Summary: What if Hojo had created two more clones aside from Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj? What if they were a family of sorts with Sephiroth their guardian? Prologue and Chapter One take place 15-ish years before the game.
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own the game. Also, I don't own Number five. She is the creation of Lt. Jessie so if you want permission to use her for anything, ask her. The one that I do own is Number Six. In fact, she's the only thing I own so far.
Chapter One: A Name
It had been another three months after the wakening of numbers five and six. So far, Number five seemed to have more strength of body and mind to fight Hojo at every given opportunity. It was quite amusing to watch the old man have trouble with her. He had been trying to find new ways to put fear into the girl in hopes that she would learn not to bite, kick, scratch or pull on his hair. One time she did come close to breaking his arm, though before she could the assistants were able to get him free.
Number six on the other hand had a calmer nature. Though she also fought against the scientist and the assistants she wouldn't cause as much harm. She didn't seem to have the same levels of strength as her 'sister'. Because of her weaker body the scientists were able to perform more successful tests.
Hojo still had the two girls separated from each other, never allowing them to meet. He didn't want to make the same mistake with these two as he did with two and three, Loz and Yazoo. With Loz and Yazoo, Hojo had allowed for them to get to know each other. Because of that bond the two had with each other, they became rebellious at a younger age than he expected. Soon after, they both defended each other when it came for testing on them.
Currently, the professor was once more getting samples to compare the two girls. He was trying to figure out why it was that one had pure silver hair while the other was mostly black. Also, what was it that made the so different in strength if they were created under the same conditions. Perhaps it was the difference in the age of the 'donors'. Though when Sephiroth was the age of Yazoo he was quiet similar to the boy.
Number six was currently strapped an examination table to make her vain struggling minimal. Hojo prepared a needle; he was going to need more blood samples to look at the girls DNA more closely. A soon as the girl's eyes feel on the needle she started to squirm. Once, one of the assistants had inserted the needle into a wrong vein. Something the girl would no doubt never forget.
With all her struggles Hojo found it difficult to get his needed blood sample. Fed up with it, he brought a swift, hard slap on her cheek. Momentarily shocked by the sudden impact the girl froze. Hojo sent her a glare, warning her that if she continued her vain efforts she would receive the same treatment.
Defeated, she simply lay on the table, waiting for the bombardment of needles to come.
Hojo continued about his way, taking and putting in what ever he thought was necessary or interesting. The agonizing screams had long since lost their effect on the cold man. The pleading for the pain to end; no, none of it would matter to him. The professor continued to do as he pleased. There was one thing he always saved for last, the Mako.
He looked around his lab for more liquids he could place into the girls system. He slapped his forehead. He knew he was forgetting one thing. He walked over to his refrigerator, removing a purple liquid that looked very similar to blood, though not human. He looked for a syringe to get some of this strange new substance. Finding what he needed, he uncapped the purple liquid and placed a small fraction into the syringe.
He walked back to the girl, who was now breathing shakily. She looked at the syringe in his hands, not recognizing the color of the liquid as one he had used on her before. She kept a curious eye on it, wondering exactly what it was. She knew exactly where it was going but not what it would do. Everything else had a purpose with the dark man.
Without waiting any more than he already had, Hojo simply and cleanly inserted the needle in the girl's arm. He emptied its contents in her. Hojo took a step back and waited to see if anything would happen. With numbers One through Four, they usually showed a reaction within thirty seconds but five minutes later there was nothing.
"Perhaps she already has too many Jenova cells in her for there to be any type of reaction," he thought. A thought occurred to him. Hojo walked back to the girl's side to check her eyes. Indeed, there was a change. Not much but it was still there.
Her eyes had changed from pupils to the cat-like slits of the others.
Another piece of information he found interesting about her eyes was that they were not the Mako green the others had but a normal and bland brown. Even number five had the Mako of the others.
What was it about this girl that made her so different? Was the tank she was in contaminated? He nodded to himself. That seemed to be the only answer to her nearly total raven hair and brown eyes. Aside from those two obvious differences she was the same.
