"Cloud...hey man...wake up..." Zax's voice cursed. "C'mon, now is not the time to be sleeping...Your damn boyfriend is in trouble!"
"Enuh?" Cloud muttered, slowly waking up. He shivered as a sudden cool breeze danced on his skin. His hands were restrained behind him by a rope that seemed to get tighter when he tried to wiggle free. "What the fuck? Where are we?"
"Holding cells on floor 67 of Shinra Headquarters," replied Zax. "Your lover is in containment two floors above us."
"He's not my fucking lover!" Cloud argued, beet red. He let out a sigh. "Hey, can you reach my lighter? Its in my back pocket."
"I'm not touching your nasty gay ass!" slapped Zax. "You'd enjoy it too much!"
"Shut the fuck up Zax!" Cloud bit back. "Unless you like your ropes where they are, get the damn lighter!"
"Why do you even have a lighter?" Zax grumbled, turning his back to Cloud's in attempts to get his friend's lighter. "I thought you didn't smoke."
"Lets just say it was an attempt to get Cid to quit smoking before he left," replied Cloud weakly. "A failed attempt...but an attempt nonetheless..."
"Got it!" Zax laughed triumphantly.
"Good. Now try burning the ropes."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Burn the damn ropes!"
"And burn us? Are you fucking nuts!"
"Just do it Zax. If you burn us, we could just use a damn Potion."
Muttering to himself, Zax flipped the cap off the lighter and lit it. The ropes lit quickly and burnt off almost instantly, leaving small burn marks on the ex-SOLDIERs' gloves. Stretching, the two examined their surroundings. There were two slime-covered mattresses in the far side of the cell beside a moss-infested sink. "Quaint, isn't it?" Zax asked sarcastically. "I love how the rust on the walls throws the room together."
"This is not the time for sarcasm, Zax!" snapped Cloud. He went to inspect the door. "Think you can pick the lock from in here and get us out?"
"Screw that. I've got a better idea." Zax went to his pack and began digging through it. Pulling out a fancy-looking pen, he smiled to himself and went to the door.
"A pen? You say you have a better idea and it's a pen?! What are you going to do? Doodle de-spelling symbols on it?!"
Saying nothing, Zax uncapped the pen and pressed a small button near the middle. A bright white laser emitted from the pen tip, cutting through the metal door lock. The laser done melting the metal doorknob, Zax pushed the door open and replaced the cap on the pen. "Standard laser pen. Emits a white hot laser of nuclear energy and writes in blue ink," Zax explained. He put it in his bag. "Took me about three months to make with equipment I personally 'borrowed' from Shinra."
Cloud blinked. "Wow...any other gadgets you should warn me about?"
"I forget..." shrugged Zax. Grabbing his pack, he turned to Cloud. "They took our weapons and have them with Sephiroth on floor 69. Got any plans?"
The blonde thought for a moment. "We need to disguise ourselves as scientists and get up there. When we get our weapons, kill anyone and everyone and get out."
"I have just the gadget!"
***
"Wake up Sephiroth..." a distant voice whispered.
The man lay silent in the containment cell, feigning sleep. He recognized the voice as Hojo's and was hoping to annoy the scientist.
"I know you can hear me Sephiroth. If you don't cooperate, I will order your friends to be tortured to the point of death." His voice darkened. "Starting with Cloud."
Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh. Sitting up, he looked up at Hojo. "You're a fool if you think that'll get me to cooperate," he told the scientist. "They aren't even in their cells now."
"Do I look worried?" His words were just as cold and emotionless as Sephiroth's. "Sephiroth...I can help you..."
He shook his head. "Not buying it, pops. If you really wanted to help us, you wouldn't have threatened my friends."
"Friends, huh?" Hojo sighed. "Sephiroth...your clones are dead."
"What?!" Sephiroth stood quickly. "How?!"
"They were killed and absorbed by Jenova because of the cells within them," explained Hojo. "And now she is after the last four with her cells."
"Four?" A slight look of confusion crossed Sephiroth's face. "I thought it was just Cloud, my clones, and me."
"You forget Sephiroth. Zax and Vincent also have Jenova cells, though they aren't as strong as yours or Cloud's."
"So Vinny's on the menu as well..." He closed his eyes, sensing for something. "No...It's too late. She's already gotten Vincent. I can't feel his life-force anymore..." The man looked up at Hojo. "So why bring us here if Jenova is after us?"
"Its dangerous, but I may have found a way to extract the cells." He hesitated, then continued. "I've never tried it though."
"So you want me to be your guinea pig...again?" Hojo nodded his head. "I'm not doing it. We'll face Jenova and destroy her."