't show up.
* * * *
When Daitona woke in the morning, several days after her birthday, she found the door to her room locked; even though it was suppose to be locked most of the time it wasn't. No one came to the room to give her a meal until hours later. The rest of the day was spent alone in the silent room. Lunch was long forgotten and it was almost time for dinner when she got her next meal. At the time the Shinra employee brought her meal she found that it was nearly five o'clock.
She ate silently wondering what was going on.
'Why hadn't Gast at least make an appearance that day and what about the treatment?' She shrugged with a discussed snort. 'Who cares if she missed that accused infusion!?'
She brought her attention back to a calmer sense and was just finishing her meal when the 'red' light above the door flashed 'green' the door opened with a hiss. Daitona glared at the empty doorway until none other than Hojo stepped into her line of sight. He was leering at her and her expression immediately turned to apprehension; she gritted her teeth warily at his sudden and unexpected presence.
Hojo watched her carefully for any sudden movements, not wanting to give her another chance at an attack on him, as she stood and faced him. He smirked and stepped aside to allow two SOLDIERs in front of him when her apprehensive glare turned hateful.
"It's time for your.'treatment'," Hojo said in half mockery. "We must hurry along now. I'm a very busy man and I still have other things to attend to before the day is done."
"Where's Pr. Gast!?" Daitona demanded.
Hojo looked smug as he replied. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to see me. You know it's been a long time, more than a year."
"Not long enough! You leave me alone, or else.!"
"Or else what?" he challenged. "Are you insisting on playing with my guards again? One little girl won't cause them much of a problem; you remember what happened last time don't you?"
Daitona slowly backed into a defensive crouch, ready for any attack.
"Of course you do," he smirked, watching as she moved into the same position she had a year ago when facing his guards. "Face it girl!" He snarled suddenly becoming irritated by her constant disobedience. "Gast is gone, and he's not ever coming back! That idiot took off with MY specimen."
"Why do I care? Or am I not such a brainless idiot like you wanted? As for last time.where did those scars on your face come from? I'm sure that's a constant reminder to you and that's why you're not coming in here yourself!"
He growled. "You will never be given such a chance again."
One of the two SOLDIERs laughed softly; Daitona recognized him as the guard who had held onto Sephiroth the time before.
"What are you laughing at!? Get her, NOW!!" Hojo ordered angrily.
"Uh-oh." Daitona hummed and sat back in her crouched position until her knee threatened to give out on her.
She leaped swiftly forward/aside and kicked at the SOLDIER. Knowing she couldn't beat him she considered just giving up, but that was quickly pushed aside as the SOLDIER retaliated. With a quick blow to the side, the SOLDIER groaned in pain while clutching his side. The groan however, ever so slightly turned into a laugh.
Daitona looked upon him warily. "What are you laughing for.?"
"You, you're the bigger fool here. I wouldn't have left myself open to your attack like that if I hadn't know what you would do afterwards. You're caught!"
"Wha-.!"
Realizing too late, she had turned her back on the other SOLDIER. Just as she was to spin on her heels he bare hugged her, pinning her arms down to her sides and completely immobilizing her.
"YOU, let GO of ME you big OFE!!!"
Hojo sneered in triumph as she was carried out into the hallway. "Didn't put up too much of a fight this time; do tell why?" he taunted making her struggle all the more; she wanted to hit, there was no doubt about that. "Have you gone soft over the year?" he continued to taunt enjoying the fact that she couldn't do a thing to him at that point. "Gast could never understand your importance. He didn't even properly tend to your needs."
"You're one to be talking!" Daitona screamed and kicked her feet at him, completely missing.
"Oh? Then explain to my why it is you as weaker than you were an a nine year-old?"
When she didn't answer he laughed, that cackle laugh of his; it was very annoying to say the least.
The dread from a year ago, that Daitona had so desperately buried, resurfaced with vengeance as she was forced into Hojo's lab once more.
* * * *
7:30 P.M.
Sephiroth glared at Hojo through his glass confidence as he moved about the lab paying scat attention to him. Sephiroth knew well that Hojo had gotten something he's wanted for some time, but he wasn't sure as to what 'it' was. He knew all this from the fact that everything was running about two hours late that day and that Hojo kept checking and rechecking the note books that sat on his cluttered desk.
"What are you doing?" he finally asked coolly.
Hojo looked over at him, but ignored the question in finding something he had apparently missed in one of the files that also sat amongst the stuff on the desk.
"I'm almost ready boy," Hojo said, never looking up from the file and where he wrote in his own notebook, "so keep your trap shut or I'll shut it for ya!"
"Don't have to be a jerk about it; I only asked a question," Sephiroth said indifferently and paced the small cell once more in his long wait. It wasn't like he was in any hurry or anything. "So, what did you get to throw you so far off schedule, this time? And don't give me any of your tough crap because you and I both know you can't back it up."
"You're just as bad as that girl." Hojo snarled at him, slamming his notes down onto the desk.
"What girl?"
"The one, you know.you met her a year of so ago."