The professor looked at the time.
"My how times flies…" he muttered. It was true; every time he was conducting his experiments the time would pass without his knowing. He had already had the girl for two hours. "Just one more…" And for the umpteenth time these past two hours he prepared another needle.
Six's eyes widened slightly, if there was only one more then that meant… She gulped loudly. She was about to endure the Mako once more.
She started to take deep breaths in an attempt to clear her mind and brace herself for the pain to come. When he came at her with the glowing substance, and that cruel grin, he squirted a small amount of the liquid to make sure the needle was in working order. She squirmed at the sight of it.
Without hesitating he plunged then needle into her skin. His face shown delight in the way her body tensed and her face contorted in pain. She would kick into the restraints and swing her head wildly. She bit her lip to direct the pain somewhere else but it never worked. A small trail of blood began to show where her teeth bit into her flesh.
After about ten minutes the pain would slowly start to fade. Her breathing became normal once more. Her eyes showed a fraction of the pain she had just gone through. Weariness began to take root as well and Hojo knew that he would be unable to do anymore with her for the rest of the day.
He went to unlock the door of the room, a signal to the assistant waiting outside that he was finished.
Samuel poked his head in, still wary of the older man.
"Professor?" he asked quietly. When Hojo nodded his response Samuel walked into the room slowly.
Samuel was of average height, somewhere between 5'10 and 6 feet. He had light brown hair cut shortly to prevent it ever accidentally mixing with any of the chemicals. His brown eyes often showed compassion when his superior was not around. He wore a similar lab coat to that of Hojo with a plain black shirt and jeans.
Like the other assistants, Samuel knew that he had to be cautious whenever Hojo was around. They had to be as cold as the man that commanded them.
He walked over to the girl. He sighed. It pained him to see someone so young have to endure that kind of pain. Quickly he undid the restraints holding the girl in place.
"Get up," he ordered the girl. Slowly, she complied. Gingerly she placed her bare feet on the cold concrete floor. She followed Samuel out of the room and back to her cell-like room, her eyes down cast at the floor.
Samuel input the code for the lock of the door. When the light turned green and a beep sounded he turned the handle, opening the door.
Number six raised her eyes, looking at her dull room. The only thing in there was a small bed with a gray blanket. The walls were a lighter shade of gray. There were cameras in each of the corners to avoid blind spots in the surveillance. She walked over to her bed, dragging her tired legs. She gave a small yawn before lying down, her back to the door.
Samuel left her quarters, closing the door behind him. He peered through a small window on the door at the girl. He shrugged before walking off, back to the lab.
Number six listened intently to Samuel's retreating steps. When she was sure he was gone she made cat-like call. She waited a few moments for a reply. When she did hear it she smiled. At least she wasn't entirely alone.
In the room next to her own was Number five's. It was the exact same as her own, at least from what Five had described to her it seemed to be the same.
The two girls had found out that they were not alone one day by chance. Five was throwing a fit in her room, which meant that her bed had been crashing into several of the walls. Though because the walls were thick it did not cause as much of a ruckus as it should have. The result was that she now had a broken bed until someone decided to replace it, something that could take sometime. She had been testing the walls for any sign of weakness and so far couldn't find one.
She hated being in such a boring room everyday. The only time she was allowed to leave was for the visit to the bathroom 'visit' Hojo. She continued to look for ways to get through the walls when she saw a small hole on the left wall. She looked at the camera, making sure that her tantrum had broken them again. She smirked, that was something she definitely enjoyed to do. She turned her attention back to the hole. Surprisingly it went all the way through. It was about an inch in diameter and eight inches thick. How and when it had appeared was beyond her.
Since that day the two girls had been able to talk to one another. Though, it could not be considered talking because they never used 'real' words. They had developed their own language of sorts with their cat-like sounds. The one word that five would say was 'mwee' only expressed differently through tone, pitch and length. Six would repeat 'neu'. It was a strange way to communicate but it got the job done. The 'spoke' that way to avoid eavesdroppers and possibly getting caught, something neither wanted. There was only one normal word they used, 'hobo'. One didn't have to be a genius to know whom they were talking about.
"How'd it go today?" Five asked in her cat speech.
"Always the Mako at the end." Six replied.
"Feeling okay?" she inquired worriedly.
"Same as always…"
Five sighed, "You did fight back this time, right?"
"A little…?" her voice a little frightened of what the other would say.
"Well, it's better than nothing," she glared at her door. "We'll get out of here."
Six smiled sadly, "How's your plan so far?"
"It's coming along…"
"That's what you always say."
"I don't see you trying anything," she yelled at the small hole.
"Sorry," she said softly. Six bolted up. She strained her ears to make sure that she hadn't been hearing things. She heard the rhythmic sound of someone walking down the hall, towards them. "Someone's coming," she warned before lying back down, back still to the door.
In her room, Five sat glaring at the door once more. She knew that they were coming for her this time and she was not ready to go without a fight. This was another of the things she enjoyed; causing pain to those that caused her pain.
When the door opened there stood two low ranking SOLDIERs and one of the lab assistants. Mike had learned not to try and control this girl on his own and not even with the help of Samuel could he manage her. After getting their hair pulled, arms scratched, kicked in many placed and even one broken nose they had asked the professor if the SOLDIERs could 'escort' Five to the lab. Amused that they had lasted as long as they did he obliged to their request.
Foolishly they started with only one of the SOLDIERs but soon learned that at minimum two were needed.
Five jumped off her bed and took a defensive stance. The two SOLDIERs exchanged glances, confused as to why they would be needed to take this small girl to the labs. One shrugged at his friend and took the first step towards the girl. She smirked; they always made the mistake of underestimating her.
She gave him a swift kick to his shin, causing him to not only yell but also hop around in pain. As he continued to hop around Five delivered yet another kick to his already wounded shin. He glared at his friend who stood back and watched the entire episode unfold before his eyes. He tried to fight back his laughter that was threatening to escape. When Five noticed that he was completely open to attack she punched him in the one place it would hurt a male most.
The poor SOLDIER never saw it coming, one moment he was laughing at his friend and the next he was on his knees, his eyes starting to water from the pain. He lifted his head slowly to glare at the girl. She stood there, smirking back at his glare. The other SOLDIER finally got over the pain from being struck in the knee and tried to take the girl by surprise from behind. He held her arms at her side to avoid getting elbowed.
Instead she bit down on his arm, her teeth easily sinking into his flesh and drawing blood. That caused him to yelp and try to pull his arm away. Unfortunately for him she had a strong grip with those sharp teeth of hers and easily held on.
The poor man cursed her. He brought up his knee to hit her stomach but she had seen that coming and let go before the knee was close enough to impact.
When she landed, Five had not expected the second SOLDIER to have already recovered and so didn't see the kick coming at her from behind. It had hit her squarely in the center of he back. She fell to her knees from the pain. She used her arms to prevent her from crashing into the floor face first. Before she had time to react the two men had each taken hold of one of her arms.
They lifted her off the ground. She still tried to get them to get go off her, kicking out in any direction but her efforts were in vain. They carried her down the hall to wards the lab, Mike following close behind.
When they entered the lab Mike had asked them to hold her on the examination table until he could get the restraints on her. She continued to fight against her captors as they tried to hold her arms still long enough for Mike to put the restraints in place. When her arms were held safely in place they moved down to her legs. She still continued to kick wildly, landing one on the face of a SOLDIER. She laughed internally when the blood began to flow from his nose. Finally, after about ten minutes of struggling they had managed to contain her.
Mike had suggested that the two men visit a doctor to make sure they would be fine. The two men would definitely head the man's advice. The first SOLDIER had, at minimum, a broken nose and of course the other had that rather large bite on his arm. As the two men turned to leave the room they sent a harsh glare at the girl who hurt them so. In response to the glare she stuck her tongue out at them. They left, muttering that they would get her back some how.