"You mean that girl who attacked you and put that nice set of scars on you? I thought Pr. Gast was her keeper?" A sudden thought occurred to him, ".what happened to Gast?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the thought of what might have happened.
He liked Gast; he was the only one who had ever treated him as if he were worth something more than a lab rat. He envied the girl for have been raised under him.but if Hojo had her now....lots of things would change for her. He would never wish Hojo onto anyone.
"You seem pretty sharp today, so tell me, what was her name?"
"Why are you asking me?" Sephiroth retorted and turned his back momentarily on Hojo. Turning back around he continued, "You only said her name once and that was over a year ago. Besides, shouldn't you have that sort of information in those files of yours?"
"I asked you a question, and you will answer me!"
Sephiroth snorted. "I'd love to see you just to try and make me. I dare you come in here without those mugs of your."
"You won't talk like that for long!"
"Why, are you going to knock me out again? *pshh* It's not like it'd be the first time. Why are you so afraid of me, I'm only twelve, and it's not like I've ever hit you hard enough to amount to what that girl accomplished?"
"You're pushing your luck with me Sephiroth."
"I am? Some patience you have today or is it. that girl took her temper out on you again? You ought not let her do that to you so easily. Otherwise you're liable to go mad, oh wait, you're already a crazy old man aren't you?" Sephiroth marveled with a mocking grin. "In that case you might want to be careful because you might end up breaking a hip or two. I'd love to see that, ya know?"
"I'm sure you would and I bet you'd tickled-pink if you were the one doing the breaking, wouldn't you?"
Sephiroth looked innocent. "And what makes you think that?" Sephiroth's face told of nothing, but his eyes were murderous. "I just love the pain you inflict on me every day of my life and what better way to repay you than to give it back? No, I wouldn't break you hip.more like remove it. And you know what the best part is? That would only be the beginning. You know how it is; first you immobilize the subject at hand so they can't get away. Removing one's hip is difficult with out taking the pelvis and breaking the back, after that I pretty sure the subject is well immobilized. Only then would you have the chance to inflict all the pain you want and the subject wouldn't be able to do a thing about it."
"Is that what you have planed for me, Sephiroth?
"Why, of course not. Why would I be so kind to you after all the things you've done to me? I'm not so stupid to sit here and tell you how I'm going to kill you."
"So you still think you can kill me?"
"Why wouldn't I? The only thing standing in my way are you're brainless idiots. How much longer are they going to be able to over power me? Not very from the looks from where I stand. What'll you do then, you won't have anyone to stand behind to protect you?"
"You won't kill me." Hojo stated firmly.
"You're crazier than I thought old man. I've tried to get at you every chance I had. I could have laughed when that girl did what I couldn't. That just made my day, ya know? Every time I think about that I laugh. If only you could have seen what I seen."
"You're not amusing me. That girl will possibly be as strong or stronger than you could ever be. With the proper handling, discipline, and training I think she could very well make the perfect SOLDIER that I've been striving to create."
"Bla bla bla. From what I observed, that girl wants nothing to do with you, not that that matters to you. You know none of you experiments can even come near the greatness of Pr. Gast's. I think I was just a fluke, or maybe Gast was he one in charge to begin with as you simply got him expelled off the project when the hard part was done. But then he out did you again, didn't he? He created Daitona, didn't he? She can top me and you knew it, that's why you tried to kill her last year. When she didn't die from such treatment you decided you wanted her for your own. Now steeling me wasn't good enough because Gast had something better. What was it, the president not give you what you wanted so the next best thing was getting rid of him?"
"*humph* For the most part, you are correct. The president however only left her with Gast because of the injury by the first mako infusion; I wanted her dead remember? So, I let Gast do the job of regulating the new substance in the system. Now, I didn't do a thing to him, but when I see him next I will. That idiot ran off with my Ancient!"
"Your Ancient? I thought Gast found her? Oh, I understand. Another stolen project and he didn't put up with it this time," Sephiroth resolved with a half satisfied nod. "I hope you never find them, and I hope that girl gives you a beating you'll never forget. If she's lucky, she might even kill you."
Sephiroth inhaled deeply as a wave of disorientation swept through him.
"Sleeping gas?..oh- well....It's......no.t...t..h.e..firs..t..iiiimeeeee...."
Sephiroth fell to the cold cell floor with a dull thud, out cold for the moment from the sleeping gas that was being fed into the small holding cell.
"It's about time!" Hojo sneered, stalking up the cell door. He glared down at Sephiroth's still form on the floor. "I was beginning to wonder if that gas would ever kick in.I'll have to use something else next time or risk him gaining an immunity to sleeping agents."
-End chapter 3-
A/N: Ok, I try to post as often as possible. This chapter took me a bit longer because most of it I just came up with and I had to study for a stupid anatomy test, which I probably failed miserably. If you have any ideas feel free to speak your mind. Everything will be taken into consideration. If you think something is missing say something and I'll add more and update the chapters. I should -no guarantees because school comes first- have the next chapter up by Wednesday, May14, or earlier.