When all the men had left Five continued her struggle against the restraints. Hojo had take precautions to ensure that Five would remain on the examination table for the duration of her visit. He had to get the manacles replaced because she simply kept breaking through them. The current ones had lasted longer than the others by about two weeks. More than likely she would eventually break through these as well but he intended to get as much use out of them as he possibly could.
After leaving her to struggle for about ten minutes, Hojo finally decided to make his appearance in the room. As soon as he entered Five made a scowl, how she hated the man so. He smiled darkly at her. He enjoyed working with her more than Six because she always fought back more.
He went to prepare what needed for her; the needles, the potions, the blood of Jenova, the Mako and even some materia. He used the materia to heal the girls in case something went horribly wrong, though he had yet to need it.
The first syringe he used was the purple Jenova blood. Again, he stood back to watch the results. And like Six, she showed no major change. Her nails became slightly sharper; the skin changed to a light blue-ish tone for a second then disappeared. He also checked her eyes and sure enough they too had changed to slits.
Hojo approached her head, not much of a smart move on his part. As he got closer she readied herself to strike. His hand came closer still and she smiled to herself internally. She waited a few more seconds. Just a few more inches and it would be in reach.
Now!
Faster than the scientist could see she snapped her head up and brought those sharp teeth down on his hand. Like most that found themselves in Five's jaws he tried to pull his hand away, only to cause himself more pain. Not at all happy with his hand being bitten he slammed Five's head into the table below her.
The blow not only caused her to let go of his hand but she was now a little disorientated. He vision was spinning and she looked to see where Hojo was. If one wasn't ugly enough she now saw three. She tried to shake the dizziness away but that only served to get her even dizzier.
Hojo continued about his business with placing more substances into her. As always the Mako came last. She would not give pleasure of hearing her cry out in pain but there were times that she would shed unwanted tears, this was one of those time.
Outside the door stood one silver-haired youth. He had come in for his monthly visit once more but stopped when he heard that someone was already inside with the professor. He didn't think that one of his brothers was currently with the vile man. Sephiroth always had the last say when it came to those three because they were still so young.
A new scent reached his nose. It was the salty tears that were falling from the Five's eyes. He had enough of just standing back. Not waiting any more than he already had, Sephiroth kicked the door in. What he saw surprised him without a doubt. He never knew that Hojo had crated more for his experiment.
Five looked at Sephiroth when he walked through the door. She was curious about him because they resembled each other so greatly. Their eyes locked, Sephiroth asking how she was and her asking for the help she needed to get away from Hojo.
Having already wasted enough time just standing there Sephiroth glared at Hojo who was staring at him confused.
"Hojo," Sephiroth spat, "I thought you said you would stop with this." He glared at the man that had already caused himself and his 'brothers' so much pain, but to cause two others what he had already and still had planned for them.
Hojo turned his back to the teen, yet another unintelligent move made the scientist that day. Sephiroth picked up one of the class beakers holding who knew what. With all the hate and contempt he held for the scientist he brought it down on his head. Since Hojo was not expecting the teen to do that held his head while the blood began to seep from a wound the glass had created on impact.
He turned to face Sephiroth, anger clearly written on his face. Before Hojo could do anymore than glare Sephiroth brought his fist into the man's stomach, knocking what air was in the man's lungs. He doubled over, gasping for air. Sephiroth landed another blow to the man's head, finally rendering him unconscious.
Five looked at her rescuer and made a mental note never to piss him off.
He walked over to her, concern showing in the usually cold green glowing orbs. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
She blinked at him. The last thing she expected was him to worry about her even if he hated the professor as much, if not more than she did. When he removed her bonds, her eyes widened more. She sat up, looking him over carefully, perhaps he was pretending to befriend her with the thought of later using her the same way the professor had done so far. She looked into eyes; she sensed no malice from him.
She jumped off the table, landing gracefully next to Sephiroth. She still didn't trust him.
He took her hand in his own, "Come on, let's get you out of here."
He led her from the lab, towards the elevator. She followed him willingly enough when she remembered something, or rather someone. Pulling her hand from Sephiroth's grasp she ran back to her sleeping quarters.
Sephiroth groaned, thinking that she would rather stay than leave this horrid place. He followed after he calling to her that she was going the wrong way. She stopped in front of a locked door. She gestured for him to open the door.
Sephiroth looked at her confused, but when she point at the small window he peered through. Again, his eyes flashed in anger.
"Stand back," he told Five. She did as she was told and moved back a few feet just in case. Before Sephiroth kicked the door in she warned her sister to move away from the door. Sephiroth looked at her strangely because he didn't know about her form of speech. His eyes widened when he heard a reply from the room.
"Okay… At least they understand each other…" he thought right before he finally kicked the door open.
Five quickly pushed her way past him into the room.
"Come on! It's time to go," she said in her cat talk.
Six walked to her sister's side but stopped as soon as she saw Sephiroth. "Who is he?" She gestured to the male.
"He knocked out Hobo," her voice hinted at the remorse that she was unable to do it herself. "This wasn't a part of the plan but, hey, whatever works, right?"
Six nodded, so long as they got out it didn't matter how they did it.
"Let's go," came Sephiroth's commanding voice. The two girls nodded, following him out of the labs and out of the Shinra building.
They boarded one of the trains, no one stopped to even look at them. It was common to see children walking the streets of Midgar. With all the people 'disappearing' and even with the adults that were around weren't 'around' per say. Most were drug addicts or in a less then reputable business.
With Sephiroth's clearance they were able to get out of Midgar with ease. He led the two girls north of Midgar to a small forest. They continued walking in silence because they didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. They stayed close to Sephiroth in case a monster did cross their path.
About ten minutes into their walk through the woods they came upon a clearing, with a small house in the center of it.
"Wait," Sephiroth held his arm in front of the girls. He looked around to make sure that no one was around. After making sure of that fact he whistled mimicking a bird's song.
Five and Six shrugged at each other, not knowing what the whistle was supposed to do. They were beginning to think that their savior was just as insane as Hojo when the door of the house opened. In the door way stood Loz who was about two years older than Yazoo. His hair was shorter than Yazoo's and combed back. Loz looked around.
"Bro…?" He kept looking for Sephiroth.
"Over here Loz," He stepped into the clearing and motioned for the girls to follow him.
"You're back soon. How was your-" he stopped when he saw the two girls behind his brother. "Oh boy…"
They entered the small home. The girls looked at everything with a curious eye but touched nothing. It was a two-story house but the first level held the living room, kitchen and a small bathroom. The second floor only had two bedrooms. The walls were bear and still held dust that had collected over the years prior to its use from the males who now resided in it.
Sephiroth led them to the living room, which, like the rest of the house, wasn't much. For chairs they used old wooden crates. They had no electricity since they were still at a distance from Midgar and the generator for the house wasn't in working conditions.
Loz was looking at the girls and how young they looked. Sephiroth had asked that they all take a seat. Loz sat next to his brother but the two girls remained standing.
"What did Hojo call you?" The same question was in flowing through Loz's thoughts but Seph beat him to asking it.
"Five," the silver-haired girl answered.
"Six," the raven-haired girl replied.
"Seph, she," he pointed to Five, "looks like you."
"How do you like the name Sephina?" he asked Five.
She thought about it for a moment before nodding her approval.
He smiled at her, "Sephina it is. And what about you? What do you want to be called?" Six shrugged, she didn't know anything about names. "Then how about Sakura?" She too just nodded.
Loz grinned, "Sephina an Sakura, welcome to the family."
The two girls looked at him strangely but nodded.
A/N: Yay! We have names now! Five is the Seph clone so it makes sense that she be named after him. As for where Yaz and Kadaj are right now. Yaz is making sure that Kadaj is okay in one of the upstairs rooms. I know some parts are a bit choppy but oh well. I'll get used to writing more descriptions as time goes on. Plus, does anyone really want to hear about they journey through Midgar…? Oh, before I forget. There more than likely are mistakes so I ask for someone to please help me by being a beta. Please? Review if you have any questions, complaints or anything. I'm in dire need of feedback. Lates!
Sakura